Subject: [NEXTEL-1] 'Dirty Bomb' Opens U.S. Bioterror Drill In Seattle

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 16:06:36 -0400

Updated: 05-13-2003 12:11:51 PM

'Dirty Bomb' Opens U.S. Bioterror Drill In Seattle
............
GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE (AP) -- Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims
faced some tough hypothetical decisions after the mock explosion of a
radioactive ``dirty bomb'' in a car in an industrial lot.

As events unfolded Monday in the first day of a five-day national
bioterrorism exercise for hundreds of emergency workers, officials were
faced with such questions as whether to declare a state of emergency
and how to determine the range of the radioactive plume and alert
those who could be affected.

The drill, combining the Seattle disaster with a mock bioterror attack in
Chicago, is aimed at testing the readiness of local, state and federal
authorities. It is the nation's first large-scale counterterrorism exercise
since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The idea, Nickels said, is for regional and national agencies to see
where strengths and weaknesses lie.

``When a disaster occurs, people do not call the White House,'' Nickels
said. ``They call 911.''

The mayor said he spoke twice Monday with Homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge, and once with Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson.

``Our first responders, I think, did an outstanding job today,'' Nickels
said. ``Things went about the way we thought they would.''

Once all the data are analyzed and the decisions have been reviewed,
the Seattle leaders said, they'll determine what they learned.

The exercises, which are being headed by the Homeland Security
Department, will cost an estimated $16 million and involve more than
8,500 people from 100 federal, state and local agencies, the American
Red Cross and the Canadian government.

The drill was being run by about 80 federal workers from a hotel
ballroom in Washington. Computers projected maps of Seattle and
Chicago onto large screens.

Over the next few days, a number of ``patients'' are to show up at
hospitals in the Chicago area, suffering from flu-like symptoms. In the
script, a terrorist group releases a deadly plague in aerosol form.

In Seattle's scenario, 150 people were ``injured'' in the explosion, and
92 were taken to area hospitals. Twenty people were being sought in
the rubble and two were reported killed.

About 200 firefighters and 60 police officers participated in the Seattle
drill. Ten police and 20 fire personnel, among the first on scene, had to
be decontaminated for imaginary exposure to radioactivity.

There were two real minor injuries. One emergency responder suffered
smoke inhalation and another strained his back, Deputy Police Chief
Clark Kimerer said. Both were treated at the scene.

Meanwhile, 40 miles south, students and others at Pacific Lutheran
University near Tacoma acted out a second, simultaneous attack on
campus, where a smoke bomb also was detonated to simulate a car
bomb. About 170 volunteers, including members of the university's
drama club, pretended to be injured.

The script also called for a terrorist to run into a campus building and
take hostages.

``The time to test is before such a threat arises,'' Washington Gov.
Gary Locke said. ``Prudent preparation is not a sign that we face any
new or credible threat of terrorism. We expect to learn a lot and we
expect to apply what we learn.''

About 68,000 notices were mailed out earlier to advise Seattle residents
of the operation, and media coverage has been extensive. Emergency
agencies reported no calls from people worried they might be
witnessing the real thing.

Within a month, a two-day conference for all participants is planned to
review the exercise. By September, a full report will be submitted
outlining strengths and vulnerabilities.

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=10461&sectionId=46

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