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TOPOFF 3 Drill Continues
More than 3,000 mock victims had suffered a fatal exposure to a biological agent by noon today in New Jersey in the TOPOFF 3 terrorism drill, while emergency personnel in Connecticut struggled with the aftermath of a simulated chemical weapon explosion. The large-scale drill conducted this week is intended to test U.S. response capabilities to WMD attacks (see GSN, April 5). Authorities in New Jersey are organizing sites for distribution of antibiotics, the Associated Press reported. People who were exposed to the biological agent and those they might have infected are being isolated. “To stop that in its tracks, the first thing is reaching the people who are sick,” said New Jersey health official James Langenbach. “Then we operate these points of distribution to give medicine to help people from getting the plague.” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey today are to visit a drug distribution site at the Rutgers University Athletic Center, AP reported. Distribution will be offered by Friday in each of the state’s 21 counties, Langenbach said (Wayne Parry, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, April 6). The New Jersey drill has uncovered some troubles with communication between emergency personnel, AP reported. Not enough emergency responders learned Monday of travel restrictions placed on Union and Middlesex counties, said state police Lt. Dennis McNulty. “Decisions were made at the highest levels of government, but there are early indications those decisions were not disseminated in an appropriate fashion,” he said. “There seems to have been some disconnect. Rest assured, that will be scrutinized.” There were indications that hospital staffing and capacity could also be problems in an actual incident. More than 100 patients were expected yesterday at 210-bed Union Hospital. “We will face the reality of employees who will not want to come to work and who will want to stay home with their families,” said hospital Executive Director Kathryn Coyne. “We will have to deal with a shortage of beds and we will have to deal with traffic in and around the hospital” (Wayne Parry, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, April 5). Officials in the Connecticut exercise, which involved an apparent mustard gas attack, also acknowledged some delays in relaying information but said communication has improved greatly since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Search and rescue teams searched for the mock victims, both dead and injured, while hundreds of federal authorities hunted for evidence yesterday at the blast site in New London, AP reported. Three people were “arrested” at the Canadian border and the FBI had obtained four arrest warrants, according to AP (Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press/1010Wins.com, April 6). An Army quick reaction force from Fort Bragg in North Carolina was deployed to protect the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford. About 10,000 people from the public and private sectors are involved in the exercise, the Homeland Security Department said (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, April 4).
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