Unit IV - Prevention Measures for Unintentional ... · Aedes albopictus (Asian Tiger Mosquito) Solomon Islands Machinery Sea cargo Aedes aegypti (Yellow Fever Mosquito) China Steel

UNIT IV – Prevention Measures for Unintentional Introductions

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Unit Objectives:

By the end of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Understand, discuss, and provide examples of shipping transport related IAS introductions

2. Understand, discuss, and provide examples of aircraft related IAS introductions

3. Understand and discuss break bulk shipments, intermodal containers, and other types of packaging as vectors of IAS


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Unit IV - Table of Contents

Introduction

Session 1. Introduction of IAS Through Commercial Shipping 4.1. Commercial Shipping Related IAS Introductions

4.1.1. Ballast Water and Hull Fouling Introductions 4.1.1.1. Case Study: American Comb Jelly in the Black

and Caspian Seas 4.1.1.2. Case Study: Golden Mussel in Brazil

4.1.1.3. Case Study: Chinese Mitten Crab in San Francisco Bay, California

4.1.2. Strategies for Minimizing Introduction of IAS in Ballast Water

4.1.2.1. The Global Ballast Water Management Programme 4.1.3. Ship and Plane Galley Food Garbage

4.1.3.1. Case Study: Food and Mouth Disease 4.2. Aircraft Related IAS Introductions – Hitchhikers in Planes

4.2.1. Case Study: Browntree Snake

Session 2. Inspection of Break Bulk Cargo and Intermodal

Containers 4.3. Break Bulk Cargo and Intermodal Containers

4.3.1. Break Bulk Cargo 4.3.1.1. Raw Timber from Siberia

4.3.2. Retrograde Military Vehicles – Soil and Snail Contamination 4.3.2.1. Case Study: Snails on WWII Tanks Imported

from Portugal to the USA – 1982 4.3.3. Intermodal Containers

4.3.3.1. History of ICs

4.3.3.2. Tailgate Inspections 4.4. Commodity Packaging – as a Vector of IAS

4.4.1. Solid Wood Packing Materials 4.4.1.1. Asian Longhorned Beetle Case Study:

Contaminant of Solid Wood Packing 4.4.1.2. Miscellaneous Cargo - Case Study: Extruded Wire

Shipments from Ubisa, Spain 4.4.2. Pressed Board, Cardboard, and other Processed Packaging

for Minimizing IAS Introductions

Major Concepts in Unit IV

Unit IV. Lab Exercises


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Introduction

Hitchhikers are generally recognized as organisms that are transported by accident or chance – i.e., unintentionally. The presence of pests in

cargo is hard to detect and to predict with accuracy. However, border clearance officials at ports of entry around the world spend

considerable time searching for quarantine significant pests in high risk vectors such as means of conveyance, intermodal containers, and the

cargo they carry.

Here is a good sampling of quarantine hitchhikers that were intercepted by inspectors with the Australian Quarantine Inspection

Service from 1995-2000.

Pest Origin Commodity Pathway

Lymantria dispar (Gypsy Moth)

Japan Vehicle Sea Cargo

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

(Black Carpenter Ant)

USA Building material

Sea Cargo

Hoplocerambyx

severus (Cerambycidae –

Longhorned Beetle)

Papua New

Guinea Machinery unit Sea Cargo

Sinoxylon conigerum

(English Conifer Auger Beetle)

Taiwan Cardboard box LCL

container

Heterobostrychus aequalis (Lesser

Auger Beetle)

Indonesia Paper Air baggage

Arhopalus ferus

Mulsant (Burnt Pine Longhorn Beetle)

New Zealand Ship deck Sea cargo

Coptotermes

formosanus Shiraki (Formosan Termite)

Taiwan Toys Sea

baggage


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Urocerus gigas L.

(Giant Wood Wasp) Italy Cardboard

FCL

container

Oryctes rhinoceros

(Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle)

Thailand Styrofoam box Air cargo

Achatina fulica (Giant African Land Snail)

Papua New Guinea

Empty container

Sea cargo

Pomacea canaliculata

(Channeled Apple Snail)

Papua New

Guinea

Empty

container Sea cargo

Apis cerana (Honey Bee)

Papua New Guinea

Ship crane Sea cargo

Apis dorsata Giant Honey Bee)

Malaysia Machinery parts

Air cargo

Bombus lapidaries (Bumblebee)

Czechoslovakia Machinery FCL container

Trogoderma granarium

(Khapra Beetle)

