In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Last week, the Kennedy School of Government’s Arnold Bogis gave me a copy of a terrific pamphlet, “We All Have A Role: Working With Your Community to Prepare For Natural and Man-Made Disasters.” It was published by the Commission On The Prevention Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction Proliferation And Terrorism when I was in the hospital, and [...]

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Related to a previous discussion about improving public information and preparedness for the nuclear threat, I thought I’d mention that I unexpectedly will be making a small contribution to medical research in this area as part of my recent hospitalization. Before starting my treatment for leukemia, I volunteered to be part of a medical study, “Radiation [...]

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By coincidence two days after the attempted bombing in Times Square, the new issue of  The New Yorker has a good article, “Fallout,” written by Nick Paumgarten, which looks at the possibility of a nuclear device being detonated by terrorists in New York City.
The piece focuses on Irwin Redliner, the head of Columbia’s National Center [...]

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In an interesting new op-ed, “Gimme Shelter: The Need For A Contemporary Civil Defense Program,” on the website of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Stanford University professor Lawrence Wein argues that the federal government should immediately start a comprehensive public education campaign about the benefits of sheltering during a nuclear terrorist attack.
Wein along with two graduate [...]

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A new study by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management found that most people in the National Capital Region would follow instructions to stay where they are after a radiological dispersion device, or “dirty bomb.” The survey, “Population Behaviors in Dirty Bomb Attack Scenarios: A Survey of the National Capital Region,” explored how people get their information [...]

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There was an interesting story on WNYC, the New York City National Public Radio affiliate, this weekend, “How NY Officials Prepare for Threat of Dirty Bomb,” by Bob Hennelly. The piece described the City’s extensive efforts to prevent and respond to the use of a so-called ‘dirty bomb,’ a traditional explosive laced with radiological material, [...]

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After the Nuclear Security Summit during which President Obama expressed serious concern about the danger of nuclear terrorism here, USA Today’s Steve Sternberg has a story, “Nuclear Blast Victims Would Have To Wait,” saying that the Administration has “warned state and local governments not to expect a ’significant federal response’ at the scene of a terrorist [...]

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Just before the start of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, President Obama underscored the stakes: “the  single biggest threat to U.S. security — both short term, medium term and long term — would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon…And we know that organizations like al-Qaeda are in the [...]

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I wanted to point out a story now playing out in Las Vegas, Nevada, which to me is another example of how the public is too often infantilized when it comes to information on serious terrorist threats, including weapons of mass destruction — And, as a result, why we as citizens are not as prepared [...]

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U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) said earlier this month he agreed with the findings of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism that a biological attack on the nation is more likely than a nuclear attack.
Lieberman and ranking member Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a bill that [...]

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