A new type of detector that can identify the chemical composition of loads inside trucks and alert inspectors to suspicious materials will be in place this summer at a southeast El Paso international bridge.El Paso is the only city along the U.S.-Mexico border that will test the system, the El Paso Times reported.

After a six-month, $15 million trial is complete, the system's success will be evaluated and Congress will decide whether to continue funding the program. Unlike the existing X-ray systems, which only indicate whether a container is empty or has a load, the new technology uses gamma rays, subatomic particles, that can read the chemical composition of its contents.