Huge Homeland Security Drill Planned

'Dirty Bomb' in Seattle, Disease in Chicago Part of Scenario for May 12 Exercise

May 5, 2003; Page A09
By Edward Walsh and John Mintz. Washington Post Staff Writers

This is the scenario: At noon in Seattle, a hidden bomb explodes south of the central business district, causing more than 100 casualties. Significant levels of radiation are detected near the site of the explosion and it soon becomes apparent to local officials that this was no ordinary bomb, but a radiological dispersal device, commonly known as a "dirty bomb."

The next day and some 2,000 miles to the east, people complaining of flu-like symptoms begin to trickle into hospitals in the Chicago area. Over the next 24 hours, the number of arriving patients escalates dramatically. Local officials diagnose the cause of the illness and ask the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to confirm their worst fear -- a deadly, biological agent has been released near Chicago.

These fictional events are set to unfold over five days beginning May 12 in what federal officials say will be the largest homeland security exercise in U.S. history. Dubbed TOPOFF 2 (for Top Officials), the exercise will cost an estimated $16 million and involve more than 100 federal, state and local agencies, the American Red Cross and Canadian government agencies and organizations.

About 8,500 people will take part in this exercise, including officials in the District, Maryland and Virginia, who will activate their emergency operations centers on the day of the fictional radioactive explosion in Seattle. Officials said this would be the normal response in the nation's capital to an attack with weapons of mass destruction anywhere in the country.

The participants will range from governors, mayors, county executives and other elected officials to police officers, firefighters, medical personnel and other "first responders" to a terrorist attack. They will also include hundreds of "evaluators" who will watch the unfolding events and report their findings on the response for later study.

for full article see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13847-2003May4.html