DEP Invoice or Financial Record, September 30, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

The Specter of Biological Terror The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Cen­ ter and the Pentagon have ratcheted up fears that ..OT even more terrible assault could lie ahead — this time with biological or chemical agents. Nothing that happened on Sept. 11 has changed the underly­ ing reality that biological and chemical weapons are extremely difficult to make and disperse. But tralize most biological agents, and the vast quantity the attacks have changed our perception of the of water in reservoirs would so dilute any chemical malevolence and determination of today’s terror­ or biological agent that it would probably be ren­ ists. The suicidal zealotry of the men who flew dered harmless. A more worrisome threat, some airliners into buildings, their willingness to prepare say, would be the release of lethal agents into the air for years, their desire for mass casualties and their or water intakes of an office building, or in confined deep-seated hatred of Americans leave little doubt and crowded areas like railroad terminals or sub­ that they would escalate to even more dreadful ways. Defenses against such possibilities — includ­ weapons if they could. ing better air filtration systems — will have to be That said, it is important to be realistic about one element of homeland defense. the threat and how best to combat it. Despite loose Crop dusters have been grounded twice since talk that a college chemistry major could whip up a Sept. 11 for fear they might be used to spread lethal lethal weapon in his garage, the historical record agents, but many experts are skeptical of the threat. suggests that it is nowhere near that easy. Selecting They say the planes would need to be refitted with and growing a potent biological agent, maintaining specialized nozzles to disperse biological agents and its virulence, making the germs hardy enough and would have difficulty carrying nerve gas without stable enough lor widespread dissemination and leaks that would kill the pilot or those who load the finding an efficient means of spreading them plane. The federal government is right to err on the around all pose obstacles that have frustrated even side of caution, but the nature of the crop-duster well-financed state weapons programs. threat needs to be better defined. The Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan, with more The first line of defense against a biological than $1 billion in assets, an apocalyptic theology attack would not be heroic fire and emergency that sanctioned mass killing and a corps of scien­ workers like those who raced to the World Trade tists and laboratories dedicated to producing lethal Center but rather the public health system that agents, launched two nerve gas attacks that killed detects and monitors disease trends and would be 19 people, but failed repeatedly — as many as a likely to encounter the dying victims first. New York dozen times over five years — to spread lethal and other major cities have made great strides biological agents. That does not mean that a group toward preparedness in recent years, but nationwide like Osama bin Laden’s network, which also has there are too few medical personnel trained to spot ample resources and educated followers, would biological attacks, a shortage of sophisticated lab­ necessarily fail. But it would face enormous difficul­ oratories to identify the agents, inadequate supplies ties. The danger could escalate, of course, if disaf­ of drugs and vaccines to counteract the threat, and fected Russian scientists sold their expertise, ma­ few plans for setting up quarantines and emergency terials and equipment to terrorists or if Iraq, which facilities to handle mass casualties. That could has its own chemical and biological weapons pro­ prove disastrous if terrorists introduced a highly grams, lent the terrorists a hand. infectious disease like smallpox. • Although opinions differ widely on whether The nation has shortsightedly allowed its public biological or chemical attacks are likely in the health agencies and facilities to weaken in recent -foreseeable future, virtually all experts agree that years. Gearing them up to cope with a malevolent ./the United States needs to strengthen its defenses. biological attack would have the added advantage of : The Bush administration'is already trying to root enhancing our ability to deal with infectious dis­ out the terrorist cells before they strike. Efforts eases whose causes are wholly natural. The invest­ must also be intensified to ensure that impoverished ment would pay health dividends even if no biologi­ Russian scientists do not sell their secrets or their cal or chemical attack ever materializes. weaponry to the highest bidder. There have been spates of rumors about the possible poisoning of reservoirs, raising the specter of vast populations felled by their drinking water. But most experts say reservoirs are an unlikely target. Chlorine that protects the water would neu-

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