U.S. Response:  CIA Issues Latest Global WMD Threat Assessment

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The CIA yesterday released its latest assessment of global WMD acquisition efforts that threaten the United States.  The unclassified report, covering developments in the last half of 2001, shows that the agency was aware of North Korean efforts to obtain uranium enrichment technology at that time (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2002).

The semiannual report said North Korea had been seeking centrifuge-related materials in large quantities to support a uranium enrichment program.

The country also had obtained equipment suitable for use in uranium feed and withdrawal systems, the report says.

“During this time frame, Pyongyang has continued attempts to procure technology worldwide that could have applications in its nuclear program,” the report says.

Reciting previous intelligence estimates, the report says North Korea probably has produced enough plutonium for at least one, and possibly two nuclear weapons and that spent fuel rods stored in accordance with the 1994 Agreed Framework contain enough plutonium for several more weapons.

Suppliers

Going beyond North Korea’s nuclear aspirations, the report lists Russia, then North Korea, China, and unspecified Western countries as key global WMD and missile proliferators.

“Western countries are an important source for the proliferation of WMD-related information and training,” and access to technology and training there may have enabled terrorist organizations to develop weapons of mass destruction more quickly, the report says.

India, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan, traditional recipients of WMD technology, are also growing as suppliers, the report says.

Differing from previous such reports, the agency said unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles present “a serious and growing threat” for delivering weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Aug. 19, 2002).

Concerns About al-Qaeda

The report offers new commentary on suspected unconventional threats posed by terrorist groups.

It says the stated readiness of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups to attempt unconventional attacks is “one of our highest concerns,” noting a statement by Osama bin Laden that such attacks were a “religious duty,” and testimony of a bin Laden associate that the group had chemical and biological weapons.

“Documents and equipment recovered from al-Qaeda facilities in Afghanistan show that bin Laden has a more sophisticated biological weapons research program than previously discovered,” it says.

The report says al-Qaeda had ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons and was “receptive to” any assistance it could find to acquire or develop them.

It says radiological terrorism is considered “a highly credible threat,” and that terrorists might try to attack chemical or nuclear infrastructure in the United States.

Developments in Iraqi Missile Development

The agency reports suggests that Iraq is making advances in its solid-propellant ballistic missile program, despite being greatly constrained by U.N. prohibitions.

It says Iraq has two new solid-propellant “mixing” buildings at a plant that “appear especially suited to house large, U.N.-prohibited mixers of the type acquired” for a previous, banned program.

“In fact, we can find no logical explanation for the size and configuration of these mixing buildings other than an Iraqi intention to develop longer-range, prohibited missiles (that is, to mix solid propellant exclusively geared for such missiles),” the report says.

It says also Iraq has begun reconstructing a facility that was previously used to “cast and cure” parts for proscribed missile motors.

The CIA said, as it had previously, that international sanctions on Iraq were dampening the country’s progress on missile development.

“If economic sanctions against Iraq were lifted, Baghdad probably would increase its attempts to acquire missile-related items from foreign sources, regardless of any future U.N. monitoring and continuing restrictions on long-range ballistic missile programs. With substantial foreign assistance and an accommodating political environment, Baghdad could flight-test an MRBM [medium-range ballistic missile] by mid-decade,” according to the report.

The report says Iraq “continued to pursue” a biological weapons program.

Iranian Programs

The report says Iran was “vigorously” pursuing programs to indigenously produce chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.

To that end, Iran had obtained foreign assistance enabling it to produce some or all of such weapons, focusing its efforts on getting help from Russia, China, North Korea and Europe.

The report says the United States is “convinced” Iran is violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and pursuing nuclear weapons, and that efforts to bolster its domestic nuclear fuel cycle capabilities can also support fissile material production for a program (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2002).

Russia, which has been supplying a large part of that assistance, has continued to deny it is supporting an illicit program.

The report says the International Atomic Energy Agency should be allowed to inspect a production site for zirconium fuel cladding and that site, produced through Chinese assistance, should be declared to the agency.

Also during the last half of 2001, Iran sought Chinese and Russian assistance that could further efforts to develop an indigenous capability to produce nerve agents, it said.

