Explosive containers: Pacific Maritime Association puts profits before public safety Despite three deaths globally and numerous injuries and burns, shipping executives reject proposals designed to keep at-risk containers out of U.S. communities SAN FRANCISCO, CA (November 7, 2011) – As thousands of potentially explosive shipping containers circulate the globe, Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) executives are rejecting the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s (ILWU) calls for safety procedures designed to protect workers on the docks and keep at-risk containers out of U.S. communities. The PMA wants to limit the isolation of refrigerated containers (also known as "reefers") to those imports only that have transited Kat Lai, Vietnam, in the past year. The ILWU wants to isolate all reefers that have transited any part of Vietnam in 2011.