Iran Wind chimes Air baggage

Polistes chinensis

(Asian Paper Wasp) Japan Vehicle Sea cargo

Polistes olivaceus (Redbrown Paper

Wasp)

Papua New Guinea

Machinery Sea cargo

Vespula pensylvanica

(Western Yellowjacket)

USA Pipes FCL

container

Aedes albopictus (Asian Tiger

Mosquito)

Solomon Islands

Machinery Sea cargo

Aedes aegypti

(Yellow Fever Mosquito)

China Steel frames Sea cargo

Primary Information Source: (Crowe, 2001)


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Session 1. Introduction of IAS Through

Commercial Shipping

4.1. Commercial Shipping Related IAS Introductions Commercial transport of cargo and commodities via ships, airplanes,

trains, and trucks, provides numerous pathways and vectors for

spread of IAS around the world. Regulation of these pathways and vectors helps to limit the spread and establishment of IAS. However,

means of conveyance can also serve as IAS vectors themselves, and need to be regulated as well.

4.1.1. Ballast Water and Hull Fouling Introductions – Overview

of the Problem; Mitigation Measures

Throughout history, marine species have been dispersed throughout

the oceans by natural means, such as currents, and attached to floating logs and other debris. Natural environmental factors such as

temperature and the isolations of the continents prevented the spread of many species, and allowed many species to evolve very differently

in different parts of the world (particularly in tropical vs. temperate waters). This has resulted in much larger marine biodiversity, than if

the oceans were all the same.

These natural barriers to trans-oceanic movement of species were first breached when people began sailing between distant places. Initially,

sailing ships used solid ballast (soil, sand, stones) in their holds to provide stability

and trim when not loaded with cargo. This

was an early major pathway for spread of terrestrial IAS between the continents. In

addition, barnacles and other marine organisms attached to a ship’s hull were

also spread in this way.

Modern ships, which still move over 80% of the world’s cargo and commodities, use

water in tanks positioned around the interior of the hull for ballast. In this

process, 3-5 billion tons of water and at least 7,000 species of aquatic organisms are moved around the world

in the ballast tanks of ships each year. This includes bacteria, other

Ballast water exchange. T. Mullady, Marine Invasions Research Lab, SERC. http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/universal/gallery.cfm?group=2523&picnum=5


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microbes, small invertebrates and eggs, cysts, larvae, and the

planktonic phase of various aquatic species.

Introduction of aquatic nuisance species into new environments by

ballast water, and by attachment to ships’ hulls, is one of the four greatest threats to the Earth’s oceans. The other three threats include

land-based sources or marine pollution, over use of living marine resources, and physical alteration and destruction of

marine habitats (Carlton, 1999).

4.1.1.1. Case Study: American Comb Jelly in the Black and

Caspian Seas. Since the mid-1990s, the North American comb jellyfish (Mnemiopsis leidyi), a tiny

ctenophore, has depleted native plankton in the Black Sea (North of Turkey, South of

Ukraine) to such an extent that it has

caused the near collapse of some commercial fisheries.

- In 1999, the North American comb jellyfish was first identified in the Caspian

Sea (surrounded by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan),

which is the most important fishery for sturgeon in the world. The first effect of the comb jelly was recorded in 2000, when a decrease of

zooplankton and a sharp reduction in kilka fish (Clupeonella

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) http://www.floridamarine.org/features/view_article.asp?id=23967

Between 1989-2000, control costs for zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the United States (introduced to the Great Lakes

in ballast water from eastern Europe in the mid-1980s), was

about $1 billion.

Zebra Mussel http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/images/zebramuscles2.jpg

Mnemiopsis leidyi (JT Carlton) http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/universal/gallery.cfm?group=2480&picnum=5


131

cultriventris) landings were observed.

These effects continued to increase in 2001, with significant drops in fisheries and

impaired reproduction in the Caspian seal (Pusa caspica). Since then, the population

of the comb jelly in the Caspian Sea has continued to expand, and could ultimately

endanger the functioning of the ecosystem and pose a grave danger of extinction to a

range of invertebrates and fish, including kilka and beluga sturgeon (Mnemiopsis Advisory Group, 2001). 4.1.1.2. Case Study: Golden Mussel in Brazil.

The golden mussel (Limnoperma fortunei), a native to southeastern Asian rivers and creeks,

has been transported in larval form in ships'

ballast water to South America. In recent years, it has spread from coastal areas of Argentina, up

river, to Brazil, where it clogs up water intake pipes for hydro-electric power generating plants

and fouls up other submerged structures. It also affects the feeding patterns of native fish, causing fish stocks to fall

(Avelar et al., 2004).

