Abstract
The use biological weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are one of the most dangerous form of terrorism ever invented. In contrast to ‘conventional’ suicide bombings, killing sprees, or use of chemical agents, the symptoms of attack are not immediately obvious. Therefore, it requires special response approaches, especially, when a potential attack may take place in a venue, where many people will be present.
In addition to potential exposure of tens of thousands of attendees at a Democratic-Republican Party Convention in Miami-Dade, among the participants will be the top politicians of the country, whose safety is a matter of national security.
The purpose of this report is to explain how the organizers of the DRNC should react to the possibility of this type of terrorist threat. In particular, this report provides a brief stakeholder analysis, explaining who should attend the pre-event security briefing and for which purposes, investigates the key issues of a potential attack and discusses the steps, which should be taken by the threat responders, if the attack takes place.
Key words: security, biological attack, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism.
CONTENTS
Abstract 2
I. Stakeholders Analysis 4
II. Key Issues 6
III. Recommendations and Guidelines to Follow 7
IV. Conclusion 9
References 10
Stakeholders Analysis
The first group - the 'subordinates' - therefore, involves:
Major Susan Baker, as a commander of the Crime Scene Investigations Bureau of MDPD, who is ultimately responsible for public safety and coordination of the law enforcement activities.
Ms. Cassandra Armand - representing DRNC Committee on Arrangements and Mr. Horace Copeland, representing the Board of County Commissioners - despite the fact that the responding authorities are obliged to protect lives of all Americans, the leading politicians should be prioritized, because it is them, on whom attackers will focus. The committee on arrangements is responsible for planning their arrivals, accommodation, transfers and other relevant issues. Should any negative scenario unfolds, this organization should ensure effective execution of the evacuation, isolation and medical checks of the important political figures. At the meeting, representatives of the community should be informed about the evacuation logistics, as well as about those, who is responsible for providing safety convoy of the politicians, because a biological assault may be used as a diversionary tactic. It is important to inform them that the private bodyguards’ security personnel of the attending politicians obediently follow the instructions of the U.S. Secret Service and the FBI agents.
Representatives of the local medical institutions - should anything happen, it will be important to provide professional and timely medical assistance to those, who may be affected by anthrax or other biological agents. Therefore, it is reasonable to inform the local hospitals about the specifics of the potential biological attack scenario, so that they ensure that there are a sufficient number of toxicology specialists. If they consider that the number is not sufficient to deal with the influx of potentially affected people, getting in contact with the neighboring clinical facilities is necessary to secure timely arrival of the specialists with relevant skills. In addition, if the attack takes place, sanitary cordon will be established, and the presence of qualified medical practitioners will be essential.
The second group - the 'responders' - should include representatives from the following institutions:
Ms. Melanie Duncan, representing Miami-Dade Police Department will be responsible for preliminary background checks of all attendees, making sanitary cordon and controlling the chaotic stampede, which may ensue if the symptoms of biological weapon use transpire immediately. The most suspicious attendees may be frisked. In addition, these organization's staff shall be responsible for collecting any evidence, which may potentially help to establish the identities of those, who are behind the attack. Miami Police Department will provide additional police staff to assist Miami-Dade Police Department, who may not have enough resources to deal with the increased number of people at the crime scene, as well as with the checks of the suspicious attendees. In the attack is large-scale, the Miami Police Department should ensure that all ways to the city are blocked, and no one can enter the affected area.
Supervisory Special Agent Samantha Salerno , representing the United States Secret Service, which will be responsible for intelligence activities, on-site prevention of the contamination attempts, evacuation and subsequent investigation of the incident. The engines of these organizations should have access to all evidences and information generated by other stakeholders.
Generally, establishing effective communication channels between the stakeholders mentioned above is the key aspect in preventing the attack and reducing potential impacts. Therefore, members of the 'first' group of stakeholders should be notified that the instructions of the 'responders' should be stringently observed.
Key Issues
It is important to take into consideration that there were different types of biological agents, which may be potentially used by the attackers (EU Commission, 2006). Some have immediate symptoms, while the impacts of others may become evident within days, or even weeks (Thomas, 2003). Thus, the local medical institutions should be informed that the influx of patients with similar respiratory or skin irritation is a signal that the law enforcement should be notified.
Methods of disseminating the agent
The research shows that there are several methods of disseminating a biological agent:
Dissemination by aerosol
One of the most popular scenarios of applying biological weapon of mass destruction is using air sprayers. The attack may be organized in a crowded place outdoors, by adding biological agents into the ventilation system.
Food and water contamination
In some case, food and water, which is consumed without thermal processing (e.g. vegetable and spring water), may be polluted with contaminants.
Use of insects
Some data supplied by the USA surveillance demonstrates that the use of insects as a biological weapon is seriously considered by terrorists. Because in some cases they are natural bearers of a disease (e.g. plague bacteria), the possibility of such attack should not be underestimated ( U.S. Department of Homeland Security).
Recommendations and Guidelines to Follow
The first stage of dealing with the threat is pre-mission briefing of the team. Thus, before any further the response team start any further activities, the following preparatory measures are necessary:
Conducting intelligence activities, which should determine from where the virus might have penetrated to the affected region.
Making a medical assessment of the situation, which should determine type of the agents, delivery method, approximate time of release, the number of people, exposed to the danger.
Forensic teams should take medical samples of the
Finally, it is important to make a meteorological analysis of the situation, i.e. it is to analyze how hazardous the situation may be for the neighboring cities.
Based on this information, the team will designate locations of the emergency headquarters point, areas of decontamination, sanitary cordon and locations of other response squads. It can be predetermined, because anticipating areas of contamination is advance is not possible (EU Commission, 2006).
Having arrived to the scene, the response team should first ensure that the lines of communication between different squads is functional and works in an uninterrupted manner. The second immediate action is to start evacuating exposed persons. Evacuation should be done by the city hospital teams, aided by the police departments. All evacuees should be brought to a special decontamination area, where first medical help should be provided.
There are two primary safety considerations for the biological threat response unit. Firstly, it is important to stop the contamination from further proliferation. Secondly, it is important to protect personnel of the response team members. Thus, the practice shows that the heaviest casualties are usually suffered by such emergency teams.
Practically, all ventilation systems should be switched off, if contamination took place in a building, and to erect a cordon, if open areas were poisoned. With regard to the protection of the response teams, it is important to ensure that all members of the team have adequate physical training and mental preparedness to work under stressful and dangerous conditions. Because all ventilation should be turned off, the team should be prepared to work under extremely hot conditions in insulation environmental suits.
In addition, it is important to ensure that the responders work in shifts, because even the most advanced personal protective equipment suits can provide absolutely impenetrable barriers against the virus. Preliminary vaccination against the most popular viruses, such as yellow fewer, should be administered to the responders.
Finally, when the local resources are not sufficient to cope with people, and if sanitary cordons are broken by the crowds, the military should be implicated to stop spread of the infection to the neighboring areas.
Conclusion
References
2007 Super Bowl Org Charts
DRNC Host Committee Task Force Org Chart
EU Commission. (2006). Biological Incident Response & Environmental Sampling. Web. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/com/preparedness/docs/biological.pdf
Thomas, P. (2003). The anthrax attacks. A Century Foundation Report.Web. Retrieved from http://www.911investigations.net/IMG/pdf/doc-1387.pdf
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2004). Biological Attack Human Pathogens, Biotoxins, and Agricultural Threats. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.dhs.gov/biological-attack-danger
