States Not Ready for Bioterrorism, Study Says
States that routinely deal with hurricanes and other natural disasters are better prepared than others to handle bioterrorism, but overall the nation is struggling to develop plans for public health emergencies.
Florida and North Carolina, both familiar with evacuating residents and distributing emergency aid, received top rankings in a study by the private Trust for America's Health. Alaska and Massachusetts got the lowest ratings, despite infusions of federal aid designed to improve emergency responsiveness.
Overall, the report found that states are slowly becoming better prepared to handle bioterrorism, but most still lack statewide response plans. Federal planning money is declining.
The report echoed fears voiced by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, in announcing his resignation this month, that he could not understand why terrorists have not attacked the country's food supply because it would be "so easy to do."
The review also follows a year in which the country faced a shortage of flu vaccines, normally a routine protection against a known problem.
Combating bioterrorism is the weakest link in homeland security, said former Connecticut governor Lowell P. Weicker Jr., now president of Trust for America's Health.
Security Warnings Need Review, Ridge Says
Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the government should reconsider how it warns people about security threats, conceding that its color-coded scale has invited "questions and even occasional derision."
Ridge's remarks came at a meeting in San Diego of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, created to advise the secretary on how to run the sprawling new department.
Ridge, who plans to step down after President Bush names a successor, defended the color-coded warnings, but said the public may want more specifics when the threat level is changed.
"I think the system is here to stay," he told reporters. "I just think that we need clearly to take a look at what kind of information do we need to give to the public."
The warning system assigns red, orange, yellow, blue and green, in descending order of risk, but it has sowed confusion since being adopted in 2002.
Bruce Lawlor, who stepped down as Ridge's chief of staff last year, said the color scale suffers "credibility issues" and may have outlived its purpose.
"I think we need to step back and say, 'Do we really need to rely on colors?' " said Lawlor, a retired Army major general.
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who participated by phone, chided the federal government for giving sometimes-confusing signals about terrorist threats to state and local officials. Information comes from Homeland Security, Defense and other departments -- and it is not always in sync.
"It's like the fire hydrant has been opened," Romney said.
Ridge agreed, saying his department should be a leading contender to be the single funnel of information on domestic threats.
"Whether or not we win the turf war, who knows?" he said.
-- From News Services