Other Issues

The report says, as previous versions have, that North Korea was gaining raw materials and components for ballistic missile programs from “various foreign sources, especially through North Korean firms based in China.”

With respect to Libya, the report says the country and others in 2001 “reportedly” used their secret services to try to obtain technical information on the WMD development, including nuclear weapons.

The report provides a small bit of new commentary on Pakistan’s nuclear program.

During the reporting period, Pakistan “continued to acquire nuclear-related equipment, some of it dual-use, and materials from various sources — principally in Western Europe.  If Pakistan chooses to develop more advanced nuclear weapons, seeking such goods will remain important,” it said.

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Iraq I:  Inspectors Search at Least Eight Sites

U.N. weapons inspectors visited at least eight suspect Iraqi sites today, according to Reuters (see GSN, Jan. 7).  Meanwhile, there are indications that Middle Eastern leaders are working to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to voluntarily leave power and enter exile.

Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission have visited at least four sites today, according to Iraqi officials.  An UNMOVIC biological team visited a medical college in Baghdad.  UNMOVIC chemical experts visited the al-Tareq public company, about 60 miles northwest of Baghdad, that is believed to produce chemical weapons precursors, Reuters reported. 

An UNMOVIC missile team inspected the al-Mamoun Plant, about 40 miles southeast of Baghdad, which produces components for several types of solid propellant rockets, according to Reuters.  Inspectors also visited a medicine factory located in the northern city of Mosul. 

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited three cement factories located in the cities of Samawa, Kofa and Kerbala in southern Iraq Reuters reported.  UNMOVIC and IAEA experts visited an Irrigation Ministry repair company located in Baghdad (Reuters, Jan. 8).

Yesterday, inspectors visited at least nine suspect Iraqi sites, according to an IAEA press release.  An UNMOVIC missile team tagged critical equipment at the al-Mamoun missile facility.  Missile experts also went to the al-Samoud Factory to inspect two missile engines scheduled to be static-tested by Iraq soon, the IAEA release said.  UNMOVIC inspectors traveled to the Ukhaider Ammunition and Missile Storage Area (IAEA release, Jan. 7).

Element of Surprise

Inspectors also used helicopters for the first time yesterday to visit the Qaim State Company for Phosphates, located at a uranium mine near the Syrian border.  U.N. officials hope that the continued use of helicopters will enable inspectors to visit sites with little advance warning and provide an element of surprise, according to the Washington Post.  For example, when IAEA inspectors visited the site last month, it took them six hours to arrive by car, while it only took inspectors two hours to arrive yesterday by air. 

“We were taken by surprise,” said the factory’s assistant director, Ryadh Aziz Gassin.  “We didn’t know until we saw the helicopters flying over the complex,” Gassin added (Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Washington Post, Jan. 8).

Exile

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab effort to persuade Hussein to step down from power to prevent a U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to the Christian Science Monitor.  A senior Saudi army official attached to the Saudi Interior Ministry traveled to Baghdad last month to determine if the Iraqi leader would be willing to step down, according to Arab diplomatic sources.  The Saudi official was scheduled to meet with Hussein, but the outcome of any such meeting is still unknown, the Monitor reported.

In August, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani traveled to Baghdad to meet with Hussein to discuss, in part, an offer of exile.  Qatari and Iraqi officials, however, denied such reports (Nicholas Blanford, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 8).

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher has said his country is not engaged in any efforts to convince Hussein to go into exile.

“The reports on this issue are completely false,” Maher was quoted as saying by the al-Mussawar daily newspaper.  “We do not interfere in the affairs of other states, and we do not interfere in the choice of the president of a country.  It is for the Iraqi people to decide this,” Maher added (AFXpress, Jan. 8).

In addition to the rumored initiative by Middle Eastern leaders, a group of leading Arab intellectuals has prepared a petition, scheduled to be released this week, calling for Hussein to step down, according to the Monitor.  “The immediate resignation of Saddam Hussein, whose rule for over three decades has been a nightmare for Iraq and the Arab world, is the only way to avoid more violence,” it says.