4.1.1.3. Case Study: Chinese Mitten Crab in San Francisco Bay, California. The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is a

burrowing crab that is native to the coastal rivers and estuaries of the Yellow Sea in Korea and China. In the

mid-1990s, mitten crab became established on the west coast of the

United States in the San Francisco

Bay/Delta watershed of California. It poses a serious threat to native

invertebrates in freshwater and brackish

estuaries, and could

disrupt commercial

fishing and shrimping operations. Mitten crab was most likely introduced into U.S.

waters via ballast water from ocean going ships.

http://www.aecuk.com/images/magicgallery/Chinese_mitten_crab_Eriocheir_sinensis.htm

Courtesy of CA Dept. of Fish

and Game http://www.clr.pdx.edu/projects/ans_research/mittencrab/

Golden Mussel http://www.malacologia.com.ar/MALACOLOGIA/English/mejillo.htm

Caspian Sea http://194.8.63.155/baku


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NOTE: The Chinese mitten crab could spread throughout the San

Francisco Bay Water Shed – 60,000 square miles – comprising 40% of California.

Ecological Threat: As omnivores, mitten crabs eat both plants and

animals. As they mature, the crabs prey increasingly on small invertebrates such as worms and clams. In California, adult crabs are

a major nuisance to anglers, stealing bait from fishing lines.

Economic Threat: In China and Korea, juvenile mitten crabs damage

rice crops by eating young rice shoots and burrowing into rice field levees. Their burrowing habit also accelerates the erosion of canal and

steam banks. Exploding populations of mitten crabs also pose a threat to commercial fishing, and are a nuisance to recreational anglers.

Mitten crabs also clog pumps, screens, and water intakes, and have damaged and killed fish at water diversion facilities.

Human Health Threat: The mitten crab is also a potential human

health hazard. The crab is an intermediate host for the Oriental lung

fluke, and people, as well as animals, can become infected by eating raw or poorly cooked mitten crabs.

Chinese Mitten Crab Information Sources:

� http://www.wsg.washington.edu/outreach/mas/nis/mittencrab.h

tml

� http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/other-

invertebrates/chinese-mitten-crabs/chinese-mitten-crabs.html

� http://www.delta.dfg.ca.gov/mittencrab/life_hist.asp

� http://www.iisgcp.org/exoticsp/Chinese_Mitten_Crab.htm

� http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1113_03111

3_mittencrabs.html

� http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/csl/inf/inf003_007_e.html

� http://www.savesfbay.org/site/pp.asp?c=dgKLLSOwEnH&b=886767

� http://www.serc.si.edu/labs/marine_invasions/publications/PDF/

Ruiz_et_al_2006_AI.pdf

4.1.2. Strategies for Minimizing Introduction of IAS in Ballast

Water

The most widely recommended strategy for minimizing the

introduction of IAS in ballast water is mid-oceanic ballast exchange. This method is not 100% effective because the design of most ballast


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tanks makes it difficult to replace every drop of water or to remove

sediments (and organisms in them) that build up in the nooks and crannies of a ballast tank. In addition, a ship’s crew may hesitate to

make mid-water exchanges if stormy seas or other conditions pose serious safety hazards.

Current methods for treating ballast water in situ include application of

biocides such as chlorine, glutaraldehyde (a chemical fixative used in electron microscopy), or other chemicals that will kill organisms inside

the tanks. Other methods that are being developed include the use of ozone and ultra-violet light disinfection techniques.

4.1.1.2. Case Study: The Global Ballast Water Management

Programme (Globallast)

In response to the threats posed by invasive marine species, the

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, called on the International Maritime

Organization (IMO) and other international bodies to take address the spread of harmful aquatic organisms by ships. At that time, the IMO,

which is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international regulation of ship safety and marine pollution prevention,

had already been active in ballast water issues for over 10 years.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September, 2002. Participants at this meeting re-affirmed the need for international

measures to address spread of marine invasive species and urged the IMO to finalize the IMO Ballast Water Convention. The International

Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water & Sediments – a new international treaty was adopted

by consensus at a Diplomatic Conference at IMO in London on Friday, 13 February, 2004. The Conference was attended by representatives

of 74 countries, one Associate Member of IMO; and observers from

two intergovernmental organizations and 18 non-governmental international organizations.


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Twelve months after being ratified by 30 countries (representing 35%

of the world’s shipping tonnage), the Convention will enter into force and require all ships to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments

Management Plan. All ships will have to carry a Ballast Water Record Book and will be required to carry out ballast water management

procedures to a given standard. Existing ships will be required to do the same, but after a phase-in period.

