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SHIPPING SECURITY
Package explodes at Schertz FedEx facility
Ground packages undergo limited checks By David Koenig ASSOCIATED PRE SS
Packages intended to be placed on a truck, like the bomb that exploded Tuesday at a FedEx facility in Texas, are not screened as carefully as items carried by passenger planes. Largely that is because of the high cost of screening every parcel intended for domestic delivery. Delivery companies such as FedEx and UPS rely on a risk-based strategy. They hope to detect illegal or dangerous shipments by spotting something unusual about the package or the shipper. Some security experts give the companies good marks while pointing out the limitations of their approach. FedEx and UPS say only that they have security measures in place and cooperate with law enforcement. They declined to discuss specifics, saying that would compromise security. Here are some questions and answers about security of parcels:
Scott Olson / Getty Images
FBI, ATF and local police investigate an explosion at a FedEx facility on Tuesday in Schertz, Texas. A package exploded while being transported on a conveyor shortly after midnight this morning causing minor injuries to one person.
New blast sends investigators to shipping center in Austin By Paul J. Weber and Will Weissert
ARE ALL PACKAGES SCREENED? Cargo on passenger planes must be screened, usually by Related Articomputed-tomography scancle: ners although explosive-trace detection and dogs are also Fear mounts in used, said Jeffrey Price, an aviaAustin as serial tion-security expert at Metbomber uses tripwire ropolitan State University in Denver. See page A3 If a package is going to be placed on a truck for delivery within the United States, as with the device that exploded on a conveyer belt at a FedEx facility in Schertz, Texas, “there is much less likelihood that it’s going to be physically screened with X-ray or even a person examining the package,” said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security.
A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
Investigators pursuing a suspected serial bomber in the Texas capital shifted their attention Tuesday to a FedEx shipping center near San Antonio where a package exploded on a conveyor belt in the middle of the night and caused minor injuries to a worker. Although the latest blast did not inflict serious harm, it added to the widening fear of more strikes like those that have already killed two people and badly wounded four others. Hours after the explosion, police sent a bomb squad to a FedEx facility outside Austin’s main airport to check on a suspicious package that
William Luther / San Antonio Express-News
FBI public affairs specialist Christina Garza talks to the media Tuesday outside the FedEx ground shipping facility in Schertz where a package bomb exploded a little after midnight Tuesday.
was reported shortly before sunrise. There was no immediate word about whether that package contained explosives. Investigators also closed off an
Austin-area FedEx store where they believe the bomb was sent to the distribution center. Authorities roped off a large area around the FedEX continues on A11
HOW ARE SHIPMENTS CHECKED? For truck shipments, cargo carriers train employees to look for suspicious behavior, including anything that looks odd about the package, or a shipper who buys too much insurance for what he says is in the box, Cohen said. Those procedures developed in the 1980s to detect shipments of drugs or guns and evolved to be used to find explosives. FedEx and UPS officials declined to say whether they screen ground-shipping packages at dropoff points or distribution centers. On Tuesday, investigators closed off an Austin-area FedEx store where they suspect that the bomb was dropped off. The most stringent screening rules apply to packages that will be carried on passenger airplanes. Security continues on A11
NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Talks aim to limit junk food warning labels By Azam Ahmed, Matt Richtel And Andrew Jacobs N EW YORK T I ME S
MEXICO CITY — The contentious negotiations over the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement have veered into one of the world’s most pressing health issues: fighting obesity. Urged on by big American food and soft-drink companies, the Trump administration is using the trade talks with Mexico and Canada to try to limit the ability of the pact’s three members — including the United States — to warn consumers about the dangers of junk food, according to confidential documents outlining the U.S. posi-
tion. The U.S. stance reflects an intensifying battle between trade officials, the food industry and governments across the hemisphere. The administration’s position could help insulate U.S. manufacturers from pressure to include more explicit labels on their products, both abroad and in the United States. But health officials worry that it would also impede international efforts to contain a growing health crisis. Obesity has at least doubled in 73 countries since 1980. Many public health officials, worried about the rapid spread of highly processed foods, have found hope in a new tactic: the use of vivid warnings on foods with
high levels of sugar, salt and fat. Officials in Mexico and Canada — along with governments in Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia — are discussing options like the use of colors, shapes and other easyto-understand symbols that warn consumers of health risks. They were inspired in large part by Chile’s introduction of stringent regulations in 2016 that include requirements for black stop-sign warnings on the front of some packages. But the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which is leading the NAFTA talks on the U.S. side, is trying to head off the momentum. It is pushing to limit the ability of any NAFTA NAFTA continues on A11
Adriana Zehbrauskas / The New York Times
A family shops for soft drinks at Bodega Aurrerá, a discount chain that is owned by Walmart, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico. Urged on by big American food and soft-drink companies, the Trump administration is using NAFTA talks to try to limit the ability of the pacts three members to warn consumers about the dangers of junk food.