U.S. officials support the idea of Hussein being peacefully removed from power, but have denied that the United States is aiding efforts to prepare an offer of exile, the Monitor reported.

“I think Secretary [of State Colin] Powell and Secretary [of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld have both said that it’s an opportunity (Hussein) should take advantage of.  But we’re not behind those proposals,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.  “But — let’s remember reality here — he hasn’t indicated any desire to do so and nothing in his past behavior would make you think he would,” Boucher added.

A number of Arab and Western diplomats agreed that Hussein is unlikely to step down by his own free will.

“They are dreaming if they think this man will leave,” says Abdullah Bishara, head of the Diplomatic Center for Strategic Studies in Kuwait.  “He will bring down the walls like Samson,” Bishara added (Blanford, Christian Science Monitor).

For further information, see:

UNMOVIC

IAEA Iraq Action Team

U.N. Resolution 1441

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Canadian Response:  Canada Wants Chemical Tracking Capability

Canada plans to acquire meteorological tracking equipment to plot the course of dangerous chemical or biological weapons that could be released into the air in a terrorist attack, the National Post reported today.

The equipment, which could cost several hundred thousand dollars, will assist with evacuations, according to Canadian officials.

“It would be portable so we could deploy this if there was any kind of event,” said Dave Dockendorff, spokesman for the Meteorological Service of Canada.  “You can have an idea where this (biological or chemical agent) is going to go, where it’s going to come down.  Further downstream, should we be evacuating from here or there?  For instance, if the wind is from the west … there is no point in evacuating people who are west of the incident,” he added.

Canadian officials plan to buy ground instruments, computers and devices that are carried on weather balloons from the U.S. company Vaisala.  The data would not detect the chemical or biological weapon in the air, but would give officials air temperature, air pressure, humidity and wind speed and allow them to plot the course of the dangerous agents.

Funding for the effort has been approved and officials plan to base the equipment in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax, the Post reported.

Dispersing chemical agents in the air, however, presents a major challenge to terrorists, some experts noted.

“In an outdoor attack such as this, 90 percent of the (chemical) agent is likely to dissipate before ever reaching its target,” according to the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington (Tom Blackwell, National Post, Jan. 8).

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Iraq II:  Summary of Inspections

Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have conducted hundreds of inspections in Iraq since resuming the post-Gulf War inspection regime Nov. 27.  More than 100 inspectors are now based in the country at two facilities in Baghdad and Mosul.  The following chart summarizes some of the inspectors’ reported activities.

 

