BioWatch Program: Detection of Bioterrorism (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Nov. 19, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL32152 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Dana A. Shea, Resources, Science, and Industry Division; and Sarah A. Lister, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The anthrax mailings of 2001 increased public and governmental awareness of the threat of
terrorism
using biological weapons. The federal response to this threat includes increases in countermeasure
research funding, greater investment in public health infrastructure, and greater preparation of first
responders who might be the first to encounter such weapons in an event. The new Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) has made preparation against biological weapon attack a priority and
deployed the BioWatch Program to provide early warning of a mass pathogen release.
The BioWatch Program uses a series of pathogen detectors co-located with Environmental
Protection Agency air quality monitors. These detectors collect airborne particles onto filters, which
are subsequently transported to laboratories for analysis. It is expected that this system will provide
early warning of a pathogen release, alerting authorities before victims begin to show symptoms and
providing the opportunity to deliver treatments earlier, decreasing illness and death.
The BioWatch Program, funded and overseen by DHS, has three main elements each
coordinated by different agencies, sampling, analysis, and response. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) maintains the sampling component, the sensors that collect airborne particles. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coordinates analysis, the laboratory testing of the
samples, though testing is actually carried out in state and local public health laboratories. Local
jurisdictions are responsible for the public health response to positive findings. The Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) is designated as the lead agency for the law enforcement response if a
bioterrorism event is detected. The BioWatch Program has raised concerns in some quarters, with
questions about its general effectiveness, the siting of pathogen detectors, the reliability of its results,
its cost and workforce requirements, and the ability of public health officials to respond to BioWatch
results. Efforts to develop integrated response plans, lower the system cost, and develop
complementary and next-generation systems continue.
Some aspects of the BioWatch Program may be of particular interest to policymakers. For
example, Congress may be interested in whether these types of detection systems can substitute for
or supplement other mechanisms in protecting the general populace; whether this detection system
was implemented optimally; how the success of this system is to be evaluated; whether the
implementation, operational, and expansion costs for the BioWatch Program make it a cost-effective
federal investment; and how to optimize and streamline performance in the future. Since the
BioWatch Program is a federal program implemented using state infrastructure, Congress may wish
to examine how this new program coordinates with already existing public health and
counterterrorism programs, as well as consider the roles and responsibilities of the federal
government and coordination with state governments in an actual bioterrorism event.
