Officials in state warn of biological terrorism
By GRANT SASEK
Helena Independent Record
It would be a very different sort of crime scene. No explosions, no cloud of smoke, no victims, no hint it was even taking place.

Then, a few days later, the colds would begin. A few days after that, people, maybe hundreds or thousands of people, would begin dying.

Sometime along the way, someone would figure out they were victims of bioterrorism.

"One wouldn't even know a biological attack was under way until it was over," state Epidemiologist Todd Damrow warned members of the Helena Local Emergency Planning Committee last week. "It's the ultimate stealth weapon."

Biological weapons can't be seen by the human eye, X-ray or radar. They are odorless and colorless. Some are potent enough that a sugarcube-sized amount could kill 1.5 million people.

"They are the poor man's atom bomb," Damrow said.

They also are available - and easy to make.

A recipe for making Ricin can be purchased through the Internet for $12.95. Other biological compounds also can be found through the Internet or delivered by mail.

Books, including "Deadly Brew," "The Anarchist's Cookbook" and "Bacteriological Warfare," offer plenty of recipes for other concoctions.

"One does not need a degree in microbiology to make this work, being able to read is enough," Damrow said. "It's not like enriching uranium."

It's as deadly. Consider anthrax, the "Saturday Night Special" of biological agents.

It is easy to grow, it grows indestructible spores that can survive for 100 years and can travel hundreds of miles, even penetrating buildings along the way.

So far, a vaccine exists but is only available to the military.

"We need to begin thinking the unthinkable and talking about the unspeakable," Damrow said.

That is just what they were doing Thursday.

Paul Spengler, disaster and emergency services coordinator for Lewis and Clark County, said there is nothing paranoid about being prepared for such a thing - even in Helena.

"We're a state capital," Spengler said. "We could be a tempting target to someone."

In 1984 near Bend, Ore., 751 people got sick after cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and followers sprayed salmonella on public salad bars. Their hope was to throw a local election in favor of other cult members.

Because of the stealthy nature of bioterrorist weapons, it is extremely difficult to prevent an attack, Damrow said.

Because of that harsh fact, most of the time spent by emergency responders will be on responding to, rather than preventing, a biological attack, Damrow said.

The discussion with emergency responders here comes after years of not saying much on the subject.

"It's morally repugnant," Damrow said. "It wasn't something people wanted to talk about or think about."

He pointed to the attack in Oregon as an example. It wasn't until last year that information about the attack was released to the public.

Damrow said there were reasons for that lingering silence, including fears that they may inadvertently give someone ideas.

Unfortunately, Damrow said, "The bad guys already know this stuff."

Spengler said at the February's meeting of the committee, work will begin developing plans on how to respond to a biological attack if one were to happen in Helena.

"We want to get something down on paper," Spengler said.