Date	Site	Activity
Jan. 8	Medical college in Baghdad	See GSN, Jan. 8.
	Al-Tareq public company, about 60 miles northwest of Baghdad	UNMOVIC chemical inspectors visited the site, which is believed to produce chemical weapons precursors (see GSN, Jan. 8).
	Al-Mamoun Plant, about 40 miles southeast of Baghdad	UNMOVIC missile inspectors visited the site, which produces components for several types of solid propellant rockets (see GSN, Jan. 8).
	Mosul medicine factory	See GSN, Jan. 8.
	Samawa cement plant in the southern part of the country
	Kofa cement plant in the southern part of the country
	Kerbala cement plant in the southern part of the country
	Irrigation Ministry repair company in Baghdad
Jan. 7	Al-Mamoun Plant of the al-Rasheed Company	UNMOVIC missile inspectors tagged critical equipment at the site (see GSN, Jan. 8).
	Al-Samoud Factory	UNMOVIC missile experts inspected two missile engines scheduled to soon be static-tested by Iraq (see GSN, Jan. 8).
	Ukhaider Ammunition and Missile Storage Area	See GSN, Jan. 8.
	Akashat uranium mine in al-Qaim, located about 260 miles west of Baghdad	See GSN, Jan. 7.
	Al-Mutasim missile plant in Jurf al-Sakhr, about 30 miles south of Baghdad
	Baghdad cancer research center
	University of Mosul
	Cement factor in Kbeisi, about 120 miles west of Baghdad
	Air force base near Kbeisi, about 120 miles west of Baghdad
Jan. 6	Bin Seena Center	An UNMOVIC biological team visited the site, which produces veterinary drugs (see GSN, Jan. 7).
	Army base located far south of Baghdad	An UNMOVIC missile team began tagging surface-to-surface solid propellant al-Fatah rockets (see GSN, Jan. 7)
	Maintenance section of the al-Fao Company, in northern Baghdad	See GSN, Jan. 7
	Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center	See the Dec. 20 entry.
	Bin Bitar research center, about five miles north of Baghdad	See GSN, Jan. 6
	Fallujah 3 pesticide factory	See the Dec. 9 entry.
	Faydah free-trade zone, located about 240 miles north of Baghdad	See GSN, Jan. 6
Jan. 5	Graphite facility	See GSN, Jan. 6
	Hospital in the northern city of Mosul
	University in the southern city of Basra
	Hospital in the southern city of Basra
	Food laboratory at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
	Glass research center at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
	Al-Basel company at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
	Al-Khawarizmi company at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
	Al-Tabani company at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
	Al-Majd company at the National Monitoring Directorate in Baghdad
Jan. 4	Al-Ma’mun Factory, part of the al-Rashid State Company	IAEA inspectors visited the site’s facilities and asked about projects and recently purchased machines (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Al-Ubur State Company	IAEA inspectors inquired about the company’s affiliation, visited an aluminum pipe storage site and conducted a radiation survey (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Bin Sina Company	UNMOVIC chemical inspectors met with company officials, searched computers and visited the site’s small production units and various laboratories (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Army Helicopter Gunships Base at al-Suwayrah	UNMOVIC inspectors met with the base commander and searched the site’s facilities and warehouses (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Al-Khalis Alcohol distillery	UNMOVIC biological inspectors reviewed the plant’s activities and changes that occurred since 1998 (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Basra University Faculty of Agriculture	UNMOVIC biological inspectors met with the faculty dean and discussed research conducted since 1998 (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
	Basra University Faculty of Nutrition	UNMOVIC biological inspectors verified tags and declarations (Baghdad Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service, Jan. 4, in FBIS-NES, Jan. 4).
Jan. 3	Al Mamoun Plant	UNMOVIC missile inspectors tagged several pieces of declared equipment (IAEA release, Jan. 3).
	Former ammunitions depot	UNMOVIC inspectors visited the site, which has been a previously used as a chemical weapons storage site (IAEA release, Jan. 3).
	Adjacent area to the former ammunitions depot	UNMOVIC inspectors visited the site, which had been used for chemical weapons tests (IAEA release, Jan. 3).
	Al Basil Narawan site, part of the al-Basil Center	UNMOVIC chemical inspectors visited the site, which produces several types of chemicals (IAEA release, Jan. 3).
Dec. 21- Jan. 2	See GSN, Jan. 2

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North Korea:  United States Ready to Begin Dialogue, Not Negotiations

The United States said yesterday that it is willing to talk with North Korea to resolve the conflict surrounding its nuclear program, but officials said Washington would not engage in negotiations (see GSN, Jan. 8).

“The United States is willing to talk to North Korea about how it will meet its obligations to the international community,” according to a trilateral U.S.-South Korean-Japanese statement released yesterday after a meeting between the three countries in Washington.

The statement made clear, however, that “the United States will not provide quid pro quos to North Korea to live up to its existing obligations” (Korea Herald, Jan. 8).

The United States has engaged in indirect talks with North Korea since the conflict over its nuclear program recently resumed — through quasi-official talks by former U.S. officials or low-level talks in unofficial venues, the Washington Post reported today.  Yesterday’s statement demonstrates that the Bush administration believes now is the time to provide “clarity (to the North Koreans) in more formalized talks,” a U.S. official said (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Jan. 8).

The statement did not include any mention of previous U.S. demands that North Korea verifiably shut down its nuclear program before any talks could begin, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The new U.S. approach is a positive, yet cautious, step forward, Bush administration officials said.  “It’s a step out.  It’s a step forward.  It makes clearer some things that were less explicit,” one senior White House official said (Efron/Magnier, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 8).