Since the adoption of the Ballast Water Convention, IMO has

established the Global Ballast Water Management Programme (GloBallast), in partnership with Global Environment Facility (GEF),

and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to assist

developing countries to reduce the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships' ballast water, and to build capacity

for legal, policy, and institutional reforms as called for in the Convention. The second phase of this Project - GloBallast

Partnerships - is expected to start in early 2007 and will incorporate a number of strategic partnerships, including the private sector, to

achieve its aims.

Link to Globallast Programme Website: http://globallast.imo.org/index.asp

Link to IMO Ballast Water Convention:

http://globallast.imo.org/index.asp?page=mepc.htm

Other Ballast Water Information Resources:

- U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.oar.noaa.gov/spotlite/archive/spot_ballast.html

4.1.3. Ship and Plane Galley Food Garbage

Over the past 150 years, numerous outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in several countries have been traced back to infected meat

that was taken off ocean freighters at ports of entry around the world. To prevent such outbreaks, most countries have established standard

rules and regulations on the safeguarding of food garbage on means of conveyance. Such rules require that food garbage aboard ships,

planes, and other means of conveyance involved in international commerce (arriving from a foreign country or coastwise) must be kept

aboard in sealed containers, or disposed of by an approved garbage

disposal service.


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4.1.3.1. Case Study: Foot and Mouth Disease. Foot and mouth

disease (FMD) is one of the most contagious diseases of cloven-hoofed animals (Cattle, sheep, goats, antelope, pigs, Warthogs), and has a

great potential for causing severe economic loss. The first written account of Foot and Mouth Disease

(FMD) (Aphtae epizooticae), which is a deadly viral disease of livestock, was in Italy in 1514. In 1883,

British losses from the disease were estimated to be $5 Million. In 1890, 431,000 cattle, 230,868 sheep

and goats, and 153,808 pigs were infected by FMD in Germany. From 1870 – 1929, the United State

experienced nine outbreaks of FMD. The last two outbreaks in 1924 and 1929 were linked to food

garbage that was taken from ships at ports of entry. Outbreaks also occurred in Canada in 1952 and

Mexico in 1954.

In 2006, new outbreaks of FMD have been

documented in a number of countries, including Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, Mongolia,

Myanmar, Palestine, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Details about each outbreak are provided on the following website:

� Argentina : 13 April 2006

� Botswana : 10 August 2006

� Brazil : 14 September 2006

� China (People's Rep. of ~) : 21 September 2006

� Colombia : 20 May 2005

� Congo (Dem. Rep. of the ~) : 13 July 2006

� Ecuador : 17 August 2006

� Egypt : 6 April 2006

� Israel : 2 February 2006

� Mongolia : 21 October 2005

� Myanmar : 26 August 2005

� Palestinian Autonomous Territories : 13 April 2006

� Russia : 26 January 2006

� South Africa : 10 August 2006

� Turkey : 13 July 2006

� Vietnam : 25 May 2006

Source: World Organization for Animal Health

(http://www.oie.int/eng/info/hebdo/a_dsum.htm)

Image from CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory. http://vein.library.usyd.edu.au/links/exoticdiseases/rd186.html


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Note: Refer to the World Organization for Animal Health Online

Report on FMD for a current list of FMD free countries and zones (http://www.oie.int/eng/info/en_fmd.htm).

Information Sources:

- USDA APHIS PPQ: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/manuals/port/pdf_files/MAC_in_PDF/

Glossary_MAC.pdf#search=%22regulation%20of%20garbage%20on%20ships%20and%20planes%20at%20ports%20of%20entry%22

- Southwest Missouri State University: http://ag.missouristate.edu/footm1.htm

- Symptoms of Foot and Mouth Disease: http://ag.missouristate.edu/footm3.htm

4.2. Aircraft Related IAS Introductions – Hitchhikers in Planes

Cargo aircraft serve as a major vector for the spread of all types of IAS. Insects typically enter aircraft being loaded

at random, but in greater numbers during the summer or rainy season. It has also been found

that planes loaded at night have higher numbers of IAS, especially insects, which are attracted to

lights.

Aircraft disinfection with aerosols appears to control many of the insects that randomly enter

aircraft during loading. But, some are found alive when inspections are conducted in other

countries. In the late 1990s, giant honey bee

(Apis dorsata) was found on top of a shrink wrapped pallet of machinery parts from Malaysia, upon arrival in

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (Crowe, 2001).

