Bio-Terrorist Attack Pathways and Social/Civil Infrastructure (From Countering Biological Terrorism in the U.S.: An Understanding of Issues and Status, P 59-68, 1999, David W. Siegrist, Janice M. Graham, et al., -- See NCJ-191561)

• NCJ Number: 191566
• Author(s): John Bosma
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 10 pages
• Corporate Author: Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
• Sale Source: Oceana Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter discusses pathways in which weapons of mass destruction can be deployed and their remedies.

Abstract

Terrorists can spread biological agents through a ventilation system, but today those systems can be "hardened" relatively easily to prevent such attacks. The water industry has a good track record of dealing with deliberate or accidental contamination of water supplies. A larger problem in the water industry is the general lack of modernization. They are considered dated, especially when compared to systems in England and France. Cryptosporidium parvum, which affected the water supply in Milwaukee in 1993, can cause dangerous diarrhea in the elderly, children, and those with suppressed immune systems. Usually found in cattle, the pathogen converts to a spore when outside the intestine. The spore has a thick coat that is resistant to chlorine treatment. An attack using Cryptosporidium would only work a few times before water systems improved their filtering systems and operating practices. A terrorist might find food tampering attractive because investigators may view the outbreak as accidental. Foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli can cause kidney damage in healthy people and those with suppressed immune systems. An attacker could target food at the processing plant or warehouse, conventions or large dinners, or threaten to contaminate food. Attacks on the food industry exploit the population's sensitivity to food and drug safety, with the help of news accounts of both rare genuine threats and the more numerous faked threats. Countermeasures to this threat include tamper-evident packaging. Existing filters can screen out biological agents. Building operations are becoming more sensitive to protecting occupants' safety and health against airborne diseases. Aerosols can disperse agents over a large area, but the threat is tempered by the unpredictability of the weather and wind conditions. Litigation is driving pathogen protections in the food and drug industry and the fast food industry. Small- to medium-sized water operators have brought on new technology to protect against pathogens. Ventilation operations are the most backward of the industries in terms of adopting protective measures.