Drill combines bomb in Seattle and biological agent in Chicago

SEATTLE -- Smashed cars, buses and other debris littered an industrial lot Monday to represent the aftermath of a radioactive "dirty bomb" explosion for the most extensive bioterrorism drill in the nation's history.

The five-day drill, combining the Seattle disaster with the fake threat of a biological agent in Chicago, is aimed at testing the ability of local, state and federal authorities to handle terrorist attacks. It is the first large-scale counterterrorism exercise since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

The idea, said Mayor Greg Nickels, is for regional and national agencies to see where strengths and weaknesses lie.

"When a disaster occurs, people do not call the White House," Nickels said at a news conference. "They call 911."

"The time to test is before such a threat arises," Washington Gov. Gary Locke said. "We're performing this exercise to be better prepared. ... We expect to learn a lot and we expect to apply what we learn."

The exercises, which are being spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security, will cost an estimated $16 million and involve more than 8,500 people from 100 federal, state and local agencies, the American Red Cross and the Canadian government.

The scenarios involve two separate attacks -- one nuclear, one biological -- by two cells of a fictional terrorist group.

On Monday afternoon, Seattle officials were to respond to an explosion causing more than 100 "casualties." Under the scenario, radiation would be detected near the blast's crater, triggering a response from federal officials. The damaged vehicles were already at the site Monday morning in preparation for the exercise.

Over the next few days, a number of "patients" are to show up at hospitals in the Chicago area suffering from flu-like symptoms. In the script, the terrorist group released a deadly plague in aerosol form on Saturday. More cases were to be reported across the nation and Vancouver, British Columbia, prompting the coordination of officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Healing the victims of the bomb blast and cleaning up their homes was to take place in Seattle and a raid on the fictional terrorist group -- dubbed GLODO for the exercise -- was scheduled.

The scenarios later in the week involve the distribution of antibiotic stockpiles, the handling of an increasing level of patients suffering from the biological agent and discovery of the sites where the material was produced.

In Chicago, emergency workers will also grapple with a fictional airplane crash.

A detailed, 200-page scenario has been written for the drill, which officials said will be as realistic-looking as possible. Stand-ins will portray President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and even press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has said he isn't worried that the security exercise may cause panic, noting that the event has received extensive publicity locally and warnings have appeared in newspaper ads.

Some details have been kept from the participants in order to make the exercise more realistic. The Office of Domestic Preparedness has been planning the event -- dubbed "Topoff 2" for "top officials" -- since shortly after the first such drill, "Topoff 1," three years ago in Denver and New Hampshire.

Participants will include governors, mayors, county executives and other elected officials as well as police officers, firefighters, hospital personnel and other emergency responders.

"Protection against terrorism requires that organizations at every level of government and in the private sector work together in partnership to prepare for events and deal with their consequences," U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said in a news release. "Topoff 2 provides the opportunity to test our preparedness, and at the same time identify ways to improve response in the future."

Hundreds of evaluators will watch the exercise and report their findings for later study. Whatever lessons are learned will likely be applied to earthquakes and other natural disasters, as well as terrorist attacks, officials said.

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On the Net:

TopOff2: http://www.topoff2media.net

Department of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/index.jsp