Dissemination Main Barrier to Bioterror, Expert Says

Transporting a pathogenic agent to a planned target site is the major barrier to acts of bioterrorism, a biological weapons expert said yesterday at a counterterrorism conference sponsored by Louisiana State University (see GSN, July 31).

Certain governments and terrorist organizations are working to overcome that hurdle, said William Patrick III, a former U.N. weapons inspector and senior official with the now-closed Army Biological Warfare laboratories at Fort Detrick, Md.

“Biological warfare is too good of a system to give up,” he said, according to the Baton-Rouge Advocate.

A limited amount of a biological agent can produce high lethality, Patrick said. No more than 18 grams of anthrax killed five people and made another 17 ill during the 2001 mailings, he said.

There are yet no methods for detecting airborne biological agents, Patrick said. “That’s been the single biggest problem since 1943,” he said.

The university’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training, which organized the conference, offers courses to first responders around the nation on biological incidents, law enforcement operations, tactical command and operations and agricultural terrorism, the Advocate reported.

The three-day fourth annual Instructor Professional Development Conference included 350 participants from 38 states (Kimberly Vetter, The Advocate, Aug. 17).

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U.S. Postal Service Conducts Bioterror Drills

The U.S. Postal Service is conducting biological terrorism drills at mail facilities around the nation, The Pantagraph reported today (see GSN, Jan. 11).

Exercises are designed to ensure that “in the event of an emergency, we’ll have our procedure and protocols on place to keep our employees safe,” said Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Litterly.

Local drills could be conducted twice each year, she said.

A Postal Service processing and distribution facility in Bloomington, Ill., yesterday conducted an anthrax contamination exercise. Firefighters set up decontamination equipment, while public health workers prepared to distribute antibiotics to “victims” and police officers secured the building. County and federal officials discussed plans for decontaminating the affected area, the Pantagraph reported (Greg Cima, The Pantagraph, Aug. 17).

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U.S. Army Expected to Approve Anti-WMD Command

A plan to expand and transform the U.S. Army’s 20th Support Command into a deployable headquarters for seeking and destroying weapons of mass destruction is expected to be approved shortly, Inside Missile Defense reported yesterday (see GSN, July 26).

While each of the armed services has units devoted to countering WMD threats, the revamped outfit would serve as a joint command and control headquarters for all those efforts, according to Inside Missile Defense.

Necessary paperwork should be signed “within the next 60 to 90 days,” Col. Barrett Lowe, the unit’s chief of staff, told Inside the Pentagon on Aug 3. 

The unit is expected to receive more than $300 million from fiscal years 2007 to 2011, Lowe said. It is expected to reach initial operating capability and increase its personnel to more than 300 by the end of 2007. Full operational capability and a complete staff of less than 500 are expected by 2009, according to Lowe.

The unit could also be deployed domestically to support the response to a WMD incident or to other countries to help destroy WMD stockpiles, Lowe added (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside Missile Defense, Aug. 16).

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Iran Says Ready to Discuss Suspending Enrichment

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki yesterday announced that his country was open to talks on a possible suspension of sensitive nuclear activities, the Financial Times reported (see GSN, Aug. 16).

“We have reiterated many times … we are ready to negotiate over all issues stated in the proposed package,” Mottaki said, referring to incentives offered by the world powers last month. 

“We are ready to negotiate over all issues including suspension [of uranium enrichment],” he said.

“Suspension is among the main conditions attached to the package of incentives — we see no reason for suspension but will decide on it in talks,” he added.

A British foreign office spokesman said the U.N. Security Council had “made it very clear” in a resolution earlier this month that Iran must suspend enrichment by Aug. 31.

“It’s not a question of discussing suspension; it’s a question of actual suspension,” he said. “Once Iran complies with the Security Council, then we can negotiate a way forward” (Roshanzamirin/Smyth, Financial Times, Aug. 17).

The U.S. State Department also dismissed Mottaki’s remarks and called on Iran to issue a formal reply to the resolution, Agence France-Presse reported.

“We’re not looking for comments on the periphery, we’re looking for an official response from the Iranians to the UNSC resolution,” said spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos.

Mottaki’s statement could be a sign of an anticipated moderation in rhetoric by Tehran ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline, according to AFP.