4.2.1. Case Study: Spread of Brown

Tree Snake from South Sea Islands via Aircraft Wheel Wells. The brown tree

snake (BTS) (Boiga irregularis), is a good example of a species that spreads by

hitchhiking on commercial cargo. BTS, which is native to Papua New Guinea,

http://www.northbayairport.com/initiative.asp

http://www.shef.ac.uk/aps/mbiolsci/fiona


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northern Australia, and the Solomon Islands, is thought to have

hitchhiked from New Guinea to the South Pacific Island of Guam in loads of lumber which were imported for postwar reconstruction in the

1940s. The first sightings were inland from the seaport in the early 1950s. They became spread throughout the central part of the island

by the early 1960s, and had dispersed throughout the island by the late 1960s.

The BTS silent invasion of Guam did not draw much attention until the

mid-1970s, when it was realized that several endemic birds were declining at a rapid pace. Research by the Guam Division of Aquatic

and Wildlife Resources confirmed that BTS were the cause. Surveys indicated that Guam’s forests were seriously infested, with as many as

13,000 BTS per square mile in some areas.

Since being accidentally introduced, BTS have decimated Guam’s

native reptiles and birds, and have caused local extinction of two of three native mammals (Bats), five of 11 native

lizards, and nine of 12 native birds, including the Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni)* (Savidge, 1987;

Rodda et al., 2002). In addition, the snake has a habit of crawling on electrical lines and causing

power outages – about 86 outages per year (every 4-5 days), at a cost of US$1 Million per year

(Global Invasive Species Database, 2006).

*The population of the Guam rail declined from 50,000 individuals in 1965 to just 50 in 1985. Efforts are being now

being made to reintroduce the rail to a snake free enclosure on Anderson Air Force Base on Guam.

BTS naturally seek out small hiding places, which include cargo containers and aircraft wheel wells. As a result, BTS are often

transported to other places in the South Pacific. BTS have been sighted in Saipan, Tinian, Rota, Kwajalein, Wake, Pohnpel, Okinawa,

and Diego Garcia and Hawaii. With daily flights from Guam to Hawaii, there is a constant threat of them invading that state. From 1981 to

1994, six BTS were found dead or dying near runways at Honolulu International Airport, sometimes hiding in the wheel wells of jet

airliners or cargo containers. Female BTS are able to store sperms for several months to delay fertilization until environmental conditions are

idea. So, in theory, a single female snake could hitchhike to Hawaii and establish a new colony.

http://www.guamdawr.org/learningcenter/factsheets/birds/rail_html


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Travelers, cargo handlers, and Pacific Island residents alike all share in

the responsibility to protect island environments from invaders such as BTS. Careful inspection of cargo, commodities, and baggage

originating in or passing through Guam is necessary to prevent the spread of the snake to other parts of the world.

Information Sources: - Smithsonian Institution – ZooGoer:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2000/1/curingguamsnake.cfm

- Brown Tree Snake Barrier Around Port Facility, Island of Rota, Northern Marianas:

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=833


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Session 2. Inspection of Break Bulk Cargo and

Intermodal Containers

4.3. Break Bulk Cargo and Intermodal Containers 4.3.1. Inspection of Imported Break Bulk Cargo

In the ‘good old days’, break bulk cargo was offloaded from ships and stored in warehouses while the Customs paperwork was processed.

During the border clearance process, there was normally plenty of time for plant quarantine inspectors to thoroughly examine all the

cargo discharged from a ship before it was released for shipment to the consignee. This mode of shipping is certainly not as efficient as

containerization. In addition, with numerous uncontained pieces in a shipment, hitchhiking pests could infest the shipment at any point

along the transport journey from the production source to the consignee. However, it is much easier to inspect uncontained

shipments in a warehouse at the port of export or port of entry. Plant Quarantine Officers would much rather inspect a break bulk shipment

in a warehouse than do a tailgate inspection of the same shipment in a container.

4.3.1.1. Case Study: Importation of Raw Timber from Siberia into the United States. Timber is the most important forestry

resource of international significance. Obviously, it is also a major source of forest pests and plant diseases. Therefore, strict importation

regulations are necessary, and risk analysis of specific import routes is

appropriate. The case of Siberian timber imports into the United States is a case

in point.

