Biological and Chemical Weapons
Chem-Bio Blurbs: Recent Developments in the Field
CBW Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 2 (June 2003)
Postal Facility Contaminated by Anthrax to Reopen
5 March 2003: US Postal authorities announced that the Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr. Processing and Distribution Center in northeast Washington, DC would reopen in the summer of 2003 after a shutdown of over eighteen months. Contaminated by the anthrax letters sent to Senators Thomas Daschle (D-ND) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in the fall of 2001, the Brentwood Distribution Center was renamed to honor the two postal workers who died after contracting pulmonary anthrax while working at the facility. Following decontamination procedures, thousands of samples were taken from the air and various surfaces within the 14,000 square foot building, none of which showed signs of anthrax spores. While reoccupation will not take place until an environmental committee reviews the results and performs other required tests, officials called the fumigation of Brentwood with chlorine dioxide gas a success.
Mayors Express Concern Over Distribution of Homeland Security Grants
April 2003: President Bush announced that $2.3 billion for homeland security would be distributed within sixty days to state governors, who would then decide how much their cities and counties would receive. States can use up to 20 percent of the money for administrative purposes before allocating funds to the local level. At the 5-10 June 2003 US Conference of Mayors in Denver, a group of mayors asked Undersecretary of Homeland Security Michael Brown if money could be given directly to the cities and counties because state distribution of the money can be inconsistent and political, making it difficult to secure adequate funding for local first response needs.
TOPOFF 2 Rehearses Biological Terrorism Response in Chicago
12 May 2003: A week-long Department of Homeland Security training exercise simulating an intentional release of plague in Chicago and a dirty bomb explosion in Seattle took place in May. The exercise, which cost approximately $16 million, involved more than 8,000 federal, state and local officials, as well as some Canadian officials. To evaluate how emergency responders would deal with simultaneous but unrelated events, the Chicago exercise also simulated the collapse of a building and a crash involving a commercial airliner. A report on the findings of the TOPOFF 2 exercise will be released in fall 2003.
New Theory on Anthrax Attacks Leads FBI to Drain Pond in Frederick, Maryland
10 June 2003: After recovering laboratory equipment from a pond near Frederick, Maryland last winter, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) decided to drain the waterhole to facilitate the search for additional items. The FBI is investigating whether the person responsible for the fall 2001 anthrax attacks could have used these items to fill the envelopes with spores in a manner that would decrease exposure. As of yet, no definitive connection has been made to the attacks. Divers originally found a clear box with holes capable of accommodating gloves, as well as several vials wrapped in plastic. The search of the pond, which was drained gradually to minimize disturbance of aquatic life, is expected to take a month