CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- July 25, 2008

Food industry bitten by its lobbying success
“The industry pressured the Bush administration years ago to limit the paperwork companies would have to keep to help U.S. health investigators quickly trace produce that sickens consumers, according to interviews and government reports reviewed by The Associated Press. The White House also killed a plan to require the industry to maintain electronic tracking records that could be reviewed easily during a crisis to search for an outbreak's source. Companies complained the proposals were too burdensome and costly, and warned they could disrupt the availability of consumers' favorite foods. The apparent but unintended consequences of the lobbying success: a paper record-keeping system that has slowed investigators, with estimated business losses of $250 million.” (Google News; 25July08; Associated Press, Larry Margasak) http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iVHt-zqI9SBYX7gUbzPTug-Ns3ewD924VCTG0

'It could save a lot of lives': 200 'victims' participate in bioterrorism drill [Lake County, IL]
“Lake County [Illinois] has just been infested with an anthrax outbreak. First responders, emergency crews and health officials are waiting to distribute medicines to thousands of infected residents before it is too late. That was the scenario the Lake County Health Department and emergency agencies were faced with Thursday during a bioterrorism drill at St. Peter's United Church of Christ in Lake Zurich.” (Lake CountyNews-Sun; 25July08; Kendrick Marshall) http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1074115,5_1_WA25_HAZARDDRIL_S1.article

Hospitals put to the test during natural disaster drill [Fayetteville, AR]
“Employees at nine hospitals in Northwest Arkansas tested their responses to a large-scale natural disaster in a drill on Wednesday. Organized by Northwest Regional Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness Committee, the exercise presented difficulties that would result from four or five tornados hitting the area. The committee is part of a statewide effort coordinated by the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services and the Arkansas Hospital Association[.] The scenarios were fed to hospitals in Benton, Boone, Carroll and Washington counties from inside the Washington County Emergency Operations Center in Fayetteville.” (NWA News; 24July08; Adam Wallworth) http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/232184/

One Very Scary Jalapeño [Editorial]
“Federal health officials have finally found a jalapeño tainted with the rare form of salmonella that has poisoned more than 1,200 people in this country since April. The contaminated pepper was grown in Mexico and repacked by a small Texas distributor. The company has pulled its supplies from the marketplace, and the Food and Drug Administration is advising people to eat only jalapeños and serranos that have been safely cooked. This does not mean it’s over. Finding one bad pepper cannot close the lid on the largest outbreak of food-borne illness in America in a decade.”
(New York Times; 24July08)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/opinion/24thu3.html

Newport [Indiana] Chemical Depot nearly finished in VX disposal
“During the cold war this rural corner of west central Indiana produced thousands of tons of the toxic nerve agent VX for the government. Since 2005 the same area has been dismantling the VX due to an international treaty. […] ‘We have destroyed over 98 percent so we are down to our last approximately two percent,’ Brubaker said. In the next couple of weeks that, two percent of VX will be neutralized and on it's way out of this area.” (WTHITV; 23July08)
http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8724538&nav=menu593_2

DNC [Democratic National Convention] security info released
“Contrary to rumors, there will be no weapons that shoot slime, nor will there be ‘pain ray’ guns that immobilize targets at this year’s Democratic National Convention, according to a security budget proposal released by the city of Denver yesterday. The city agreed to release some general DNC security information in return for the American civil Liberties Union (ACLU) postponing its lawsuit against them until after the DNC, said Mark Silverstein, legal director for ACLU’s Colorado chapter. […] Although the city did comply with some of ACLU’s requests, it did not disclose the total amount spent on electronic restraints or chemical weapons, which the non-profit requested.” (Denver Daily News; 24July08; Gene Davis)
http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=1311

Sarin leak sealed at Richmond [Kentucky] depot
“Workers at Blue Grass Army Depot have sealed the container that was leaking sarin nerve agent, the Army said Friday. The leak was discovered on July 11 during routine daily monitoring of the storage igloo and is ‘under continuous observation to evaluate the effectiveness of the seals,’ said Richard Sloan, spokesman for Blue Grass Chemical Activity, the chemical weapons operation at the depot.” (Herald-Leader; 25July08; Greg
Kocher)
http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/471237.html

Reprieve’s fight for Binyam Mohamed
“Lawyers acting for Binyam Mohamed, a British resident incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay, have urged the Government to disclose evidence which, they say, would demonstrate he was tortured. […] Mohamed was also accused of plotting to buy uranium in Asia, bring it to the US and build a ‘dirty bomb’ in league with Jose Padilla, a US citizen. Mohammed signed a confession but told his lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, he had never met Padilla, or anyone in al-Qa’ida.” (The Muslim News; 25July08; Zainab
Hemani)
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/paper/index.php?article=3632

UAD [United Action for Democracy] Chides FG [Federal Government of Nigeria] Over UK security Deal
“The United Action for Democracy (UAD) has accused the Federal Government of compromising Nigeria's sovereignty and internal security in her bid to overcome the lingering militant crisis in the Niger Delta region of the country. […] They further asserted that the implication of the latest deal was what they called ‘imperialist Britain’, similar to the recent failed attempt by America to position its African Command in Nigeria, and that it further showed the mad obsession of the failing regime to commit untold violence against the people of the Niger Delta, plunder the natural endowments, expose the region to the risk of biological and chemical warfare and diseases, and subject the environment to greater destruction.”
(Leadership Nigeria; 25July08)
http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/product_info.php?products_id=31777&osCsid=e872f086f957a289c000693b776414cb

Mega-truck designed for disasters relegated to mundane police work
“In 2005, Uncle Sam bought El Paso County a quartermillion-dollar armored vehicle designed to handle everything from weapons of mass destruction to natural disasters. Since then, it's been used 52 times for ordinary police work: arresting potentially violent suspects or fugitives, protecting dignitaries, handling civil disturbances and dealing with people barricaded in a home or business with hostages. It cost $246,675, with an additional $17,477 spent on such after-market enhancements as ballistic shields, roof-mounted remote-control spotlights, radiation detection equipment, an explosive gas detection system and an intercom system.” (The Gazette; 23July08; Pam Zubeck) http://www.gazette.com/articles/disasters_38536___article.html/police_designed.html

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.