In the 1980s, due to a dwindling supply

of lumber in northwestern forests, the U.S. forestry industry proposed

importation of raw timber from Siberia to the west coast of the United States for

processing. Had this occurred without effective methods to mitigate associated risks, it would have opened

up a new pathway for spread of alien forest pests that are well adapted to temperate climate zones and forestry communities

throughout North America. Over the past 100 years, raw wood and

http://www.ahfurnico.com/images/Russian_Pine_Logs.JPG


140

nursery stock have served as vectors for entry of a number of

devastating plant diseases into the United States, including chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica), Dutch Elm Disease (Ceratocystis

ulmi), and white pine blister (Cronatium ribicola).

In 1990, in response to concerns raised by the scientific community, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service imposed a

temporary ban on Siberian log imports and established a task force to conduct a risk assessment on raw wood from the Russian Far East. In

its work, the task force, which involved 80 forest pathologists, entomologists, economists, and ecologists, identified numerous

insects, nematodes, and diseases that could be potential pests if

introduced into North America. The estimated cumulative potential economic losses from Asia gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and the nun

moth (L. monacha) between 1990 and 2004 were in the range of US$35 billion to US$58 billion (1991 dollars).

In a companion report, USDA APHIS identified heat treatment as the

best method for mitigating pest risk of the logs, as a condition of entry. However, APHIS placed the burden on importers to develop

effective heat treatment methods. To date, the forestry industry has not developed effective treatment methods, and raw wood from the

Russian Far East is still banned from the United States. While very

costly at the time ($500,000), the analysis prevented the introduction of numerous serious pests that would have resulted in untold losses

and control costs for the forestry industry in future years (OTA, 1993).

4.3.2. Retrograde Military Equipment and Vehicles

All types of field equipment and vehicles (e.g., tanks, trucks, jeeps,

cars, and etc.) are used in military campaigns around the world. When

the campaigns are over, such

equipment is either surplused locally, brought back home, or abandoned.

Since they are used extensively in the field, retrograde military equipment

and vehicles pose a serious hazard for spread of IAS between various regions

of the world. In 1956, a shipment of military equipment from Morocco was

found to be heavily infested with the Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica) upon arrival at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, USA

Photo by Yuri Yashin, achatina.ru, Russian Federation. http://www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1265026.


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(Source: Richard Bollinger, Entomologist, USDA APHIS PPQ,

Charleston, South Carolina, Retired, 2006). Unless there is an agreement to inspect and clean such equipment prior to shipment

home, it should be thoroughly inspected upon arrival at the port of entry.

4.3.2.1. Case Study: Snails and Soil on WWII Military Tanks

Imported from Portugal to the USA – 1982. In July, 1982, a large shipment of WW-II military tanks that had been stored in Portugal

since 1945, was imported by a company in Georgia, USA, for use in making swamp buggies. As the ship approached the dock at Union

Pier in Charleston, South Carolina, it was obvious that the tanks were literally covered with at least three species of prohibited snails

including the European snail Helicella conspurcata, the garden snail (Helix aspera, and the white Italian snail (Theba pisana). The tanks

were also heavily contaminated with soil, and plants were growing from the gun turrets. Fortunately, the dock was large enough to hold

all of the 100+ tanks in one isolated area. Initially, the perimeter around the tanks was

salted down to prevent the snails from crawling away. Due to the presence of the

prohibited snails, soil, and plants, the tanks

were all fumigated with methyl bromide under plastic tarpaulins to mitigate the risk

(Source: Randy Westbrooks, Plant Quarantine Officer, USDA APHIS, Charleston,

S.C., USA, 1979-1986).

4.3.3. Intermodal Containers – Modern Shipping Wonder – Bane of Port Inspection

Intermodal containers, which were first introduced in the late 1950s,

have revolutionized global ‘door to door’ shipment and delivery of freight around the world. However, ICs are the bane of port

inspectors. While containerization helped to streamline the movement

Helicella conspurcata http://inet.museum.kyoto-u.ac.jp/Fossil/Fossil00000550_1.htm

http://www.californiabiota.com/cabiota/helix_aspersa.htm

http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/ento/pestweb/Images/italysnail1ag.jpg ©Agriculture Western Australia

http://images.military.com/pics/SoldierTech_Stryker2-2.jpg


142

of cargo through ports of entry, it has seriously

complicated the inspection of imported cargo for hitchhiking IAS. In an effort to maximize

the use of available cubic space, containers are often filled ‘to the brim’ with goods, which

makes a thorough inspection all but impossible. This has led to cursory ‘tailgate

inspections’ which are definitely ineffective in most cases. In addition, with a shipment

already being ‘on wheels – ready to ride’, there is usually a rush to speed up delivery, and

always a hesitation to strip out a container for thorough inspection due to the extra cost

involved. Giant African snails (Achatina fulica), and other types of snails are regularly

intercepted on containers, imported machinery, and decks of ships. In

the late 1990s, over 120 snails were detected on a single IC in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, that had originated from Papua New

Guinea (Crowe, 2001).

