Emergency Preparedness News articles from March 2005

Emergency Preparedness News archives from March 2005

Are we prepared?(Slants & Trends)(health responders ready for pandemics)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... ARE WE PREPARED? This familiar post-9/11 question was posed once again at a recent gathering of scientists considering whether a worldwide avian flu pandemic is inevitable, and if so, whether the responder health community is ready (see story,...

Responders still working to prepare as global flu pandemic threatens.
March 8, 2005... Headlines from a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., of the American Association for the Advancement of Science once again raised the specter of a worldwide avian flu pandemic and questions about whether U.S. responders are prepared to cope....

Institute cites poor communication as sidetracking CDC small pox campaign.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... The failure to explain its mission and back it up with authoritative scientific information caused the government's attempt to rally support for its small pox vaccination plan to fall flat among health practitioners and the public, according to...

Hazmat or harmless? Company seeks to provide responders with answers.
March 8, 2005... When emergency crews confront a potentially lethal substance, the most important response tool is the question "do we have a problem here or not?" according to Buck Somes, vice president of sales and marketing for GenPrime, Inc. GenPrime's...

Fourteen charged with FEMA fraud; disaster relief investigations continue.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Fourteen defendants in Miami-Dade County have been indicted on charges of defrauding FEMA of more than $150,000 in disaster relief by falsely claiming damages as a result of Hurricane Frances. The indictments are the result of...

USDA handling of Canadian BSE continues to attract controversy.(U.S. Department of Agriculture)(bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
March 8, 2005... Dueling lawsuits and controversy continue to characterize efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a policy on Canadian meat and livestock imports in light of the discovery late last year of two cases of bovine...

Small, frequent doses of caffeine found to boost cognitive performance.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... The Air Force has admitted what many responders know all too well--caffeine in the form of coffee, tea, or soda is often the beverage of choice for staying alert when working long hours. And so the Air Force's Office of Scientific Research...

House-passed ID law steps on States', privacy advocates' toes.(EPN News Roundup)(REAL ID Act)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Opponents are decrying driver's license provisions in the House-passed REAL ID Act (H.R. 418) as "the foundation for a national ID card" and "a massive unfunded mandate" that should be rejected by the Senate. The American Civil Liberties...

FDA approves human-derived drug for smallpox vaccine complications.(EPN News Roundup)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first intravenous human plasmaderived product to treat complications of smallpox vaccination. The newly approved Vaccinia Immune Globulin Intravenous (VIGIV), which is licensed to DynPort...

FAA proposes upgrading 'Black Box'; industry price tag would be $256 m.(EPN News Roundup)(Federal Aviation Administration)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed technology upgrades to aircraft "black box" flight recorders that would increase the survivability of information saved from aviation emergencies. FAA estimated that the rules would cost...

Greenspan expresses doubt that anti-terror insurers can go it alone.(EPN News Roundup)(Alan Greenspan)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... The insurance industry gained a strong ally for their cause when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told the House Financial Services Committee that he has "yet to be convinced" that a private market for terrorism insurance will work. The...

FCC levies fines for failure to provide emergency info to hearing impaired.(EPN News Roundup)(Federal Communications Commission)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... For the first time in its history, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined television stations for violating its emergency rules for the hearing impaired. "People with hearing disabilities have a right to the same timely emergency...

MATRIX suit moves in Michigan; ACLU challenges data accuracy.(EPN News Roundup)(Multi-State Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange)(American Civil Liberties Union)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Warfield Moore has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan against state police participation in the Multi-State Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) may move...

State homeland security advisors rank interoperability number one.(EPN News Roundup)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... Achieving interoperability so that responders can communicate with each other during an incident is the number one unfulfilled homeland security priority among state leaders, according to a survey by the National Governor's Association....

Under secretary for border.(Organization of American States gets additional $1.6 million funding)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... UNDER SECRETARY FOR BORDER and transportation security Asa Hutchinson pledged an additional $1.6 million on behalf of the United States to the Organization of American States (OAS) to strengthen and expand counter-terrorism coordination in the...

IBM.(Grant & Contracts)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... IBM has delivered on a major portion of its nine-year, $180 million contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the form of three supercomputers to crunch weather data into advanced storm and flood warnings....

IEM, Inc.(Grant & Contracts)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... IEM, INC., Baton Rouge, La., has been awarded a $1.1 million contract by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to lead a team that includes Dewberry and Auburn University in developing and implementing a series of full-scale and tabletop...

