EPA Program To Detect Bioterror A Flop, Warns Inspector General

(ENS) WASHINGTON -- The BioWatch program set up by the Bush administration to detect biowarfare agents in cities is behind the technological curve for air sampling, and is not adequately prepared to assist with consequence management plans in the event of a biological agent release, the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in a new report.

BioWatch is an early-warning system designed to detect the release of biological agents in the air through a comprehensive protocol of monitoring and laboratory analysis. BioWatch is a "detect to treat" network intended to detect biological agents within 36 hours of release, so that there is time for federal, state, and local officials to determine emergency response, medical care, and consequence management needs.

The report released March 23 by Inspector General Nikki Tinsley's office said, "We found that EPA did not provide adequate oversight of the sampling operations to ensure quality assurance guidance was adhered to, potentially affecting the quality of the samples taken."

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funds and oversees the BioWatch program while relying on the assistance and expertise of the EPA and other agencies.

DHS uses the EPA to award and manage cooperative agreements to state and local air monitoring agencies to collect filter samples. EPA's designated responsibilities include a crucial part of the BioWatch program -- the sampling operations.

These operations include monitor deployment, site security, oversight, and assessing monitor technology.

The internal agency watchdog said the EPA did complete a technology assessment of the existing BioWatch monitors, but also "needs to be involved in assessing technologies that are more reliable and timely, and reduce costs."

A lack of consequence management planning was highlighted when a biological agent was detected in Houston in 2003, the Inspector General said, and at the time of this review an improved plan was still not complete.

The Inspector General recommended that the EPA assistant administrator for air and radiation take responsibility for identifying and testing alternative technologies that are more reliable, timely, and efficient for detecting biological agents, and ensure the agency is adequately prepared to assist with consequence management plans in the event of a biological agent release.

In response to the critical report, the EPA said in a statement that the federal government "continues to make substantial improvements to the program -- from the quantity of monitors to security at monitoring sites to quality assurance activities. These improvements effectively resolve the concerns raized by EPA's Inspector General."

While declining to name the cities due to national security concerns, the EPA did say that as of last month, the agency had worked with every BioWatch city "to ensure that the monitoring equipment at every site is functioning properly, is secure, and is able to effectively detect biological agents in the event they were released."

"And we know the program is working," the agency said, "since its inception, the BioWatch team, with the support of state and local public health officials, has sited and continues to site hundreds of monitors across the nation that have successfully yielded tens of thousands of samples.

Monitors are being deployed "on an extremely tight schedule because of rising security concerns," the EPA said and assured the public that the agency "is meeting the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security."