Security Professionals Respond to a Bioterrorism Attack

¶ … security professionals respond to a Bioterrorism attack in the United States. What are the precise steps that are taken -- or should be taken -- to protect citizens in the event of an attack? An article by the former head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Michael Chertoff, provides step-by-step information relative to the response security officials follow in the event of a Bioterrorism attack.

Chertoff asserts on page 8 that the "key" to meeting the challenge of a possible terrorist-related biological threat is to approach it in a "systematic, comprehensive way" which involves a great deal of intelligent advanced planning. Though vitally important, this kind of advanced planning cannot ever fully anticipate all the ramifications of a terror attack in the biological genre. Chertoff is showing his savvy when he explains that "every aspect of society" can be expected to be impacted during a biologically induced catastrophe.

Of course emergency rooms of hospitals will be stretched to their maximum capacity if such a catastrophe should occur. And because people will be staying home to reduce the chance of exposure to whatever biological danger lurks outside their houses, and because they basically won't have a plan, services will shut down and that will be an additional burden on the security professionals' ability to protect society. Within this scenario, according to Chertoff, a ripple effect will add to the confusion and the crisis will be amplified. For example, no food will be delivered to supermarkets; power plants won't be producing the usual amount of electricity so blackouts and brownouts can be expected to occur.

Another aspect within this Bioterrorism event is the fact that there likely won't be a big explosion, but rather there will just be a slowly growing awareness that something lethal and toxic is in the air. The lack of drama could fool people into believing there is nothing to fear, Chertoff continues. The former head of DHS insists that if there is a possibility that anthrax could be launched as a weapon in the U.S., there is a strategy -- a protocol -- that must be followed. First, "threat awareness" means conducting the highest level of intelligence that is possible. "There simply is no adequate substitute for good intelligence," Chertoff explains (10). Secondly, detection is of enormous importance. Screening incoming visitors for radiological devices is imperative, and there are 3 types of information that detect an anthrax attack: a) traditional "clinical data" must be gathered from the public health community; b) "BioWatch" data -- received from detectors in various places in the country -- must be able to detect pathogens that will be airborne; and c) intelligence of a non-medical nature needs to be sufficient to locate the source of the terrorist activities.