Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996

1
Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
of 1996

• On June 26, 1996, the Senate passed the Defense
  Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996.
• Preparedness for the possibility of domestic
  terrorism involving nuclear, biological, or
  chemical weapons actions necessary to reduce U.S.
  vulnerability to these forms of attack.

2
Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
of 1996

• The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
  Act of 1996 also confirmed investigations which
  concluded that
• Weapons of mass destruction are increasingly
  accessible to rogue states and terrorist groups.
• Terrorist groups and rogue states are becoming
  increasingly likely to use weapons of mass
  destruction against the United States.
• The United States is very poorly prepared to
  defeat or limit the damage of a domestic nuclear,
  biological, or chemical attack.

3
The Act Requirements

• There is a need to develop a more fully
  coordinated response to that threat on the part
  of Federal, State, and local agencies
• The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
  Act established the principle of funding domestic
  preparedness against terrorist WMD attack from
  the defense budget

4
Domestic Preparedness

• Chemical Terrorism Response Preparedness.
• Biological Terrorism Response Preparedness.
• Improvements in National-Level Response
  Capabilities
• Nuclear Terrorism Preparedness
• Early Warning of WMD Acquisition and Attack

5
Controlling the Sources of Supply

• Securing Nuclear Materials
• Eliminating Excess Plutonium Stockpiles
• Dismantling Strategic Launchers
• Dismantling WMD and Infrastructure.
• Interdicting WMD Smuggling
• Controlling the "Brain Drain"

6
Bomb Threat Preparedness and Response

• There are a variety of guidelines available for
  preparing and responding to bomb threats.
• These agencies include
• FEMA
• US Postal Service
• ATF

7
FEMA Guidelines for Suspicious Packages and
Letters

• Be wary of suspicious packages and letters.
• They can contain explosives, chemical or
  biological agents.
• Be particularly cautious at your place of
  employment.

8
Characteristics of Suspicious Packages

• Some typical characteristics postal inspectors
  have detected over the years, which ought to
  trigger suspicion, include parcels that
• Are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you.
• Have no return address, or have on that cant be
  verified as legitimate.
• Have protruding wires or aluminum foil, strange
  odors, or stains.
• Show a city or state in the postmark that doesnt
  match the return address.
• Are of unusual weight given their size, or are
  lopsided or oddly shaped.
• Are marked with threatening language.

9
Characteristics of Suspicious Packages (Cont.)

• Have inappropriate or unusual labeling.
• Have excessive postage or packaging material,
  such as masking tape and string.
• Have misspellings of common words.
• Are addressed to someone no longer with your
  organization or are otherwise outdated.
• Have incorrect titles or titles without a name.
• Are not addressed to a specific person.
• Have hand-written or poorly typed addresses.

10
FEMA Mail Center Guidelines

• With suspicious envelopes and packages other than
  those that might contain explosives, take these
  additional steps against possible biological and
  chemical agents.
• Refrain from eating or drinking in a designated
  mail handling area.
• Place suspicious envelopes or packages in a
  plastic bag or some other type of container to
  prevent leakage of contents.
• Never sniff or smell suspect mail.
• If you do not have a container, then cover the
  envelope or package with anything available
  (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do
  not remove the cover.
• Leave the room and close the door, or section off
  the area to prevent others from entering.

11
FEMA Mail Center Guidelines

• Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent
  spreading any powder to your face.
• If you are at work, report the incident to your
  building security official or an available
  supervisor, who should notify police and other
  authorities without delay.
• List all people who were in the room or area when
  this suspicious letter or package was recognized.
  Give a copy of this list to both the local public
  health authorities and law enforcement officials
  for follow-up investigations and advice.
• If you are at home, report the incident to local
  police.

12
CDCs Guidelines for Bombings and Mass Casualties

• Preparing for a Terrorist Bombing A Common Sense
  Approach
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has
  developed guidelines for preparing for a
  terrorist bombing.
• These guidelines can be found here.

13
Bomb Threat Planning

• Many facilities have been the subject of bomb
  threats, though rarely are explosive devices
  found.
• A primary fact to be realized is that the
  operating function or purpose of a facility does
  not affect materially whether it will be
  susceptible to bombs or bomb threats.

14
Bomb Threat Planning

• A senior manager or the emergency coordinator
  should be assigned as the person in charge.
• The police and fire departments should be
  notified.
• Based upon the available information the
  credibility of the threat must be assessed, and
  the person in charge must decide whether
• The building should or should not be evacuated.
• The scope of any evacuation - full or partial.
• The duration of any evacuation.

15
Sample Bomb Incident Plan

• Designate a chain of command.
• Establish a command center.
• Decide what primary and alternate communications
  will be used.
• Establish clearly how and by whom a bomb threat
  will be evaluated.
• Decide what procedures will be followed when a
  bomb threat is received or device discovered.
• Determine to what extent the available bomb squad
  will assist and at what point the squad will
  respond.
• Provide an evacuation plan with enough
  flexibility to avoid a suspected danger area.

16
Sample Bomb Incident Plan (Cont.)

• Designate search teams.
• Designate areas to be searched.
• Establish techniques to be utilized during
  search.
• Establish a procedure to report and track
  progress of the search and a method to lead
  qualified bomb technicians to a suspicious
  package.
• Have a contingency plan available if a bomb
  should go off.
• Establish a simple to follow procedure for the
  person receiving the bomb threat.
• Review your physical security plan in conjunction
  with the development of your bomb incident plan.

17
USPS Mail Center Security Guidelines

• The Mail Center Security Guide was prepared by
  the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to assist in
  keeping the mail center safe and secure.
• The guide provides general advice and recommends
  protective measures tohelp you assess, prevent,
  and respond to three types of threats
• Weapons of mass destruction.
• Mail bombs and bomb threats.
• Mail center theft.

18
FEMA 452 - Risk Assessment A How-To Guide to
Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks

• FEMA 452 - Risk Assessment A How-To Guide to
  Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks
• The objective of this How-To Guide is to outline
  methods for identifying the critical assets and
  functions within buildings, determining the
  threats to those assets, and assessing the
  vulnerabilities associated with those threats.
• The methods presented provide a means to assess
  risks and to make decisions about how to mitigate
  them.

19
FEMA 452 - Risk Assessment A How-To Guide to
Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks

• The scope of the methods includes reducing
  physical damage to structural and non-structural
  components of buildings and related
  infrastructure, and reducing resultant casualties
  during conventional bomb attacks, as well as
  attacks involving chemical, biological, and
  radiological (CBR) agents.
• The intended audience includes architects and
  engineers working for private institutions,
  building owners/operators/managers, and state and
  local government officials working in the
  building sciences community.