4.4. Commodity Packaging – as a Vector of IAS

4.4.1. Solid Wood Packing Materials – Vectors of Wood Boring Insects and Bark Beetles

Due to its strength, low cost, and ready

availability, wood has always been the primary material of choice for use as a

cargo packing material. Unfortunately, raw, unprocessed wood is a high risk vector for

spread of numerous types of insect pests (e.g., wood boring insects, and bark

beetles. Solid Wood Packing Material (SWPM) is generally defined as “wood

packing materials other than loose wood packing materials, used or for use with

cargo to prevent damage, including but not limited to dunnage, crating, pallets, packing blocks, drums, cases and skids.”

In 2002, the 113 member countries, which are contracting parties to

the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), approved new

International Stands for Phytosanitary measures – Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade

http://www.matts-place.com/intermodal/part1/images/moau0013074.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wooden_pallet_with_glove.jpg


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(Anonymous, 2002). This new regulation applies to all wood

packaging materials that has not undergone processing or treatment to kill tree insect pests that are being moved between countries. The

new regulation applies to all unprocessed raw wood used in pallets, dunnage, crating, packing blocks, drums, load boards, pallet collars,

and skids. Materials such as plywood, particle board, processed veneer, sawdust, wood wool, shaving, or raw wood cut into thin pieces

6 mm (0.24 inch) or less in thickness are sufficiently processed to have eliminated phytosanitary risks, and are not covered under the

new rule. The two treatments that were approved by the IPPC include heat

treatment, kiln drying, and chemical pressure impregnation (with a minimum core temperature of 56oC (123oF) for a minimum of 30

minutes), and fumigation with methyl bromide.

IPPC Approved Schedule for Methyl Bromide Fumigation of Solid Wood Packing Materials

Wood Temperature

Dosage Rate

(g/m3)

Minimum Concentration (g/m3)

0.5 hrs

2 hrs 4 hrs 16 hrs

21oC (70oF) or Above

48 36 24 17 14

16oC (61oF) or

Above

56 42 28 20 17

11oC (52oF) or

Above

64 48 32 22 19

Information Source:

http://agrolink.moa.my/pqnet/std/packmaterial.htm

Solid wood packing material – case study: http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/j1467e/J1467E06.htm

4.4.1.1. Case Study: Asian Longhorned Beetle in the United

States – Contaminant of Solid Wood Packing. The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) (ALB), is a serious

native pest in China, where it has few natural enemies. If it becomes established in North America, or other temperate regions, where it has

no natural enemies, it would destroy millions of acres of hardwood

trees (maple, horse chestnut, mulberry, black locust, elm, birch,


144

willow, poplar, and green ash. Maples are the basis of the U.S. maple

syrup industry ($40 million per year). Asian Longhorned beetle, which has been confirmed in outbreaks

around New York, New York (1996), and Chicago, Illinois (1998), probably entered the United States in solid wood packing material

from China in the early 1990s. Over the past few years, it has been intercepted at ports of entry and warehouses throughout the country.

Asian Longhorned beetle is a problem

because the female beetles lay their eggs in the bark of trees, and on hatching, the

larvae bore into the trunk, and girdle branches and stems. When they mature,

the adults emerge from the tree and then feed on the bark and leaves.

Repeated attacks lead to dieback of the

tree crown and death of the tree.

Currently there is no effective treatment for ALB. The only effective control method is to remove and destroy

infested trees. Needless to say, this is very unpopular in older urban areas such as Brooklyn, New York, where people often have very

personal connection to trees that their ancestors planted over 100 years ago. Early detection and rapid response to infested trees is the

only way to save uninfested trees in such a setting.

It is difficult to eradicate ALB once it gets established. In 1996, the

State of New York and the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent over $4 million on a suppression program for ALB in New York City and

Amityville, New York; but these efforts are not believed to have resulted in eradication.

For More Information:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/j1467e/J1467E06.htm

4.4.1.2. Inspection of Miscellaneous Cargo - Case Study: Extruded Wire Shipments from Ubisa, Spain, with Wood Borers

in Wood Bracing – Charleston, S.C, 1981. Imported cargo such as

extruded wire and steel obviously pose no direct phytosanitary risks. However, miscellaneous cargo such as this does often harbor IAS such

as insects, mollusks, weed seeds, and soil contamination. Whether such miscellaneous cargo is inspected often depends on how much

regulated cargo a port receives that requires special handling (e.g., certificates of pest free origin, fumigation as a condition of entry, etc.).