A Bush administration official said the statement represents more of a shift in emphasis, rather than a new policy.  “We are putting more emphasis on talking now,” the official said (Steven Weisman, New York Times, Jan. 8).

It is still unknown if the statement will be enough to induce North Korea to take part in a dialogue, or if that is even what the White House really wants to happen, analysts said.

“It’s a start.  The game continues.  This will be clearly understood in Pyongyang for what it is — an opening,” said retired Air Force Col. William Drennan, a Korea expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace.  “Now we’ll see if North Korea is serious about taking it,” he added.

Even with the statement, the Bush administration’s position is fundamentally unaltered, because it says the United States will only discuss how North Korea will shut down its nuclear program, said L. Gordon Flake, head of the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs in Washington.

“The U.S. doesn’t want (the North Koreans) to come to the table,” Flake said.  “They want them dragged in front of the Security Council — but not too quickly ... We want to internationalize this, to slow it down, but we do not want to be dragged into a forced shotgun negotiation with North Korea,” he added (Efron/Magnier, Los Angeles Times).

International Efforts

Yesterday’s statement also expressed support for a continued Japanese-North Korean dialogue and a North Korean-South Korean dialogue.

“Such dialogues serve as important channels to resolve issues of bilateral concern and to call upon North Korea to quickly and visibly respond to the international community’s demands for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, thereby contributing to regional peace and stability,” the statement said (Korea Herald).

Meanwhile, the United States has rejected suggestions made by some of its allies to offer Pyongyang incentives to abandon its program, according to the Wall Street Journal (see GSN, Jan. 3).  Instead, U.S. officials said they are willing to only manage the situation for now, even if that results in North Korea developing a nuclear arsenal.

“I think the Bush administration is prepared to have North Korea have an unrestrained nuclear weapons program while they (the U.S.) try to isolate Pyongyang in hopes, long term, of bringing down the regime,” said Gary Samore, a nonproliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The United States believes that North Korea is close enough to economic collapse that its leader, Kim Jong Il, will be overthrown, the Journal reported.  Instead of providing economic aid and security guarantees that could help Kim keep a grip on power, the United States is willing to pursue its policy indefinitely unless Pyongyang demonstrates a willingness to verifiably abandon its nuclear weapons efforts, officials said (David Cloud, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 8).

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India:  New Delhi Warns Pakistan of Annihilation

India has no need to fear a potential nuclear strike by its South Asian rival Pakistan because “there will be no Pakistan left” if India were to respond in kind, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 30, 2002).

Pakistan should cease discussing its willingness to use nuclear weapons, Fernandes said, referring to last month’s comments by Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that Pakistan was not afraid to use unconventional weapons if attacked, according to The Hindu (see GSN, Jan. 7).  India has a firm “no-first-use” nuclear policy and sees its arsenal as primarily a deterrent, Fernandes said.

“But if the deterrent is not adequate and Pakistan uses the bomb, we will suffer a little but there will be no Pakistan left later,” Fernandes told a meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry.  “I hate having to say this but Pakistan should know its strengths and vulnerability and stop making these stupid statements,” he added (The Hindu, Jan. 8).

In his address, Fernandes also stressed India’s need to improve its domestic arms production capabilities and to reduce its dependence on foreign technologies, according to the Press Trust of India.  He praised India’s defense scientists for their accomplishments in developing India’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

“India’s status as a nuclear weapons state is your achievement, and development of Prithvi and Agni missiles ... bear testimony to your competence,” Fernandes said (Press Trust of India/Times of India, Jan. 8).

Pakistani Response

Meanwhile, Pakistan said today that, while it does not want a conflict with India, it would teach New Delhi an “unforgettable lesson” if ever attacked with nuclear weapons.

“Pakistan is a reality and cannot be wiped out through nuclear weapons ... We know how to defend ourselves, and respond to the nefarious designs of the enemy,” said Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.  “India will be taught an unforgettable lesson if they ever launch a nuclear attack on Pakistan.  Our response will be a historic lesson for them if they used the nuclear option,” Ahmad added (Munir Ahmad, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Jan. 8).

