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 ------- 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 ------- |