More stories
Click the “smart” buttons
below to explore the targets
Where the United States
stands in protecting its citizens
stands in protecting its citizens
An interactive presentation
Stories by John Yaukey, Gannett News
Service
Bioterrorism
Smallpox virus is perhaps the single
greatest bioterrorism threat, with the potential to kill
thousands. Especially worrisome is Russia’s massive
arsenal of bioweapons, including smallpox and anthrax bacteria,
now under questionable security.
Because the smallpox vaccine can be deadly
for a small percentage who get it, U.S. strategy now is to
isolate any outbreak and vaccinate around it to create a buffer
rather than to vaccinate everyone in advance. But the lag time
between contact with the virus and infection makes tracing the
source of outbreaks extremely difficult, meaning it could
spread faster than authorities could track it.
Anthrax, which killed five people in
the United States last fall, and other less lethal agents also
remain significant threats because they’re difficult to
trace as well. The anthrax killer(s) remains at large. In 1984,
a group called the Rajneeshees poisoned salad bars in Oregon
with salmonella bacteria making some 700 people sick.
Authorities cracked the case only when a perpetrator confessed.
RED FLAG
The anthrax attacks that killed five
Americans cost $1.1 billion in damages and cleanup costs,
according to Advanced Biosystems, which develops treatments for
bioagents.
Since Sept. 11, the federal government has
pumped $4.3 billion into bioterrorism-related research and
preparedness to deal with attacks at the state and local level.
Federal authorities also have assembled quick-response teams to
contain outbreaks and established new rules to speed the
approval of anti-bioterrorrism drugs.
Still, a recent survey of mayors conducted
by the U.S. Conference of Mayors found only 26 percent were
confident they could handle a biological attack.
Perhaps the most lethal scenario entails
bombing chemical plants to release clouds of deadly vapor.
At least 123 U.S. plants store toxic
chemicals in amounts that would put up to 1 million people at
risk if released, according to the Environmental Protection
Agency. Some 700 plants have quantities capable of putting up
to 100,000 people at risk.
The chemical industry has increased
security, yet there are no federal security standards.
Interactive documentary:
CLEARING THE SKIES
CLEARING THE SKIES
Interactive documentary:
A YEAR OF RECOVERY
All contents copyright 2002,
Gannett News Service
E-mail us your comments about this special
report, and be sure to tell us where you saw it on the Web.