4/28/2006 12:56:35 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time

FYI

-----Original Message-----

From: chembio-terror-bounces

Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 10:03 AM

To: chembio-terror@cnslists.miis.edu

Subject: ChemBio Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- April 28, 2006

**************************************************

CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- April 28, 2006

**************************************************

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Anthrax scare produces a sweet outcome 2. Homeland security money continues to drop 3. Clerical mistake remains focus of ‘missing’ anthrax 4. Lab progress in quest to combat deadly Marburg virus 5. Aradigm gets anthrax program extension 6. Biological Weapons Convention Meeting to Prepare for 2006 Comprehensive Review 7. VX study triggers protest 8. Cambridge Biostability helps US fight bioterrorism 9. **29 April 2006: Remembering all Victims of Chemical Warfare** 10. Port Security Measure Advanced by House Panel 11. 7 detainees taken to nations of torture 12. DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Implements Immediate Measures to Secure Access to Ports 13. Chernobyl, Nuclear Power, and Foreign Policy 14. [Hawaiian] Isle Guard joins terror casualty drill in Arizona 15. Security deemed ‘excellent’ for World Cup 16. Security Council renews committee helping keep WMDs from terrorists

**SUMMER NONPROLIFERATION INSTITUTE**

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 BW-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

1. *Anthrax scare produces a sweet outcome “An anthrax scare launched St. Vincent's Hospital [Staten Island, NY] into full HazMat response mode yesterday, after a worker at E-ZPass offices in Clifton found white powder in an envelope she'd opened and feared the worst. The substance turned out to be sugar. The woman was transported to the West Brighton hospital, where the 10-member chemical response unit set up a shower outside. They arranged tubes to hose down the woman in the shower, should it prove necessary to decontaminate her. ‘We went through all the preparations,’ said Jim McMahon, a St. Vincent's spokesman. After almost 90 minutes, the Police Department's Emergency Service Unit determined that the substance was innocuous, and the woman was treated and discharged.” (Staten Island Advance, 27Apr06, Lisa Schneider)

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1146143915199800.xml&coll=1

2. *Homeland security money continues to drop “As Greenwich will likely see another reduction in funding from the federal government’s Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) this year, the town’s Emergency Management Operations Coordinator Daniel Warzoha said the state will continue to press for more. At a Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday Mr. Warzoha reported that in 2004, the first year of DHS grants, the town received close to $420,000. It was reduced to $240,000 in 2005.

Selectman Peter Crumbine wondered why Greenwich, with its proximity to New York City, wasn’t a higher funding priority. Mr. Warzoha said under the “gerrymandered” way the federal DHS put together the spending plan, New York City stood alone and the states close to it, Connecticut and New Jersey, were not included as part of the urban area around the city.”

(Greenwich Post [Connecticut], 27Apr06, Ken Borsuk) http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/article_6259.shtml

3. *Clerical mistake remains focus of ‘missing’ anthrax “Officials continue to believe that two unaccounted-for test tubes of anthrax are not in the hands of a potential terrorist but are simply the result of sloppy record keeping at a state-run laboratory in Trenton. The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services submitted a report to federal authorities Wednesday on the inventory review it conducted in the week since a discrepancy was discovered in the numbers of anthrax samples stored in the lab. The department decided for the time being not to publicly disclose what it said in the report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said spokeswoman Gretchen Michael. ‘The FBI has not completed its investigation yet, and we want to wait until that's finished,’ Michael said.” (NorthJersey.com, 27Apr06, Colleen Diskin) http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTI1NjMwJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg

4. *Lab progress in quest to combat deadly Marburg virus “Researchers backed by a Pentagon programme to fight bioterrorism reported that they had made a further advance towards devising a shield against the Marburg virus, the cousin of the notorious Ebola virus. Using a transgenic vaccine, the team successfully protected lab monkeys that had been exposed to the deadly haemhorragic virus, according to a paper published online by The Lancet. Marburg and Ebola are viruses that can cause unstoppable bleeding under the skin, from the mouth, ears and eyes. Blood loss, shock and organ failure lead to coma and delirium and, in most cases, death. The research was partially funded by the US Department of Defense in its initiative to develop vaccines and treatment for wild viruses that could be putatively used by terrorists against a civilian population.” (Yahoo!

