CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL THREAT TO UNITED STATES

Chemical and Biological Threat to United States

Chemical and Biological Threat to United States

Introduction

It has been nearly eight years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. Though the collective perceptions of the threat and likelihood of future terrorist attacks have evolved over time, the simple fact is that the United States does not and cannot know if or when it will be attacked again. What is known, having suffered mightily on that terrible day and given the enormity of the potential death and devastation from chemical, biological and other weapons, is that the nation must take every reasonable step to adequately defend itself from the worst of the threats it faces.

Analysis

The health and economic consequences from massive food contamination and Hurricane Katrina reshaped the scope of all-hazards threats, and highlighted the urgency of a more robust biodefense approach. The United States must also be better prepared to minimize the prolonged economic devastation and loss of confidence in government that could accompany an event causing lengthy quarantines and affecting agriculture or the nation's food supply - whether naturally occurring or man-made. The reality of simultaneously managing these multiple, significant threat vectors is, however, at odds with another reality: the nation is no longer running a sprint but rather a marathon when it comes to homeland security as other legitimate funding priorities must be addressed throughout the federal government - both inside and outside of homeland security and national defense, and through cross-department support of state and local detection and response capabilities (Zane and Prestipino, 2004).

Investments therefore must be leveraged to achieve protection against major attacks as well as support all-hazards threats, and ensure that sound strategies are aligned for long-term, sustainable success. There must be a strong element of risk management in everything that is done - an open acknowledgement that scarce resources mean making trade-offs and addressing the biggest and most significant problems first. The United States is a relatively open country with porous borders, autonomous states and a highly mobile society (Tan and Fitzgerald, 2002).

These characteristics have contributed significantly to the nation's economic well-being and way of life. They are also the features which make the United States particularly vulnerable to a bio-terrorism attack or naturally occurring pandemic. For example, for inhalation anthrax the average incubation period is 7 to 10 days. The incubation period for smallpox is 7 to 14 days and the vaccine is effective only if given within four days of infection. Clearly, with that amount of available time, terrorists not only could infect thousands but, by taking advantage of a highly mobile society, could create an environment in which those thousands infect millions. The time available to provide medical care is often a few hours or even minutes (Roberson, 2000).

Antibiotics and prophylactic measures are most effective when provided soon after infection or chemical contamination. Under the current biological threat detection and warning system, such an attack would be well underway before ...