{
  "id": "RL32152",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32152",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 319914,
      "date": "2003-11-19",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-08T14:33:49.535544",
      "title": "The BioWatch Program: Detection of Bioterrorism",
      "summary": "The anthrax mailings of 2001 increased public and governmental awareness of the threat of\nterrorism\nusing biological weapons. The federal response to this threat includes increases in countermeasure\nresearch funding, greater investment in public health infrastructure, and greater preparation of first\nresponders who might be the first to encounter such weapons in an event. The new Department of\nHomeland Security (DHS) has made preparation against biological weapon attack a priority and \ndeployed the BioWatch Program to provide early warning of a mass pathogen release.\n The BioWatch Program uses a series of pathogen detectors co-located with Environmental\nProtection Agency air quality monitors. These detectors collect airborne particles onto filters, which\nare subsequently transported to laboratories for analysis. It is expected that this system will provide\nearly warning of a pathogen release, alerting authorities before victims begin to show symptoms and\nproviding the opportunity to deliver treatments earlier, decreasing illness and death.\n The BioWatch Program, funded and overseen by DHS, has three main elements each\ncoordinated by different agencies, sampling, analysis, and response. The Environmental Protection\nAgency (EPA) maintains the sampling component, the sensors that collect airborne particles. The\nCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coordinates analysis, the laboratory testing of the\nsamples, though testing is actually carried out in state and local public health laboratories. Local\njurisdictions are responsible for the public health response to positive findings. The Federal Bureau\nof Investigation (FBI) is designated as the lead agency for the law enforcement response if a\nbioterrorism event is detected. The BioWatch Program has raised concerns in some quarters, with\nquestions about its general effectiveness, the siting of pathogen detectors, the reliability of its results,\nits cost and workforce requirements, and the ability of public health officials to respond to BioWatch\nresults. Efforts to develop integrated response plans, lower the system cost, and develop\ncomplementary and next-generation systems continue.\n Some aspects of the BioWatch Program may be of particular interest to policymakers. For\nexample, Congress may be interested in whether these types of detection systems can substitute for\nor supplement other mechanisms in protecting the general populace; whether this detection system\nwas implemented optimally; how the success of this system is to be evaluated; whether the\nimplementation, operational, and expansion costs for the BioWatch Program make it a cost-effective\nfederal investment; and how to optimize and streamline performance in the future. Since the\nBioWatch Program is a federal program implemented using state infrastructure, Congress may wish\nto examine how this new program coordinates with already existing public health and\ncounterterrorism programs, as well as consider the roles and responsibilities of the federal\ngovernment and coordination with state governments in an actual bioterrorism event.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL32152",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}