News, 26Apr06, Agence France-Presse)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060426/hl_afp/healthdiseasemarburg_060426231626

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 BW-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-CANADA

--------------------------------------------------------------------

5. *Aradigm gets anthrax program extension “Defence R&D Canada has extended Aradigm's development program for the aerosolized delivery of liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin as a treatment for bioterror-related anthrax. The extension calls for additional funding of C$662,500 from Defence R&D Canada (DRDC) to execute a preclinical efficacy study of inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin for post-exposure prophylaxis against inhalational anthrax.” (Pharmaceutical Business Review Online, 27Apr06, Helen Marshall) http://www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_news_print.asp?guid=AB05F065-5A1E-4143-BD71-722051392D4F

--------------------------------------------------------------------

BW-TREATY-INTERNATIONAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------

6. *Biological Weapons Convention Meeting to Prepare for 2006 Comprehensive Review “States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 28 April 2006 at the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth Review Conference of the BWC. The meeting is the first time States Parties will have met since the successful conclusion in December

2005 of a three-year process designed to enhance the implementation of this important international instrument. According to the 171 States that have signed this treaty, biological weapons are ‘repugnant to the conscience of mankind’. The Preparatory Committee of the Sixth Review Conference, under its mandate from States Parties at the last review of the BWC in 2002, will make the procedural arrangements necessary for a successful outcome of the Sixth Review Conference. Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan will chair the Preparatory Committee and is expected to be nominated as President for the high-profile meeting later in the year. The Preparatory Committee is expected to set the agenda for the Review Conference as well as address relevant organizational and financial arrangements.” (UN Office at Geneva, 24Apr06) http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/4C9CAE0B7A909C4FC125715A002FDB60?OpenDocument

--------------------------------------------------------------------

CW-DESTRUCTION-U.S.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

7. *VX study triggers protest

“U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews on Wednesday said he will seek a federal investigation into the Army's plan to transport wastewater from the destruction of VX nerve agent to DuPont's Chambers Works plant in Carneys Point. Andrews, D-Haddon Heights, plans to ask the Government Accountability Office to review the project, which has met vigorous opposition in South Jersey. The request was triggered by the release of an Army study that determined that disposing the wastewater at its source -- a chemical weapons depot in Newport, Ind. -- would cost $347 million more and take 57 months longer than treating it and discharging it into the Delaware River. ‘I'm going to ask the GAO to do a very thorough investigation, a very broad investigation of the whole project, not just the money,’ Andrews said.” (The Courier Post Online, 27Apr06, Lawrence

Hajna)

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060427/NEWS01/604270405/1006

--------------------------------------------------------------------

 CW-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S./U.K.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

8. *Cambridge Biostability helps US fight bioterrorism “The US Government has turned to Cambridge Biostability Ltd to provide innovative vaccine technology crucial to its biodefence strategy, according to the latest issue of the Department of Trade and Industry's UK Watch magazine. The company has secured a £1.9m contract to develop a single ready-to-inject vaccine against botulism, a potentially lethal bioweapon. The stockpiling of any vaccine presents a series of chemical and logistical challenges to ensure the effectiveness and potency of stored supplies. But botulism brings an additional problem, the magazine reports. ‘Botulism can be caused by seven different neurotoxins produced by six different bacteria,’ Dr Bruce Roser (pictured), Cambridge Biostability's Chief Scientific Advisor and founder said. ‘In the event of an attack people would need to be given multiple vaccine injections and booster shots for each vaccine.’” (Silicon Fen Business Report, 26Apr06)

http://www.siliconfenbusiness.com/index.php?articleid=118

--------------------------------------------------------------------

CW-TREATY-INTERNATIONAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------

9. **29 April 2006: Remembering all Victims of Chemical Warfare** “For over a century, chemicals have been used as weapons to kill and injure en masse. This cruel and universally condemned form of warfare has taken millions of lives. Victims that survive such attacks suffer painful lifelong disabilities and disfigurement.

We remember the victims of chemical warfare to honour their memory and to ensure that the torture they endured will not be forgotten. An effective global ban on these weapons will serve as the most fitting memorial to these victims. The scourge of chemical weapons will be lifted when all States join and implement the Chemical Weapons Convention. Today, 178 States have joined the Chemical Weapons Convention to form the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and forever renounce chemical weapons. The Chemical Weapons Convention became international law on 29 April 1997.” (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,

29Apr06)

http://www.opcw.org/29april/index.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------

RADIOLOGICAL-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

10. *Port Security Measure Advanced by House Panel “A House of Representatives committee approved port security legislation that would prepare U.S. ports better for potential terrorist attacks and impose sanctions on countries that do not cooperate with the U.S.

government on specified cargo-security measures.

The Homeland Security Committee voted unanimously April 26 for a bill that would set up procedures for restoring port operations after a terrorist attack or other catastrophic event, require the Homeland Security Department to develop standards for container seals and codify some existing port and maritime security programs. The committee adopted a Republican-backed amendment that would bar U.S. ports from accepting cargo containers from countries that do not cooperate with U.S. efforts to install nuclear and radiation detection equipment in their seaports.”

(U.S. Department of State, 27Apr06, Andrzej Zwaniecki) http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=April&x=20060427132631SAikceinawz0.5988275&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

11. *7 detainees taken to nations of torture “At least seven U.S. prisoners at Guantanamo Bay say they were transferred to countries known for torture prior to their arrival at the base, according to recently released transcripts from military commission hearings and other court documents. At least three of them allege that they were tortured during interrogations in Jordan, Morocco, and Egypt.

