nyone who takes seriously an "orange alert" from the Department
of Homeland Security may be comforted by Tom Ridge's new scheme to detect
contagions drifting in the air within 24 hours of their release.
Bio-Watch promises to give emergency workers the heads-up on bioterrorism
attacks, long before victims are being packed into hospital wards. With
the U.S. expecting retaliatory strikes should Bush order war against Iraq
in coming days, officials want Bio-Watch to be a blanket of civilian
safety.
Working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, Ridge's department is already slapping
filters on EPA air pollution monitors nationwide to catch bits of
anthrax, smallpox, "and a number of other agents that we're not
talking about," said Tom Coda, an EPA program coordinator. Labs
certified by the Centers for Disease Control will test the filters daily
for the presence of infectious agents.
Sounds like a plan. But before preparedness freaks pull the duct tape off
their windows, they should first hear what independent scientists think
about Bio-Watch.
"It's crazy,"
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