Security clearance cards will be required at every U.S. port this fall. Danielle Kaeding reports the special ID’s will contain port workers’ personal information.

They’re called Transportation Worker Identification Credentials or TWIC cards. Duluth Seaway Port Authority Facilities Manager Jim Sharrow says the cards will add another level of security to U.S. ports. "This is something that would be extremely difficult--almost impossible to counterfeit. So, if you're trying to keep an unknown person or a terrorist out of a facility, it would be very hard for a person--a known terrorist or a person with any kind of terroristic background to get one of these cards." Sharrow says the cards have a chip imbedded in them that will contain the fingerprints and iris information of anyone with access to the ports. "It's really anybody that has to get close to a ship or into a secure facility and not have to go through the expense and trouble of being escorted by a guard. It's only certain people that have business there that would be permitted to have it and to use it. It covers all persons who may be inside the secure fence line." Sharrow says they need to have the cards by late September, but there are still some kinks to iron out. "The gates at these facilities are already guarded gates at the times that they needed to be guarded. Those guards would be outfitted with card readers when they're produced, but there isn't a federal standard for the reader yet, so it may be a matter of months--it may be a year or two before these are commonly in place in all of the ports in all of the facilities. Prior to that, the guards would just use the TWIC card as an identification card much like any other photo id." It sounds like something out of a spy movie including taking a picture of a person’s iris. Port workers must obtain Transportation Worker Identification Credentials or TWIC cards with their genetic imprint on them. Duluth Seaway Port Authority Facilities Manager Jim Sharrow says all port workers must have the card by the end of the year. "The TWIC cards will be needed to gain access without an escort into secure areas of the various facilities around the port starting no later than late September 2008. They may be required in this harbor prior to that with a 90 day notice, but we've not received that notice at this time." Sharrow says the cards aren’t easy to come by. "These TWIC offices have been established in a number of the ports. Persons have to go to an office up here in person both for the application and the pick-up of the card. Some people have to travel long distances if they live in a place that doesn't have one of these offices." Not only that, but workers must pass a security threat assessment conducted by the Transportation Security Administration. Sharrow says those who pass will get the card and the cost that comes with it. "TWIC cards have to be purchased by the individuals. In many cases, their employer is reimbursing them for this. It costs $132.50 to get one of these cards." The cards take four to eight weeks to obtain, and they last for five years. Congress established the TWIC cards through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, part of Homeland Security. Around 750,000 port workers are expected to obtain the cards.

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