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United States:  More Los Alamos Officials Step Down

Two top security officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory are resigning today and will be reassigned to other positions, the laboratory announced yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 3).

Security division chief Stan Busboom and his deputy Gene Tucker were stepping down today, the Associated Press reported.  The two were involved in the firing of two contracted security investigators, Glenn Walp and Steve Doran, who revealed allegations of credit card misuse, equipment theft and extensive efforts to conceal these charges, laboratory officials said.

“To address these concerns, new leadership in the division is necessary; therefore, I have reassigned Stan and Gene to nonmanagement positions,” laboratory Associate Director of Operations James Holt said in a statement (Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Jan. 8).

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U.S. Response:  Pentagon Seeks Improved Sensors for Aerosol Attacks

By Bryan Bender
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department last week launched a crash research program to develop new sensors to rapidly identify — in less than 60 seconds — biological agents dispersed in aerosol form, according to a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announcement.

The effort will focus on technologies that can detect optical characteristics, invisible to the naked eye, of biological agents released in vapor or spray form, according to a project description.

DARPA said it is seeking proposals to design and develop “high-risk, high-leverage technologies and prototypes that have the potential to greatly reduce the false alarm rate of trigger sensors for biological warfare agents.”

Supporting a Nationwide Biological Defense Network

The effort, which is seeking proposals from qualified corporations, research centers, and universities, would support a Pentagon-wide program to develop the first multilayered, nationwide biological detection system to defend highly populated areas from germ warfare (see GSN, Sept. 5, 2002).

A primary objective of the multibillion-dollar Biological Defense Homeland Security Support Program, which officially got underway in October at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, is to combine traditional detection techniques such as environmental sensors with medical data from hospitals and health care providers to create an overarching, computerized biological surveillance system. Officials hope to field a prototype as early as next year in Washington.

The newly announced Spectral Sensing of Bio-Aerosols Program is designed to assist that wider effort by providing more effective means to quickly identify biological pathogens released into the air by relying on a series of novel detection techniques.

“A critical component of an effective biological warfare defense is real-time, pre-exposure detection, discrimination, and identification of the full spectrum of threats: spore, bacteria, virus and toxin,” according to a Dec. 30 public notice.  “The goal of the program is to develop point detection sensors with response times of less than one minute” and with fewer false alarms than current sensors, the notice said.

The program will establish a “government referee” to develop an aerosol test facility.  Proposals will be tested against a “matrix of specific threat organisms, the maximum time allowed for detection, the threshold levels of threat quantity and the detector performance.”

DARPA will also evaluate sensors’ ability to detect biological agents from a distance.

Optical Signatures and Other Novel Technologies

The project places emphasis on new detection techniques capable of identifying the optical characteristics of a biological release.  Little work has been done in this area and as a result the level of effectiveness remains unclear, according to DARPA.

“Investigators of biosensors have long held the belief that useful optical signatures can be exploited to detect bio-aerosols with improved selectivity and reduced false alarm rates,” according to a DARPA program document.  “DARPA will conduct a rigorous evaluation of the potential to exploit these signatures with the goal of developing systems that rapidly detect biological agents,” the document says.

Quick Timeline

Program officials have established a short timeline for the bio-aerosols research and development program.  A bidders conference will be held March 5.  “Source selection will be completed in April 2003, followed immediately by contracting,” DARPA said.

The urgency in developing enhanced biological detection systems comes amid new indications of the growing threat of biological terrorism. The program gets underway as British authorities this week arrested six men of North African descent found with ricin, the deadly agent extracted from castor beans (see related GSN story, today).

Andy Oppenheimer, a chemical and biological weapons experts for Jane’s Information Group, told the Associated Press this week that terrorists could kill large numbers of people with ricin if it were successfully dispensed in aerosol form. “You only need milligrams to kill somebody,” he said.

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Anthrax:  Brentwood Road Survivor Files $100 Million Lawsuit

Leroy Richmond, an employee at the Brentwood Road postal facility in Washington who survived an anthrax infection caused by the 2001 attacks, filed a $100 million civil lawsuit yesterday against three U.S. Postal Service officials for failing to quickly close the facility after anthrax spores were found (see GSN, Dec. 9, 2002).