“The Iranians are remarkably skilled at getting to a decision point and then seeing if they can comply 20 percent, or 30 percent,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 16).

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today vowed that the nation would maintain its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

“How can the Iranian nation give up its obvious right to peaceful nuclear technology, when America and some other countries test new atomic bombs each year?” Ahmadinejad said.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is scheduled to report Aug. 31 on whether Iran has stopped enrichment.

“A lot of people are pessimistic. I think we will be moving toward sanctions,” said a Vienna-based European Union diplomat (Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 17).

Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Tuesday that Iran was not considering withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the official IRNA news agency reported.

However, Larijani said that while the treaty provided viable methods for resolving nuclear disputes, “it is not implemented well” (IRNA/BBC Monitoring, Aug. 16).

Visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai on Tuesday urged Larijani to accept the world powers’ nuclear incentives package, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

“China hopes that Iran will seize the opportunity to respond to the package in a positive way,” Cui told Xinhua after meeting with Larijani.

“At the same time, China also hopes the other side will take necessary actions to pave the way for resumption of negotiations,” he said (Xinhua News Agency/BBC Monitoring, Aug. 16).

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Additional Protocol Would Cost U.S. Millions

The United States could spend up to $72 million over five years to implement the Additional Protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, which allows for more intrusive international inspections of nuclear facilities, the Congressional Budget Office said last week (see GSN, Nov. 8, 2005).

The U.S. government signed the protocol in 1998, and the Senate ratified the document in 2004. However, it has not yet been put into force, Inside Missile Defense reported.

A provision in Senate enabling legislation for the U.S.-Indian nuclear deal opens the door for Additional Protocol activities.

It would authorize federal agencies to perform “vulnerability assessments” at government and private nuclear sites, according to a CBO report. To aid the U.N. nuclear watchdog, U.S. officials could also obtain search warrants for nuclear facilities whose owners object to protocol inspections.

Federal agencies would develop “outreach programs” to help commercial atomic sites meet their requirements under the protocol, according to the report.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, should the law be passed, might make changes to regulations and offer support to help commercial license holders prepare for IAEA inspections.

The Defense and Energy departments would conduct the majority of assessments at “universities, fuel-fabrication plants, and commercial manufacturing sites” now involved in government initiatives, the report states.

“CBO estimates that (DOD) would conduct about 50 assessments a year, while (DOE) would conduct about 50 assessments in 2007 and about 10 assessments each year thereafter, at an average cost of about $200,000,” it states.

Reviews would cost about $65 million. Another $7 million would be needed for outreach, training and inspection-assistance efforts at commercial plants, Inside Missile Defense reported.

The costs associated with warrant acquisition and execution is expected to be “insignificant,” the report states (Rati Bishnoi, Inside Missile Defense, Aug. 16).

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Bush Administration Wants “Special Rules” for Australia, Canada on Uranium Enrichment

A senior U.S. official said yesterday that “special rules” apply to Australia and Canada regarding development of uranium enrichment capabilities, The Australian reported (see GSN, Aug. 2).

The Bush administration last year unveiled the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, an initiative designed to restrict the number of countries enriching uranium to those that already possess the capability. Those nations would then provide nuclear fuel for power generation to other countries.

That policy would still allow for an “unusual situation” in which Australia and Canada could join the enrichment club, said Dennis Spurgeon, U.S. assistant energy secretary for nuclear power.

“I think Australia, and Canada … play a special role in world nuclear affairs because … [they] are two countries that have the majority of economically recoverable uranium resources,” Spurgeon told The Australian yesterday.

“I think Australia is viewed as a totally reliable and trustworthy country, so I don’t think there is any issue there whatsoever,” he added.

“Any time you make a general rule you always find maybe it doesn’t apply in all circumstances,” he said (Geoff Elliott, The Australian, Aug. 17).

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China, Pakistan Seen Formulating Nuclear Deal

China’s planned sale of six 300-megawatt nuclear reactors to Pakistan could occur this year, the Indian Express reported today (see GSN, July 31).

The possibility of the sale has gathered momentum since Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf visited China in June.  Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to travel to Pakistan before the end of 2006, the Express reported.

The two countries have cooperated on nuclear and missile efforts since the 1970s. While China is prohibited from new reactor sales to Pakistan, the pending U.S.-Indian nuclear deal could lead to renewed debate on that arrangement, according to the Express (Raja Mohan, Indian Express, Aug. 17).