FEMA.(Grant & Contracts)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... FEMA delivered three more trucks in its yearlong, $6.7 million program to supply 93 vehicles to the agency's Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT). DMATs deploy to disasters carrying supplies to sustain them for 72 hours (EPN, Oct. 5, 2004,...

Privacy pundits.(20 members selected for Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Advisory Committee)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... PRIVACY PUNDITS. DHS has selected 20 members for its first Privacy Advisory Committee, which is charged with providing expert advice on programs, operations, and technical issues that affect privacy, data integrity, and data interoperability....

Community preparedness.(Seattle)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS. The DHS Science & Technology Directorate has selected Seattle as the fourth urban area for the Regional Technology Integration (RTI) initiative. RTI's objective is to assess a community's preparedness gaps, then help...

ID for feds questioned.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... ID FOR FEDS QUESTIONED. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) is imploring the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) not to ignore the current knowledge base when setting new federal ID card standards (EPN,...

DHS flunks cybersecurity.(Briefs)(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... DHS FLUNKS CYBERSECURITY. The federal departments in charge of the nation's security, food safety, and medical preparedness have earned a grade of F for the second year in a row on the House Government Reform Committee's federal information...

More landslides to come.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... MORE LANDSLIDES TO COME. As Californians continue to face landslide hazards from an unusually wet winter, U.S. Geological Survey scientists are warning residents of La Conchita that they are likely in for more of the same (EPN, Jan. 25, p. 11)....

Anthrax lessons.(Brief Article)
March 8, 2005... ANTHRAX LESSONS. The 2001 anthrax attacks in Washington, D.C., offer lessons for public health officials in communicating effectively during emergencies, according to a report from the RAND Corp. U.S. Senate workers said that they lost trust in...

Calendar.(Calendar)
March 8, 2005... March 14-15: Fourth Annual International Conference on Public Safety: Technology and Counter-Terrorism, San Francisco. International public policy officials gather to discuss solutions and state-of-the-art technologies. Contact: Reboot...

A terror threat is not sufficient.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... A TERROR THREAT IS NOT SUFFICIENT on its own to warrant action and a suffusion of homeland security funding, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff told the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute last week. DHS has begun the...

Responder supporters in congress.(Slants & Trends)(funding for emergency preparedness in terrorist attacks)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... RESPONDER SUPPORTERS IN CONGRESS, meanwhile, are vowing that even with Chertoff's new method of prioritization, every state should receive a dependable baseline of funding to prevent and be prepared for terrorist acts and other disasters....

Prematurely posted DHS plan heats up debate on defining U.S. preparedness.(United States. Department of Homeland Security)
March 22, 2005... An internal planning document identifying what DHS considers the most plausible and/or devastating terrorist attacks and natural disasters was mistakenly released on the Internet last week. The document is known as National Planning...

Deepwater, port security advocates rev funding campaign into high gear.
March 22, 2005... Citing its vital homeland security mission, the U.S. Coast Guard and its congressional supporters launched an earnest effort on numerous fronts last week to provide more funding for port security and replacing the Guard's aging fleet. USCG...

USCG unveils 'anti-swimmer' system to thwart underwater terror attacks.(United States Coast Guard)(maritime security)
March 22, 2005... With intelligence reports surfacing of terrorist plans for underwater attacks on American ships, the Coast Guard recently demonstrated its new underwater port security system at the USCG Integrated Support Command Center in San Pedro, Calif....

USCG encourages recreational boaters to be alert to maritime security threats.(United States. Coast Guard)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... With warm weather approaching, the Coast Guard recently rolled out a new program called "America's Waterway Watch" to encourage recreational boaters to provide increased maritime security vigilance and deterrence. "America's recreational...

Local law enforcement is key element on 'multi-layered' MANPADS protection.(man-portable air defense systems)
March 22, 2005... As the United States works to perfect the sophisticated and costly onboard technology that will defend commercial aircraft against man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), local responders--particularly law enforcement--will have to play a...

CAPA gives TSA failing grades for cargo and missile security.(Coalition of Airline Pilots Association)(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... TSA has earned D's and F's from the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association (CAPA) in a variety of aviation security areas, according to the group's "Aviation Security Report Card": * CAPA gave TSA a D in airport perimeter security due to...

GAO recommends TSA analysis of explosives detection methods.(General Accounting Office)(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... TSA must conduct a systematic analysis of the passenger and baggage screening technology it has installed at airports to determine which makes the most economic sense, recommended the GAO. TSA has deployed both explosives detection systems...

