United Statesy
                    Environmental Protectiony
                    Agency
                    Office of Solid Wastey
                    And Emergency y
                    Response (5104)y
                    EPA 550-F-98-014y
                    February 1998y
                    www.epa.gov/swercepp/y
                    ERA'S ROLE  IN e
                    COUNTER-TERRORISM  ACTIVITIESe
                    FACTSHEET4*
Incidents involving4
weapons of mass4
destruction have result-4
ed in many deaths,4
numerous serious4
injuries and massive4
destruction of property.4
Examples of such inci-4
dents, both at home4
and abroad, include :4
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing for and will respond to ter-e
rorist threats from weapons of mass destruction.  Weapons of mass destruction are
"weapons or devices that are intended, or have the capability, to cause death or serious
bodily injury to a significant number of people, through the release, dissemination, ore
impact of toxic poisonous chemicals; disease organisms; or radiation or radioactivity."e
Because of its inherent role in protecting human health and the environment from possible
harmful effects of certain chemical, biological, and nuclear materials, EPA is activelye
involved in counter-terrorism planning and response efforts.
 •4A bomb exploded in a4
  garage of the World Trade4
  Center in New York City in4
  February 1993; six people4
  were killed, 1,000 injured,4
  and millions of dollars in4
  damages were sustained.4

 •4The highly toxic chemica!4
  gas Sarin^^was intentionally4
  released in the Tokyo, Japan,4
  subway in March 1995; 12 people were killed4
  and thousands were injured, many seriously.4

 •4A bomb exploded in front of a Federal building4
  in Oklahoma City in April 1995; 165 people4
  were killed, many hundreds were injured, and4
  millions of  dollars in property losses to the4
  Federal government and local businesses were4
  sustained. 4
      "We cannot af ord to wait forf
      an incident involving weapons
       of mass destruction.  Wef
     cannot af ord to be unpreparedf
             at any level." f
         — Former U.S. Senator f
              Sam Nunnf
              The U.S. government has4
              responded to the threat from4
              terrorist activities by helping4
              State and local governments4
              prepare for and respond to ter-4
              rorist threats that involve4
              weapons of mass destruction.4
              This planning effort is being4
              conducted through a partner-4
              ship that involves EPA, the4
              Department of Defense, the4
Department of Energy, the Federal Bureau of4
Investigation, the Federal Emergency Management4
Agency, and the Public Health Service.4

Why  Is EPA Involved?
Under the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), the Clean Water Act4
as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA),4
the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the "Superfund"4
law, Congress gave EPA responsibilities and Iegal4
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authorities to prepare for and respond to emergen-4
cies involving oil, hazardous substances, and cer-4
tain radiological materials - any of which could be4
a component of a weapon  of mass destruction. In4
addition, the President has given EPA responsibili-4
ty for some counter-terrorism activities. EPA's4
responsibilities include :4

• Assisting the FBI in determining what sort of4
  hazardous substance may be, or has been,4
  released in a terrorist incident.4

• ffollowing an incident, assisting with environ-4
  mental monitoring, decontamination efforts,4
  and long-term site cleanup operations.4

EPA's Role e
EPA supports the Federal counter-terrorism pro-4
gram specifically by: 4
1. HELPING STATE AND LOCAL RESPONDERS ro
  FOR EMERGENCIES. Since 1986, EPCRA has4
  required every community to develop an emer-4
  gency plan that prepares for accidental releases4
  of extremely hazardous substances, and should4
  one occur, makes provisions for rapid responses4
  to protect the  community. These existing plans4
  should be updated to incorporate planning and4
  response to deliberate chemical releases that are4
  the hallmark of terrorist incidents. By 2003, 504
  percent of all Local Emergency Planning4
  Committees (LEPCs) shall have incorporated4
  planning and  response to deliberate releases by4
  terrorists into  their emergency plans. 4
2. TRAINING FIRST RESPONDERS.  In addition to EPA's4
  existing training program for first responders, EPA4
  is one of six Federal agencies participating in a pro-4
  gram to train personnel who are likely to be first4
  on the scene of a terrorist incident. Local first4
  responders will be trained to respond effectively4
  and safely to potential terrorist attacks in which4
  chemical or biological agents have been used4
  against a civilian population. EPA assisted in the4
  development of the first responder training pro-4
  gram, which will be given to 120 of the Iargest4
  cities in the U.S. by 2002.4

3. PROVIDING RESOURCES isj THE EVENT CF 44
  TERRORIST INCIDENT.  EPA has specialized facili-4
  ties and uniquely qualified personnel to help4
  local and State personnel prepare for and4
  respond to emergencies, such as those that4
  might result from a terrorist incident.  We assist4
  our Federal partners and State and local govern-4
  ments through a variety of resources, including4
  On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs); the4
  Environmental Response Team; other emer-4
  gency response personnel; the National4
  Enforcement Investigations Center; and various4
  radiological response capabilities.  4

Ne  d More  lnformation?e
For more information on EPA's counter-terrorism4
activities and other emergency planning regula-4
tions, visit our homepage at4
http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/ or the NRT home-4
page at lttp://www.nrt.org/H

Or call the Emergency Planning and CommunityH
Rfght-to-Know Hotline at 1-800-424-9346.4

During an emergency, the National Response System can be accessed 24
hours a day by calling the National Response Center (NRC) at 1-800-424-4
8802. The NRC will then call the Regional emergency spill response line and4
access the on-duty Federal OSC. For non-emergencies or for assistance with4
emergency planning, State and local response personnel can access the NRS4
using the phone numbers listed below.4
Region 1 (Boston): 617-573-96414
Region 2 (New York): 732-321-66564
Region 3 (Philadelphia): 215-566-32414
Region 4 (Atlanta): 404-562-87214
Region 5 (Chicago): 312-353-23 18
Region 6 (Dallas): 214-665-22704
Region 7 (Kansas City): 913-551-79524
Region 8 (Denver): ' 303-312-68384
Region 9 (San Francisco): 415-744-22934
Region 10 (Seattle): 206-553-67094


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