Kenneth R. Law, USDA APHIS PPQ, United States. http://www.forestryimages.org/images/768x512/4798041.jpg


145

Pressed wood pallet

http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=app_mat_pal_solidconf

The need for inspection of miscellaneous cargo – when there is time in

the work schedule – is demonstrated by the following case involving the shipment of extruded wire from Spain to the United States.

Over a period of three weeks, in June, 1981,

shipments of extruded wire from Ubisa, Spain, that were imported through the port of

Charleston, South Carolina, were found to be infested with larvae belonging to the insect

family Cerambycidae, which are wood boring insects. The insects were found to infest wood

bracing which held the rolls of wire in place, in the containers. The infested shipments, which

arrived weekly on container ships for a period of three weeks in a row, were fumigated as a

condition of entry. After the third week, the

importer called to ask about the problem. His main question was why similar shipments from Spain, which were being imported through

another east coast port of entry, were never fumigated. A suggestion was made that the exporter use processed wood or other types of

bracing to avoid future IAS infestations. However, he suggested that a simpler solution would be to send all future shipments through the

other port where inspection of miscellaneous cargo inspection seemed to be a lower priority (Randy G. Westbrooks, USDA APHIS, Plant

Protection and Quarantine Officer, Charleston, South Carolina, 1979-1986).

4.4.2. Pressed Board, Cardboard, and other Processed

Packaging for Minimizing

Clearly, the simplest solution for preventing introduction of hitchhiking

foreign pests is to use pallets, shipping containers, and cargo bracing made from processed wood (wood chips, etc.), cardboard, or other

processed materials. This will eliminate a good deal of the pest risk that involved with

shipments of cargo and commodities in

international commerce.

Boxes http://www.custommadecorrugatedboxes.com/

Wood packing material http://www.jwolf.com/handel/bilder/w_0674.

Wire roll packaged for shipment. Copyright © Sourcery LLC. http://www.sourcery-llc.com/packaging2.html


146

Major Concepts in Unit IV

1. Means of conveyance (ships, planes, trains, vehicles) involved in commercial shipping can also serve as IAS vectors themselves,

and need to be regulated as well. 2. Three to five billion tons of water and at least 7,000 species of

aquatic organisms are moved around the world in the ballast tanks of ships each year.

3. Introduction of aquatic nuisance species into new environments by ballast water, and by attachment to ships’

hulls, is one of the four greatest threats to the Earth’s oceans. The other three threats include land-based sources or marine

pollution, over use of living marine resources, and physical alteration and destruction of marine habitats.

4. The most widely recommended strategy for minimizing the introduction of IAS in ballast water is mid-oceanic ballast exchange.

5. Since the adoption of the Ballast Water Convention, IMO has established the Global Ballast Water Management Programme

(GloBallast), in partnership with Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),

to assist developing countries to reduce the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships' ballast water, and to

build capacity for legal, policy, and institutional reforms as called for in the Convention.

6. Over the past 150 years, numerous outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in several countries have been traced back to infected

meat that was taken off ocean freighters at ports of entry around the world.

7. Cargo aircraft serve as a major vector for the spread of all types of IAS. Insects typically enter aircraft being loaded at random, but in greater numbers during the summer or rainy season.

8. Containerization helped to streamline the movement of cargo through ports of entry. However, it has seriously complicated

the inspection of imported cargo for hitchhiking IAS. 9. Raw, unprocessed wood, the primary material of choice for use

as a cargo packing material, is a high risk vector for spread of numerous types of insect pests (e.g., wood boring insects, and

bark beetles.


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Unit IV. Lab Exercises

1. Port of Entry Inspection (e.g., Ship Hull, Ballast Water Sampling, Ship Hold, Dunnage, Aircraft, Break Bulk Cargo in Warehouse,

Retrograde Military Vehicles for Soil Contamination and Snails, Container Inspection, Baggage Inspection, etc.).

2. Fill out the Following Port of Entry Inspection and Treatment

Record.

Date:

Port of Entry, Country:

Border Clearance Inspector:

Cargo/Commodity Inspected:

Mode of Transport (Ship/Name; Plane/Flight #;

Vehicle/Owner):

Country of Origin:

Exporter and Country of Origin:

Importer, Destination:

Pest(s) Detected (Scientific and Common Names):

Treatment Requirements:


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