Agency offers free PDA software to guide hazmat response crews.(personal digital assistant)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... First responders who handle hazardous materials incidents now have access to free personal digital assistant (PDA) software designed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to help identify, contain, and suppress the hazardous substance and...

NFPA finds most fire department calls for medical assistance, false alarms.(National Fire Protection Association)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... U.S. fire departments responded to roughly 22.4 million calls in 2003, and only 1.6 million--or 7 percent--were for actual fires, reported the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Medical calls and false alarms have doubled since...

DHS.(Grant & Contracts)(United States. Department of Homeland Security)(grant to infrastructure facilities)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... DHS has announced $91.3 million in grant funding to protect areas surrounding critical infrastructure and key resource sites such as chemical facilities and nuclear power plants. The money is divided among the 50 states, District of Columbia,...

TSA.(Grant & Contracts)(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... TSA has signed a $46.9 million contract with Siemens Maintenance Service LLC, Richardson, Texas, to maintain most of TSA's screening equipment, including metal detectors, x-ray machines, and explosives trace detectors at the 450 U.S. commercial...

TSA also has signed two separate maintenance contracts for Explosives Detection Systems.(Grants & Contracts)(Transportation Security Administration )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... TSA also has signed two separate maintenance contracts for Explosives Detection Systems, one for $36 million with General Electric (GE) InVision Inc., Newark, Calif., for the 800 GE EDS machines, and one worth $28 million with L-3...

DHS science and technology directorate has issued a request for information on the management and operations of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center.(Grant & Contracts)(United States. Department of Homeland Security)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... DHS science and technology directorate has issued a request for information on the management and operations of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center, a facility mandated by the 2002 Homeland Security Act to provide the...

USDA.(Grant & Contracts)(United States. Department of Agriculture)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... USDA agricultural research service has redirected $2 million towards expanding BSE research and awarded $5 million to 17 colleges and universities to establish a Food Safety Research and Response Network. The expanded research will include...

DHS second in command.(Briefly Noted)(Michael Jackson appointed as deputy secretary of Department of Homeland Security)(Department of Homeland Security)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... DHS SECOND IN COMMAND. The Senate has confirmed Michael Jackson as DHS deputy secretary, post equal to chief operating officer in charge of managing day-to-day activities. Jackson served as deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation...

Feed ban gaps.(Briefly Noted)(ban on certain animal protein in ruminant feed)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... FEED BAN GAPS. The GAO has uncovered persistent gaps in the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) enforcement of its ban on certain animal protein in ruminant feed, a major risk factor in the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). FDA...

Feds push to lift cattle ban.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... FEDS PUSH TO LIFT CATTLE BAN. The Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has filed a request with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a decision by the U.S. District Court in Montana that is...

Victimhood without taxation.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... VICTIMHOOD WITHOUT TAXATION. The House has passed a measure (H.R. 1134) that eliminates taxes on FEMA disaster mitigation grants. The bill is in reaction to an IRS determination last year that the grants are taxable under current law (EPN, Feb....

Guns and terrorists.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... GUNS AND TERRORISTS. Thirty-five gun purchase transactions were allowed to proceed between Feb. 3-June 30, 2004 despite the fact that the buyers involved produced valid matches with terrorist watch list records, GAO has found. Although...

'Tis the season.(Briefly Noted)(seasonal fires reports)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... 'TIS THE SEASON. Spring is the season during which daily fire incidences are at their highest--an average of nearly 5000 fires each day, according to a report from FEMA's U.S. Fire Administration. The Seasonal Nature of Fires examines the...

Nightclub fire safety.(Briefly Noted)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... NIGHTCLUB FIRE SAFETY. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a draft report on improving nightclub fire safety as a result of the agency's investigation into the Feb. 20, 2003 Rhode Island nightclub fire that...

Innovative design, monitoring, power secure at-risk dams in remote spots.
March 22, 2005... There are more than 7,700 dams in the United States, and at least 20 percent of them could pose a significant threat if attacked by terrorists, according to Vincent Zimmerman, a dam security expert and project superintendent with Adesta LLC, an...

Security goes to school.(security category for America Infrastructure evaluation)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2005... SECURITY GOES TO SCHOOL. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has added a security category to its periodic Report Card for America's Infrastructure, but concluded in its latest report that it will await DHS's national infrastructure...