Epa-managed Air Monitors May Fail to Detect Attack

BIOTERRORISM

EPA's internal watchdog has faulted the agency for poor management of Biowatch, a nationwide early warning system that monitors air for such intentionally released bioterror organisms as anthrax and smallpox. The program aims not to prevent an attack but to detect pathogens within 36 hours of release to give authorities time to react properly.

The $207 million system of aerosol monitors in 30 major cities was created in 2003 with funding from the Department of Homeland Security. DHS relies on the expertise of EPA and other agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, for sampling, detection equipment, lab analysis, and response.

Monitors, installed on preexisting EPA air quality stations, draw in air and pass it through filters that are collected daily. CDC is responsible for filter analysis and uses polymerase chain reaction techniques as the primary test for bioweapons agents.

In its report, EPA Inspector General Nikki L. Tinsley's office charges the agency with failure to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of air sampling. Among deficiencies cited are monitors that are incorrectly positioned, improperly maintained, and incorrectly calibrated.

The report's bottom line: "The failure of EPA to completely fulfill its responsibilities raises uncertainty about the ability of the Biowatch program to detect a biological attack." In response, EPA Assistant Administrator for Air & Radiation Jeffrey R. Holmstead notes that EPA is already trying to improve the program.