2004 Press Releases

Embassy Donates Radiation Pagers to Turkmen Customs and Border Guard Services

Oct. 1, 2004

Turkmenistan's State Customs and Border Guard Services each received 40 radiation pagers from the U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan this week. The Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program donated the Radiation Pagers to increase the capacity of Turkmen customs inspectors and border guards to identify and interdict nuclear materials.

The Radiation Pager is a personal gamma-ray radiation detector, which is hundreds of times more sensitive than traditional Geiger counter type detectors. It is approximately the size of a message pager and is designed for easy use.

EXBS is an ongoing U.S. Government program, which aims to deter the spread of weapons of mass destruction through joint training exercises and equipment transfers to customs and border security agencies. Previous EXBS assistance to the State Border Guards and State Customs Service of Turkmenistan includes transfers of UAZ jeeps, ZIL water trucks, X-ray equipment, binoculars, GPSs, contraband detection kits and training in detecting weapons of mass destruction and smuggler tracking.