The lawsuit claims that Postmaster General John Potter, as well as Brentwood’s plant manager and the Washington postmaster, acted in “deliberate indifference” to Richmond’s safety by failing to take appropriate safety precautions after the anthrax attacks, according to the Washington Post. 

“This is about finding some justice and closure in this case,” Richmond said yesterday.

The officials’ actions also violated Richmond’s rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the lawsuit says.  While congressional staff members received prompt attention after an anthrax-tainted letter to then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was opened, Brentwood employees, who are predominately black, were considered “expendable” and the facility remained open, according to the lawsuit.

The U.S. Postal Service refused to comment on the lawsuit, saying it had not yet received it, the Post reported.  “Our first consideration has always been our employees’ safety and health,” said postal spokeswoman Deborah Yackley (Manny Fernandez, Washington Post, Jan. 8).

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United Kingdom:  Police Searching For Three More Ricin Suspects

British anti-terrorist police are searching today for three suspects and a stockpile of the chemical agent ricin, the London Times reported (see GSN, Jan. 7; London Times, Jan. 8).

The new search follows Sunday’s arrest of six men suspected of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, the London Independent reported today.  Authorities found traces of ricin in a laboratory in one suspect’s north London apartment (Bennetto/Sengupta, London Independent, Jan. 8).

The six are being held without charge under recently strengthened British anti-terrorism laws (see GSN, Dec. 14, 2001; Glenn Frankel, Washington Post, Jan. 8).

One of the arrested men is a chemist or science teacher and four of them are Algerian — the other two are of North African origin, the Times reported.

Police officials, who searched the apartment in protective clothing, took equipment from the homemade laboratory and also discovered castor oil seeds, which are used to make ricin, the Times reported

“This was a very low-tech, small production,” said Pat Troop, a British medical official.  “If we find any more it’s likely to be a small amount,” Troop said (London Times, Jan. 8).

British officials issued a nationwide alert yesterday and asked physicians to keep watch for patients with symptoms of ricin poisoning.  Police conducted Sunday’s raids after British intelligence officials acquired information on suspected terrorists in London and mounted a month-long law enforcement operation, the Independent reported.

Authorities said that the amount of ricin found in the London apartment is insufficient to mount a major attack, and that there was no evidence of a specific target or plot (Bennetto/Sengupta, London Independent, Jan. 8).

Technicians at Porton Down defense laboratory confirmed the ricin discovery yesterday, the Washington Post reported today.

The raids come after numerous recent alarms and warnings, months of readiness and the arrests of dozens of suspected terrorists, the Post reported.  Three recently detained suspects reportedly discussed an attack on the London subways (see GSN, Feb. 27, 2002).

Ricin Found in Afghanistan

Traces of ricin and instructions on its use were discovered last year in an al-Qaeda house in Afghanistan, the Post reported.  Iraq has also worked on developing ricin as a weapon, experts said.

Ricin was developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War and was famously used by Bulgarian secret police in 1978 to kill their compatriot, Georgi Markov, while he was exiled in London.  Markov died after an assassin implanted a ricin pellet in Markov’s leg using a specially equipped umbrella (Frankel, Washington Post).

Deadly Ricin Easily Produced

Anyone with a college-level knowledge of chemistry and a basic laboratory can produce ricin by extracting the poison from the seeds of a castor oil plant, the Financial Times reported today.

Less than 0.1 milligrams of ricin can kill an adult, although symptoms would not appear until four to eight hours after exposure, the Times reported.  Even then, the symptoms are not clearly indistinguishable from other sicknesses.  To be used as a weapon of mass destruction, ricin must be distributed as an aerosol, the Times reported.  Animal studies suggest that inhaled ricin would cause inflammation of the lungs and death within two to four days. 

Scientists do not have an antidote to ricin, but U.S. pharmaceutical company DOR BioPharma said yesterday it is working on a vaccine, according to the Times (see GSN, Oct. 16, 2002; Clive Cookson, Financial Times, Jan. 8).

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