The radioactive elephant in the room

[whileyrider]

we (me, my wife and two kids) headed down to the North Cascades in our L400 from Vancouver at the end of August for a week of camping and exploring. we had an interesting experience at the border crossing when we set off the radiation portal monitor and were sent in for secondary screening. turns out the van had some residue around the wheel wells and hood intake, but it was the lowest possible reading on the handheld geiger counter that the border guard used for secondary. I'm not overly concerned as it's likely that we got more downwash from rain on the west coast in the weeks following the tsunami and Fukushima reactor meltdown, but it makes me somewhat uneasy nonetheless. my wife just started grad school in Washington so we'll be making a few more trips down there over the next couple of years, so hopefully it doesn't take us 2 hours to get across the border every time.

no similar screening coming back up, thankfully! our van was imported in April, so I'd assume that any van after this would have similar levels of radiation. after a quick web search (and of the forum), it sounds like it's not the first nuclear breach in Japan and the LCD displays you see in some vehicle listings (from Rising Sun, for example) are actually radiation readings and not emissions/aircare like I had assumed. ha!! ass-u-me, and all that.

looking at the big picture, it's a small concern compared to the aftermath that thousands are dealing with in Japan every day, but I'm just posting to put it out there and discuss openly. I'm also very aware that there's radiation all around us, so this is small potatoes in the big picture.

my post is more in the vein of being interested to find out if anyone else has had a similar experience at the border, and how were you treated by the US CBP?

still love our van.

[bassnailer]

I have never had a problem with the border patrol, either here or in the us of a. I find that the bp like it when I kill the engine when I pull up to the booth though. It's been my experience that they don't like the sound of diesel engines running while they are trying to talk. So I shut it down before they complain.

[Profister]

whileyrider, I have a pretty advanced and super accurate Geiger counter from Ukraine, one of the best on the market (all production goes to Japan now). If you are concerned I am willing to take some readings of your van. As a matter of fact I tested a few vans at Amazing Auto Imports in April-May and found nothing.

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

Lots of Japan auction agent are still very reluctant to buy vehicles from Fukushima area, where nuclear plant was in crisis to explode.
Below auction data is a good example.
** 1996 Nov, long wheel base, super exceed, only71K, grade3.5 **
But it was off auction at Fukushima, so this vehicle was out of our target vehicle.

Some reliable exporters still can check and show radiation level at the time of loading.

Steven

[jessef]

Don't worry about it.

The next time you go through and have some time to chat, you'll get the answer: it happens all the time on any type of vehicle.

anyone else has had a similar experience at the border, and how were you treated by the US CBP?

"We see this all the time," said Brad Kovach, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, as he peered in the trailer. "Sludge, medical waste, tiles -- we get hits maybe a dozen times a day. It's not a problem."

Canadian plates set off a radiation alarm as it crossed the Peace Bridge to Buffalo, the northern border's busiest crossing.
A guard used a hand-held device to identify the offending isotope.

He quickly found the problem in boxes stacked inside: scented kitty litter. Clay in cat litter emits harmless radioactive traces of uranium, thorium and other natural elements.

Then there's bingo. Senior patrons of a popular bingo parlor on the Canadian side regularly trigger the alarms on the way home; they may be carrying pacemakers or have had other medical procedures in which isotopes are used.

Lots of Japan auction agent are still very reluctant to buy vehicles from Fukushima area, where nuclear plant was in crisis to explode.
Below auction data is a good example.
** 1996 Nov, long wheel base, super exceed, only71K, grade3.5 **
But it was off auction at Fukushima, so this vehicle was out of our target vehicle.

That is just plain common sense. No one in their right mind would expect a dealer to import a van that is out of 'their' target vehicle market in the radiation district. Moot point.

[jcolvin]

The same happens at the border to my friend who imported an L400 not too long after Fukushima; he regularly triggers the gamma ray detector.

The Japanese auction agent who I have dealt with for years has just closed shop because too many vehicles are getting refused export (vehicles get checked at the docks before loading in Japan now). Washing the vehicles can help but is no guarantee. Apparently there is also a flood of vehicles being sent from the east to the western auction houses in Japan. Unless your agent can do a radiation survey on the auction floor things may be dicey. I wonder how long this will take to blow over; it may well reduce the quantity/increase the price of japanese used imports.

Jonathan Colvin

[Khrolar]

Bringing up this backup because my 1994, L400, LWB, was flagged last weekend for radiation.

If was a 3 hour wait at the boarder getting into the us. We don't know our mr/hr dosage yet, however I'm in contact with oceanchem in Victoria. He's going to help me look into it.

What did you guys do to make boarder crossings easier? I'm working on getting the original import and inspection documents from ICBC. With this and the information we have gained I hope it gets easier...

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