Study Finds Gaps In Chemical Terrorism Preparedness

Jul 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Despite Homeland security warnings that a terrorist chemical attack in the U.S. is a real possibility, state public health laboratories are unprepared to meet this challenge, according to a new report from Trust for America's Health (TFAH), Washington, entitled “Public Health Laboratories: Unprepared and Overwhelmed.”

Among its findings, the report identifies the following gaps in preparedness among public health laboratories:

• Lack of coordination among emergency responders;

• Lack of planning, protocols and additional support needed in the event of emergencies;

• Lack of equipment and training required to safely handle and store biological or chemical agents;

• Lack of security against exposure for laboratory personnel and emergency responders;

• Limited environmental testing capacity for chemical agents; and

• Minimal ability to test for public exposure to chemicals.

“If we have to respond to a chemical terrorism event, it will be a train wreck,” says Scott Becker, executive director of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “We don't have a national plan, or testing methods, or a lead agency for laboratory activities that will be needed for a crisis.”

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