Information for criminal justice practitioners, students and academics.

*HHS [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services]

Announces $1.2 Billion in Funding to States for Bioterrorism Preparedness “HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that the department has made available another $1.2 billion to the states, territories and four metropolitan areas to help strengthen their capacity to respond to terrorism and other public health emergencies. The funds will be used to improve infectious disease surveillance and investigation, enhance the preparedness of hospitals and the health care system to deal with large numbers of casualties, expand public health laboratory and communications capacities and improve connectivity between hospitals, and city, local and state health departments to enhance disease reporting. The funds will also be used to exercise existing response plans, test capabilities and evaluate improvements. These emergency preparedness and response efforts are intended to support the National Response Plan and the interim National Preparedness Goal.” (Yahoo! Finance Press Release, 07Jun06)

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060607/dcw033.html?.v=59

 

 

Anthrax drill is a first for the East Coast area:

Simulated bioterrorism attack to focus on the post office “Middlesex County plans to test its bioterrorism response procedures today with an anthrax drill scheduled at an Edison U.S. Postal Service facility. Under scrutiny are both the postal service's Biohazard Detection System (BDS) equipment and the Middlesex County Public Health Department BDS Plan, which department Director David A. Papi said incorporates local, county, state and federal agencies. Participating Edison agencies include the fire, health and police departments, as well as the Office of Emergency Management.” (Edison Sentinel, 07Jun06, Chiristine Grimaldi) http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2006/0607/Front_Page/003.html

 

Drill simulates efforts to vaccinate the masses

“A state and locally sponsored Point of Dispensing drill appeared to succeed Monday morning at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center as about 600 area high school and middle school students were successfully ‘vaccinated’ in about 30 minutes. The drill, conducted by the Rapid City-Pennington County Emergency Management Office and the state Department of Health, was designed to simulate medical treatment procedures that would take place in the event of a terrorist attack or mass treatment of an infectious disease, officials said. Officials said the exercise gave them a good idea of how capable their model is for dispensing medication to large numbers of people within a short time.” (Rapid City Journal, 06Jun06, Andrew Gorder)

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/06/06/news/local/news06.txt

 

 

Appeals Court to Hear Suit on Livermore Biosafety Facility

“A federal appeals court will hear arguments in San Francisco on June 13 on whether the U.S. Department of Energy should be required to conduct a full environmental study of a planned biosafety research facility in Livermore. The planned project, known as a ‘Biosafety Level 3’ facility, would be located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and would conduct research on how to detect and defend against biological warfare agents. Laboratory spokesman Stephen Wampler said the 1,500-square-foot facility is due to open in August. He said the laboratory contends the facility is safe and is needed to protect the public.” (cbs5.com, 06Jun06, Bay City News Wire) http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2006/06/06/n/HeadlineNews/LIVERMORE-LAB-LAWSUIT/resources_bcn_html

 

 

States Agree on BWC [Biological Weapons Convention] Conference Agenda

“States-parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) have agreed to an agenda for the treaty’s review conference this fall that will include an article-by-article review of the convention. They also left open the possibility of continuing the recent practice of scheduling intersessional meetings between this review conference and the next one, anticipated in 2011. Working by consensus, the preparatory committee sought to adopt an agenda while sidestepping the issue of continued U.S. resistance to the negotiation of a verification protocol to the treaty. During the last review conference in 2001, the United States had announced that it would not support the work of the Ad Hoc Group, which had been negotiating such a protocol. During the April meeting, the states-parties used the previous review conference’s agenda as a base text. According to U.S. and non-U.S.

observers, all of the parties except Iran readily agreed on a set of changes for this year’s agenda that removed some explicit references to the work of the Ad Hoc Group and verification. But Iran was unable to get support for its position from any other states-parties, including those that continued to support the negotiation of a verification protocol.”

(Arms Control Today, June 2006, Michael Nguyen) http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_06/BWCAgenda.asp

 

Anthrax panic at IHD [Human Rights Association]:

The powder obtained from the envelope is still being tested “The Istanbul branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) late Tuesday received a suspicious letter containing a threatening note and brown powder claimed to be anthrax spores. The threat was directed at the deputy chairwoman of the branch, Kiraz Bicici. IHD officials called health and security officials to inspect the powder. The building has been placed under quarantine while six people in the building were sent for health checks.” (NTV MSNBC, 07Jun06) http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/376008.asp

 

CMA [Chemical Materials Agency] realigns stockpile elimination program:

Program realignment focuses on additional cost effective operations “Col. Jesse L. Barber became the first project manager for the U.S. Army’s Chemical Materials Agency’s (CMA) newly formed Chemical Stockpile Elimination Program (CSE) during a May 30th ceremony at the Chemical Demilitarization Training Facility in Edgewood, Md. The CSE is the result of merging two CMA programs, the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Project (CSDP) and the Alternatives and Approaches Project (ATAP), into one program.  In his new position, Barber is chartered with using additional

cost-effective methods to research, adapt and apply state-of-the-art technology.  The merger will enhance CMA’s responsibility for the continued safe elimination of the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile by combining CSDP and ATAP resources, which will allow for the more effective use and control of program monies and those resources.” (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Press Release, 07Jun06)

http://www.cma.army.mil/docviewerframe.aspx?docid=003675578

 