The transcripts represent the first accounts of rendition from prisoners who are still in U.S. custody, and they contradict statements made last year by the Bush administration that all suspects who are ‘rendered’ to foreign countries are treated in accordance with international laws.

[One]… of the seven detainees is on trial for conspiring to set off a nuclear ‘dirty bomb’ in the United States. But that defendant is arguing that the case against him is built on a confession coerced in Morocco.

‘After four years of torture and rendition, you have the wrong person in the stand,’ Binyam Ahmad Mohammed, an Ethiopian detainee, told a military tribunal this month.” (azcentral.com, 26Apr06, Farah Stockman) http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0426gitmo-rendition0426.html

12. *DHS [Department of Homeland Security] Implements Immediate Measures to Secure Access to Ports “Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff announced today that the department is taking significant steps to enhance security by checking the backgrounds of port workers. The department will begin conducting name-based background checks on nearly 400,000 port workers within the United States. These checks will be an initial measure as the department expedites the rollout of a comprehensive nationwide biometric-based Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in 2006. ‘It is fundamental that individuals who pose a security threat do not gain access to our nation’s ports,’ said Secretary Chertoff. ‘The name-based checks will provide an immediate security boost while we simultaneously complete the work to implement a secure national transportation worker credential.’” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 25Apr06, Office of the Press Secretary) http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0893.xml

--------------------------------------------------------------------

RADIOLOGICAL-THREAT-INTERNATIONAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------

13. *Chernobyl, Nuclear Power, and Foreign Policy “After 9/11, ensuring [nuclear] plant security took on a new importance.

Safeguarding and storing spent fuel also remain an unaddressed concern.

Some question nuclear power's economic viability. Nuclear plants are more capital intensive than most other energy sources and if the price of oil or natural gas were to drop, nuclear power might lose its competitive advantage. Then there is the obvious threat that a country's nuclear program, such as Iran's, could be upgraded and used for offensive purposes, increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation or nuclear weaponry falling into the hands of a terrorist group. …Spent fuel, if not disposed of properly, could contaminate water supplies or, worse, be used by terrorists to create a dirty bomb. …After 9/11, concerns arose over the security of the United States' 103 nuclear plants, particularly Indian Point, located thirty miles north of New York City. According to a 2004 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an attack on the plant could kill up to 44,000 people. But some nuclear experts say the threat posed by terrorists may be exaggerated.” (Council on Foreign Relations, 25Apr06, Lionel Beehner) http://www.cfr.org/publication/10534/chernobyl_nuclear_power_and_foreign_policy.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------

WMD-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

14. *[Hawaiian] Isle Guard joins terror casualty drill in Arizona “Nearly 100 members of the Hawaii Air National Guard have traveled to central Arizona's desert to participate in exercises that will simulate large-scale terrorist attacks -- and test their readiness to care for high numbers of victims. Hawaii is one of nine states participating this week in the ‘Coyote Crisis Campaign’ in Scottsdale. It is here that teams will test their response against mock terrorist strikes targeting communities in Nevada and Arizona and involving casualties, blackouts and contamination -- including the possibility of radiation and deadly sarin nerve gas, in the air and water. The exercise is expected to be closely monitored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, defense and military planners from the Pentagon.” (Honolulu Star Bulletin, 27Apr06, Gregg K.

Kakesako)

http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/27/news/story05.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------

WMD-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-EUROPEAN UNION

--------------------------------------------------------------------

15. *Security deemed ‘excellent’ for World Cup “The European Union's anti-terror chief is confident the World Cup will be safe from terrorism. 'I am absolutely convinced that everything possible has been done and is being done,’ EU counterterrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. NATO will have AWACS surveillance planes patrolling the skies over Germany during the June 9-July 9 tournament. Soldiers will be on standby with radiation and chemical warfare detection equipment. And the German government will reimpose national passport checks at borders to minimize the threat of terrorism.” (KFMB News [San Diego, CA], 27Apr06) http://www.kfmb.com/sports/story.php?id=48130

--------------------------------------------------------------------

WMD-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-INTERNATIONAL

--------------------------------------------------------------------

16. *Security Council renews committee helping keep WMDs from terrorists “Calling for intensified efforts to boost States' cooperation with measures to keep nuclear, chemical and biological weapons out of the hands of terrorists and black marketeers, the United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the committee overseeing the issue for a period of two years. Through a unanimous resolution, the mandate of the so-called ‘1540’ Committee - named after its 2004 Council resolution - which was due to expire tomorrow, was extended until 27 April 2008.

Resolution 1540 directs governments to establish effective accounting for and domestic controls of material that could be used to make nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. It also requires them to establish and maintain effective border and trans-shipment controls and appropriate law enforcement.” (UN News Centre, 27Apr06) http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18276&Cr=terror&Cr1=#