Anthrax alert system is over budget, and late
JUN 18, 2012
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.026109
Washington Post : A week after the attacks on 11 September 2001, anthrax spores sent in letters to several US news agencies and two Senate offices killed 5 people and injured 17 . In response, the US launched a project called BioWatch, an early warning system to detect deadly pathogens, such as anthrax and smallpox, in 30 US cities. The Department of Homeland Security soon will open bidding on the next phase of the program, a five-year, $3.1 billion system upgrade that is supposed to make data collection more reliable and automatic. In theory, the upgrade will allow BioWatch to notify officials within hoursâmdash;rather than daysâmdash;that a pathogen has been released. However, a Government Accountability Office report due in August, which suggests that BioWatch is having difficulty meeting its financial and operating targets, may result in BioWatch’s funding being cut later this year.
More about the authors
Paul Guinnessy, pguinnes@aip.org
© 2012 American Institute of Physics
