Posted on 02/11/2003 2:47:13 AM PST by sarcasm
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:12:10 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The NYPD is on the lookout for individuals armed with "conventional or improvised weapons" who may unleash a devastating attack on the city by concealing deadly chemicals in light bulbs or fire extinguishers, The Post has learned.
A four-page alert issued by the NYPD's counter-terrorism unit to cops over the weekend warns officers to keep their eyes peeled for "unusual conditions and activities" that may be a prelude to an attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Light bulbs? Why light bulbs?
June 6-10, 1966On June 6-10, 1966, the U.S. Army's Special Operations Branch carried out the most advanced simulation of an anthrax attack ever done. During a 5-day period, scientists and technicians tested how a relatively simple dissemination of a biological agent in the New York City subway system could affect commuters.
In mid-Manhattan, during peak hour travel, undercover military personnel dropped light bulbs filled with what they believed were a harmless anthrax simulant called Bacillus subtilis variant Niger on the tracks and into the ventilation system. Some of the bulbs were shattered on sidewalk ventilation grills, leading down to subway tunnels and station platforms. Others were thrown directly on the tracks when a train entered or left a subway station. Sampling equipment was placed in the tunnels, and undercover army staff with measuring equipment in briefcases monitored the air on station platforms.
The purpose of the study was to find out to what extent a biowarfare agent could spread through the subway tunnels. The result shows that if this kind of dissemination occurred a large part of the city's subway system would be contaminated, and a great portion of commuters using the subway in midtown and downtown would have been exposed. Measurable traces were even found in subway stations and tunnels in the boroughs on the other side of the river.
The report illustrate that the subway system, with its heavy wind flow and absence of sunlight could be an almost perfect setting for survival and dissemination of germ agents such as anthrax.
The entire tests were conducted secretly and all personnel were equipped with false letters of identification.
"The several trials were conducted as completely independent operations without the knowledge or cooperation of the New York City Transit Authority or Police Department. Dissemination of agent and collection of air samples attracted no attention, and the tests were carried out without incident. Agent was disseminated without challenge or apparent detection. Air sampling was conducted more or less openly; it elicited few inquiries and no suspicion. Test personnel were given letters identifying them as members of an industrial research organization as a cover in case they were questioned. They were not used, except by one person who smoked in a station. He used his letter to prove non-residency to a police officer. Following this, he completed sample collection without further questioning." (p.22 in the report)
Later it was discovered that the anthrax simulant might have posed some risk of infection for persons with weakened immune system.
Sources: A Study of the Vulnerability of Subway Passengers in New York City to Covert Attack with Biological Agent, Miscellaneous Publications 25, Department of the Army, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland, January 1968. America's Achilles Heel by Richard A. Falkenrath, Robert D. Newman, Bradley A. Thayer. The Biology of Doom by Ed Regis. Plague Wars by Tom Mangold, Jeff Goldberg. Clouds of Secrecy: The Army's Germ Warfare Tests over Populated Areas, by Leonard A. Cole, Rowman & Littlefield, 1988.
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