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
recycled paperR
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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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