StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

The events of Sept. 11, 2001, reinforced the need to enhance the security of the United States. Congress responded by passing the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which President Bush signed into law June 12, 2002.

There is alot of good stuff on the website of the Food and Drug Administration about bioterrorism, including The Bioterrorism Act of 2002

But it seems that the US Department of Agriculture is among one the worst violators of the Act.

Persistent Homeland Security Problems at Agriculture
USDA Ignoring Security Rules While Dispensing Advice to Farmers

The
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed two straight audits
over its unsafe handling of highly toxic agents — at the same time
that the agency is distributing a detailed homeland security checklist
to farmers, ranchers, and dairy operators, according to agency
documents released today by Sinapu and Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The audits,
conducted by the USDA Office of Inspector General in 2005 and 2006,
concern a branch of the agency, named Wildlife Services, which
exterminates wildlife at the request of farmers and ranchers. In 2004,
the last year for which figures are available, Wildlife Services killed
2.7 million animals, principally birds, using an array of lethal
chemical agents ranging from sodium cyanide to aluminum phosphate,
deployed across the country as bait, in fumigants, sprays and gases.
The IG repeatedly found the agency in violation of the Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act for failing to secure "dangerous
biological agents and toxins," including not keeping accurate
inventories whereby theft, unauthorized sale, or other losses of these
toxins could be detected. Other violations included regular access to
toxins by unauthorized persons, distribution of chemical agents to
untrained individuals, and inadequate security plans. All ten of the
Wildlife Services sites audited by the Inspector General were found to
be out of compliance with bioterrorism regulations.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
…
"The Department of Agriculture itself poses a bigger homeland security
threat than any possible infiltration of Iowa by Al Qaeda," stated PEER
Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the USDA has not acted to
follow many of the Inspector General’s recommendations or to punish the
responsible Wildlife Services managers. "USDA ought to stop giving out
homeland security advice until it starts following the most basic
bio-security precautions…"

Additionally:

Audit Shows Toxins Poorly Safeguarded, Federal audit says biological agents and toxins used to kill wildlife are poorly safeguarded
…At issue is how the department handles and stores the poisons it uses
to kill animals such as starlings, wild turkeys and chickens, black
bears, coyotes and wolves that are considered a nuisance.

The
department’s Wildlife Services program uses chemical agents to kill
animals, mainly because they threaten livestock, crops or people in
airplanes.

An audit by the department’s inspector general faulted the agency for:

_failing to keep accurate inventories of agents or toxins.

_not restricting access to agents or toxins.

_not having complete security plans.

Auditors
visited 10 of 75 registered entities where agents are kept and found
that none of the 10 complied with security regulations…

OPINION
I don’t think this is a case of environmental "tree hugging." This is more like irresponsible actions by bureaucrats.