Study Says Biothreats are a Major Risk
According to the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, the risk of biothreats is real, increasing, and something for which we as a nation are woefully unprepared to handle. Ouch!
The Ins and Outs of Biothreats
Biothreats primarily refer to the deployment of biological agents for malicious purposes – namely, biological weapons. Examples include launching gas bombs, poisoning the water supply, and even the anthrax U.S. Postal Service scare that occurred immediately after 9/11. Even biological events or a pandemic happening in other countries could impact the U.S.
According to the Blue Ribbon study, the problem is that our nation’s response systems, prediction models, monitoring mechanisms, and mapping processes are outdated. Additionally, some countries like Russia are difficult to coordinate and cooperate with.
How Utilities are at Risk
Although the Blue Ribbon study focuses on the medical sector, this threat could impact utilities in all sectors as well. Water utilities are the obvious target, but electric and gas companies are certainly not immune to the negative impact of biothreats. For example, terrorists could take down a large swath of the grid, and then deploy an airborne pathogen to hinder the outage restoration process. Same goes for natural gas utilities.
It would be easy for utilities to overlook biothreats in emergency planning. After all, the negative impact is generally more of the “collateral damage” variety than a direct hit, and the probability of an attack is low.
That being said, although a nationwide bioterror attack seems relatively unlikely right now, the risk is increasing exponentially as genetic engineering technology continues to advance. I think biothreats are a risk worth at least mentioning in emergency plans, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a biological issue or scenario incorporated in exercises and drills as well. The bottom line: you can never be too prepared.
