Interpol: Bio Attack Prep Lacking

(AP)  The world's law enforcement agencies still are ill-equipped to block a bioterrorist attack and need governments and research institutions to keep better track of pathogens that can be turned into weapons, according to the head of Interpol, an international organization of police forces.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble told an American Bar Association committee Tuesday that governments should pass laws governing the use of pathogens and that universities and researchers should make sure they know everyone working with such potentially dangerous substances.

"This is a threat that demands preventive action," Noble said. "The use of a disease as a weapon would be ... the ultimate crime against humanity."

While traditional anti-terrorism defenses involve restricting access to buildings and increasing searches of people and property, such techniques are ineffective against terrorists wielding biological weapons, Noble said.

"Terrorists can transmit lethal biological agents through any checkpoint without detection," he said. "With bioterrorism, there is no profile. The weapon may be invisible to the naked eye."

In addition, Noble said police forces are limited as to how they can track the use and movement of pathogens, since possessing the substances is legal.

The Homeland Security Department is charged with analyzing bioterror threats to the United States, but House Democrats last month said the new agency was "not remotely close to having the tools it needs to meet its critical mandate."

Department officials said they were moving quickly to correct any deficiencies.

Meanwhile, the House spending bill for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 included $890 million to buy antidotes and fund other steps to counter a bioterrorism attack.

Noble said countries should impose their own rules regarding pathogens to reduce the chances that the material could fall into the hands of terrorists, and that research institutions should clear the people handling the substances.

For example, state-sponsored researchers might have to undergo background checks, while universities should make sure they know the students and assistants helping with on-campus research, Noble said.

Noble added that there should be both civil and criminal penalties for mishandling pathogens. A minor infraction could draw a small fine or warning as an admonishment to be more careful, he said.

"You shouldn't say once there are best practices, a simple technical violation ought to lead to criminal penalties," he said.

Interpol coordinates information-sharing among police forces in 181 countries. Noble, who became secretary general in 2000, is a former assistant U.S. attorney, deputy assistant attorney general and Treasury Department chief law enforcement officer.

By Jonathan D. Salant