Mustard Agent Sampling Project Begins at Deseret Chemical Depot

“The U.S. Army and EG&G Defense Materials, Inc, today began a major, unprecedented joint project to sample the contents of Deseret Chemical Depot’s (DCD’s) stockpile of bulk containers filled with mustard blister agent. Under the joint sampling project, DCD workers will deliver bulk containers to specially outfitted igloos in the ‘Area 10’ munitions storage location, where EG&G workers will transfer them into sealed glove-box units, allowing operators to safely open them and remove samples for analysis and characterization by site laboratory personnel. Following sampling, EG&G workers will close and return the containers to DCD personnel for storage according to their contents facilitating their eventual processing. The sampling project is expected to take two-and-a-half to three years to complete.” (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, 06Jun06)

http://www.cma.army.mil/docviewerframe.aspx?docid=003675574

 

 

U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress

“The U.S. Armed Forces disposed of chemical weapons in the ocean from World War I through 1970.  At that time, it was thought that the vastness of ocean waters would absorb chemical agents that may leak from these weapons.  However, public concerns about human health and environmental risks, and the economic effects of potential damage to marine resources, led to a statutory prohibition on the disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean in 1972.  For many years, there was little attention to weapons that had been dumped offshore prior to this prohibition.

 

However, the U.S. Army completed a report in 2001 indicating that the past disposal of chemical weapons in the ocean had been more common and widespread geographically than previously acknowledged.  The Army cataloged 74 instances of disposal through 1970, including 32 instances off U.S. shores and 42 instances off foreign shores.  The disclosure of these records has renewed public concern about lingering risks from chemical weapons still in the ocean today.” [Follow link to full report text.] (CRS Report for Congress, 24May2006) http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33432.pdf

 

 

Team gets formal as it trains for [radiological] terror

“Allen Nygren stood in front of a group of local emergency responders gathered at the North Scarborough fire station and told them they needed to be prepared for a ‘dirty bomb’ – a conventional explosive, like dynamite, that contains radioactive materials. ‘Al-Qaeda has the know-how and materials to do it,’ said Nygren, an instructor from Training Technologies International of Hermon. ‘Terrorists aren’t going to label,’

Nygren told the class. ‘If you have an explosion and don’t know why, bring out the Geiger counter,’ he said.” (keepMEcurrent.com, 07Jun06, Robert

Lowell)

http://www.keepmecurrent.com/news/Print.cfm?StoryID=16492

 

 

Tiny wireless Geiger counter detects radiation

“A postage stamp-sized Geiger counter placed unobtrusively in stadiums, subways, malls and other large public spaces could detect radiation and determine whether it's a harmful source, like a dirty bomb. The hope is the small device will eventually replace the bulky, individually operated units now in use, says a University of Michigan researcher who helped develop the Geiger counter. Yogesh Gianchandani, professor of electrical engineering and computer science and also mechanical engineering, said the tiny Geiger counter is wireless, so that many can be used in a network to blanket large spaces and communicate information to a central monitoring source.” (PhysOrg.com, 06Jun06)

http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=68824693

 

Former September 11 Commission Chairmen Fault Anti-Terror Measures

“The former chairmen of the independent commission that investigated the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks say the U.S. government is still not doing enough to protect Americans from new terrorism. Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton outlined continuing weaknesses they say are leaving the country vulnerable to attacks. Former Congressman Hamilton focused on what he calls the most important challenge facing U.S. anti-terrorism efforts - preventing nuclear terrorism. While commending government steps to improve the detection of nuclear materials at ports and borders, he says more needs to be done, ‘We need a stronger, forward-leaning policy, a policy to secure nuclear materials at sites outside of the U.S. If those sites are secure, then terrorists cannot get nuclear materials. If the terrorists cannot get nuclear materials, they cannot build nuclear bombs,’ he said.”

(Voice of America, 06Jun06, Dan Robinson) http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-06-voa56.cfm

 

[New York] City Will Not Change Its Strategy for Dealing With Terror

“Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said yesterday that the city would not alter its strategy in future applications for federal antiterror money to comply with the Department of Homeland Security's preference for semipermanent safeguards like new technology over recurring costs like police overtime. Last night, the House of Representatives approved an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year starting Oct. (New York Times, 07Jun06, Sewell Chan and Winnie Hu) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/07/nyregion/07bloomberg.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

 

Boeing Wins Contract for Drone Modification

“Boeing Co. won a contract from the Pentagon to modify a small unmanned aircraft to enable the plane to detect chemical and biological weapons. The two-year, $8.2-million program will equip two ScanEagle unmanned planes, now being used by the Navy and Marines, with sensors capable of remotely detecting the presence of biological agents before a target is attacked by military forces, Boeing said.” (Los Angeles Times, 06Jun06, Bloomberg News) http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-briefs6.5jun06,1,6754779.story?coll=la-headlines-business