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IEEE-USA Medical Technology Policy Committee Science and the Congress Project brings Chemical and Biological Terrorism Expertise to Capitol Hill (November 2001) A coalition of scientific, engineering, and industry organizations sponsored a briefing on Capitol Hill in November which brought the perspective and opinions of experts in chemical and biological weapons and the public health system to interested congressional and executive branch staff. The November 14th Science and the Congress event, entitled "Responding to Chemical and Biological Terrorism," included an analysis of previous and recent terrorist use of these weapons, the most credible scenarios for their future use, and a discussion of what strategies and technologies are available to protect the U.S. public. The briefing was the first in the Vulnerability and Security series on technological terrorism intended to bring the expertise of scientists to policy makers tasked with dealing with the current crisis. An audio file of the proceedings and various links to web-based chemical and biological terrorism resources will be available by mid-December 2001. Dr. Barbara Price, senior scientist at the Battelle Memorial Institute, described how the use of chemical weapons by terrorists would be quite different from the recent anthrax attacks. The effects of the agents would be immediate and localized and the source much more easily identified. Dr. Price also described the different types of chemicals that can be used as weapons, pointing out that two of them, phosgene and hydrogen cyanide, are produced in large quantities by the U.S. chemical industry, and thus could be attractive targets for terrorists. Biological weapons expert Raymond Zilinskas from the Center for Nonproliferation at the Monterey Institute of International Studies discussed the threat posed by anthrax, smallpox and other bacteria and viruses. Dr. Zilinskas emphasized the difficulty of launching a biological attack that would cause large casualties due to the technical challenges of dispersing the microorganisms over a large area. According to Zilinskas, the smallpox virus could be the most dangerous agent, but is so rare that non-state sponsored terrorists groups would have difficulty acquiring it, and so virulent that any states would be too concerned for the health of their own populations to deploy it. The panel also included Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the medical director and state epidemiologist for Iowa. Dr. Quinlisk, who has spent years studying health and terrorism issues, told the audience that state and local public health systems and most hospitals across the country were woefully unprepared to deal with a large-scale bioterrorist attack. In addition to further funding, she pointed out that to improve detection and reduce confusion and panic, better lines of communication are required between state and local public health agencies, individual doctors and hospitals, various levels of law enforcement, and the public. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Douglas Raber, the director of the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology at the National Research Council. Dr. Raber echoed the theme of the briefing and the Vulnerability and Security series by saying that "scientists are willing to give their time and intellectual abilities" to help address the problem of terrorism. The event was sponsored by the ACS, the American Association of Engineering Societies, the American Association of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Council for Chemical Research, IEEE-USA, the Society for Risk Analysis, and the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association. For additional information, please contact m_eichberg@acs.org. | MTPC | Policy Forum | IEEE-USA | Last Updated:
02 May 2005
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