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U.S. Response I: Officials Plan National Pathogen Detection System The United States plans today to establish the initial stages of a national network of air monitors to detect a terrorist attack with airborne chemical or biological agents, the New York Times reported (see GSN, Jan. 9). Washington plans to use the Environmental Protection Agency’s air quality monitoring stations and adapt them to detect dangerous pathogens, according to the Times. The systems would not protect people from a germ attack, but would allow doctors and emergency medical personnel to reach an area and treat those injured in a shorter time, according to officials. The first monitors in the system, known as Bio-Watch, will be placed in New York City, the Times reported. Officials have not revealed how many monitoring stations will be used. “We will ramp up to other cities and areas of concentrated populations very quickly,” an official said. “Within a matter of days, we will be able to tell in almost any major urban area whether a large release of a dangerous pathogen has occurred, what was released, and where and when it occurred,” the official added (Judith Miller, New York Times, Jan. 22). If a monitoring station detects a suspicious substance, samples will be taken from the monitors and transferred to a laboratory associated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials should have results within 24 hours and possibly as quickly as 12 hours, the Associated Press reported. The newly adapted system is designed to work with patient surveillance systems that search for suspicious symptoms, according to AP (Laura Meckler, Associated Press, Jan. 22). The Bush administration is deploying the monitors as the United States prepares for a possible war with Iraq and in the wake of chemical weapons related arrests in the United Kingdom, but officials insist that the move is not tied to a specific threat. There is “no credible evidence that al-Qaeda has acquired biological weapons, or any weapon of mass destruction at this time,” a senior official said. The system was tested at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and in national laboratories and officials said that the monitors will almost certainly detect an intentional release of biological or chemical warfare agents. “Obviously, the larger the release, the greater the probability that the agent will be detected,” said an official. “But given the coverage provided by the EPA system, even a small release, depending on which way the wind was blowing and other meteorological conditions, is likely to be picked up,” the official added (Judith Miller, New York Times). The Bush administration is expected to announce the new system today, AP reported. The Homeland Security Department will head the new program which is slated to cost $1 million to upgrade each EPA monitoring system and another $1 million annually per city to run the system, according to AP (Meckler, Associated Press, Jan. 22).
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