CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- October 24, 2008

Homeland Security lab like biodefense battleship
“The Department of Homeland Security's new laboratory building, […] resembles a battleship being readied for war against biological weapons. […] The $143 million National Biodefense and Analysis Countermeasures Center, […] with 50,000 square feet of high-security lab space, is part of a biodefense campus taking shape at Fort Detrick, already home to the military's top germ research facility. […] When it opens next spring, the Homeland Security lab and its 140 scientists and technicians will give the government new tools for predicting biological attacks and identifying perpetrators of ‘bio-crimes.’ It will provide the FBI with a forensic capability it lacked after the 2001 anthrax mailings, which killed five people.” (Hometown Annapolis; 23Oct08) http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2008/10_23-21/REG

Disease notification heads for standardization
“State epidemiologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on their way to creating a national standard list of health conditions that public health authorities should be notified about. The working list has 68 diseases such as typhoid, AIDS, E. coli infection and anthrax. Now the epidemiologists, through their association, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and the CDC are working to specify the point at which notification of a disease should occur and what information should be supplied for each disease. For example, reports of animal rabies should include the species of animal. For some other diseases, the patient’s nationality might be valuable information. […] Work is finished for about half the diseases on the list.” (Global Health IT; 23Oct08; Nancy Ferris) http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/350640-1.html

Minn. [MN] prison hospital receives white powder
“The Minnesota Health Department is testing some suspicious white powder that was sent to a federal prison hospital in Rochester. The Federal Medical Center received an envelope with the powder Thursday morning, prompting a response from the Fire Department's hazardous materials team. The envelope was received in the center's mailroom, and no inmates came in contact with the substance, said prison spokesman Dan Cansino.” (West Central Tribune; 23Oct08; Source: Associated Press)
http://www.wctrib.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D940EDPO2

Biosafety laboratories: Congress investigates perimeter security
“BSL-4 labs handle the world’s most dangerous agents and diseases. In fact, of the four BSL designations, only BSL-4 labs can work with agents for which no cure or treatment exists. GAO was asked to perform a systematic security assessment of key perimeter security controls at the nation’s five operational BSL-4 labs. […] While three labs [of the five total] had all or nearly all of the key security controls GAO assessed--features such as perimeter barriers, roving armed guard patrols, and magnetometers in use at lab entrances--two labs demonstrated a significant lack of these controls. […] Although the presence of the security controls GAO assessed does not automatically ensure a secure perimeter, having most controls provides increased assurance that a strong perimeter security system is in place and reduces the likelihood of unauthorized intrusion.” (Canada Free Press; 24Oct08; Jim Kouri) http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5780

Mail warns financial institutions of ‘payback’
“Threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder mailed to three U.S. financial institutions warn ‘it's payback time,’ according to a text released by the FBI on Thursday. More than 50 letters, with identical or similar threatening language, were sent to Chase Bank offices, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision, the FBI said. ‘Steal tens of thousands of people's money and not expect repercussions (sic). It's payback time. What you just breathed in will kill you within 10 days. Thank (redacted) and the FDIC for your demise,’ said the text posted on the FBI Web site. […] All the letters were mailed from the city in the Texas panhandle, the FBI said.” (Reuters; 23Oct08; JoAnne Allen)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49N03Q20081024

9/11 commission heads: U.S. 'vulnerable' to terrorist attack
“Today, almost seven years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the threat of a new, major terrorist attack on the United States is ‘still very real,’ and the country is ‘still dangerously vulnerable,’ according to a new bi-partisan, independent report that will be released on Wednesday. Authored by former members of the federal government's 9/11 Commission and independent experts, the report by the Partnership for a Secure America evaluates progress made by the Bush administration to safeguard the United States against weapons of mass destruction. It gives the administration an overall grade of ‘C’ for its efforts to prevent nuclear Terrorism, chemical Terrorism and biological Terrorism.” (NBC San Diego; 23Oct08) http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/green/9_11_Commission_Heads__U_S___Vulnerable__to_Terrorist_Attack.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.