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Indian PM to Reassure Parliament on Nuclear Deal

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh plans today to issue a statement designed to reassure lawmakers that a pending nuclear technology sharing deal with the United States would not hamper New Delhi’s atomic weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 15).

Singh met with science and national security advisers on the issue yesterday, a spokesman said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 16).

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Canada Provides $90M More for Russian CW Disposal

Canada plans to provide $90 million for development of two chemical weapons disposal facilities in Russia, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 19).

Some of the Canadian funds are to be used for construction of a plant at Kizner, where 2 million munitions containing 5,700 tons of nerve agent are stored. The United Kingdom and other nations are also supporting the project.

Ottawa will also support construction of a disposal facility in the Ural Mountains, AP reported. Canada has previously directed more than $90 million to the Shchuchye site.

Russia is believed to have destroyed 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal, the largest in the world. It has received an extension to 2012 to finish the work under the Chemical Weapons Convention, but is not expected to meet that deadline (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 16).

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Chemical Weapons Detectors Tested at Ballpark

Sandia National Laboratories researchers this summer tested chemical weapons detectors at McAfee Coliseum in California, home to the Oakland A’s Major League Baseball team (see GSN, Jan. 31).

The Rapidly Deployable Chemical Detection System can be put in place locally within 24 hours for high-profile events that could face a terrorist threat, according to a Sandia press release. It would use live video and various sensor equipment capable of detecting more than 40 chemical warfare agents and industrial toxins.

Other sensors, such as those used to detect radiological material, could also be placed on the system platform.

The intent of the “detect-to-warn” system is to provide early notification of a chemical release so that authorities can quickly begin evacuations, according to project manager Ben Wu.

“The beauty of this system is that it can be packaged and set up at a venue within a day’s notice, without having to sacrifice any of the robustness or features required by such a sophisticated system,” Wu said in the release. “The bottom line is that it can help emergency responders save more lives in the event of a terrorist attack” (Sandia National Laboratories release, Aug. 15).

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U.S. to Increase Aegis Deployment in Pacific

The United States plans to add three more ships equipped with antiballistic missile systems to its Pacific fleet by the end of the year, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, July 24).

The three ships are set to carry the Aegis system and Standard Missile 3 interceptors to counter short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, said Rear Adm. Alan Hicks, program manager for Aegis ballistic missile defense. They would join three U.S. anti-missile ships already deployed in the theater, according to Reuters.

Japan and the United States are developing an advanced model SM-3 Block 2 to intercept long-range missiles, with deployment scheduled for 2015, Hicks said (Jim Wolf, Reuters I, Aug. 16).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Department announced yesterday that it has awarded Raytheon Co. a $265.9 million contract modification to develop and deliver 29 SM-3 Block 1A rockets by 2009, Reuters reported (Reuters II, Aug. 16).

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U.S. Missile Defense Agency to Test Kill Vehicle

The U.S. Defense Department for the first time plans to launch a missile interceptor booster equipped with a kill vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Inside Missile Defense reported yesterday (see GSN, July 21).

The missile defense test is set for August or September. The Missile Defense Agency plans to announce the date about a week before the test, according to spokesman Rick Lehner.

Flight Test 2 would involve an interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base and a target missile fired from Alaska, Lehner said.

Officials initially did not plan to launch a target missile, according to Lehner, but a test conducted in November “did so well that the original plan to just launch an interceptor from Vandenberg AFB without launching a target was discarded in favor of launching a target for that test.”

“What we haven’t done is launched an interceptor with the kill vehicle from Vandenberg, and this will be the first time that we do that in the FT-2 [test] that’s coming up,” agency Director Lt. Gen. Henry Obering said at an April 4 meeting of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

“We’re putting a target out there because we want to be able to do the tracking of the target across the radar, feeding that track data into the fire control system, getting the interceptor into place, comparing that with the target characterization that is seen by the interceptor,” Obering said. “An intercept could occur … but that is not the primary objective.”

The agency plans to conduct two flight tests in fiscal 2007 — one between October 2006 and March 2007, and the second between April and September 2007, according to Lehner (John Liang, Inside Missile Defense, Aug. 16).

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