InfoGram

April 3, 2003

NOTE: This InfoGram will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency management and response sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by email at emr-isac@fema.dhs.gov.

Personal Preparedness: An Infrastructure Protection Multiplier

A wise leader once said: "Subordinates won't care what you know until they know that you care." Others have espoused that "caring" may be the most important ingredient in any leadership situation. Some scholars even claim, "What leaders invest in the lives of their followers comes back into the lives of the leaders." Accepting the wisdom of these words, the CIPIC continues to maintain that personnel are the foremost among the critical infrastructures of any organization. Therefore, the CIPIC embraces the leadership obligation to actively promote personnel preparedness of all subordinates through outstanding teaching, training, mentoring, and counseling.

Personnel preparedness has two major components: professional and personal. Although some leaders hesitate to extend their "caring" to the personal lives of their subordinates, numerous leadership specialists advocate the necessity for leaders to do so. These specialists are not suggesting that leaders attempt to direct the personal lives of their personnel. However, they are encouraging that leaders willingly offer "best practices" in order to assist individuals in effectively directing their own lives.

Because personal preparedness can strengthen the infrastructure protection of an organization, the CIPIC proposes the following topics as appropriate for leadership "caring" and mentoring of subordinate personnel. The CIPIC further opines that leaders who refrain from discussing these subjects with their personnel may potentially fail to contribute to the personal readiness and confidence of those they lead:

• Permanent document security (e.g., birth and marriage certificates, wills)
• Important papers security (e.g., IRAs, investments, credit statements, pay stubs)
• Personal finances controls (e.g., pay, banking, credit cards, taxes)
• Insurance participation (e.g., house, car, health, term and whole life)
• Legal affairs (e.g., power of attorney, wills, living wills and trusts)
• Housing matters (e.g., rental, ownership, utilities, insurance)
• Tragic events (e.g., funeral services and arrangements, survivor plans and benefits)

SARS Information

Medical officials on three continents are "grappling with a rapidly spreading epidemic" of a dangerous ailment known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This new disease appears much like the flu or pneumonia. Victims get a high fever reaching or exceeding 104 degrees. They also suffer from headache, sore throat, dry cough, shortness of breath, or difficult breathing. Some people acquire other symptoms such as stiff or aching muscles, loss of appetite, fatigue, diarrhea, and a rash. Several individuals in close contact, including healthcare workers, have developed the symptoms of SARS. In response to these developments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has initialized surveillance for cases of SARS among recent travelers or their close contacts.

CDC now maintains an updated SARS clinical information website. The website contains a special section for clinical providers, with case definitions, clinical descriptions, diagnosis and evaluation procedures, exposure management, isolation and infection control, treatment, reporting, and references. Access to this site is available at the following URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/clinicians.htm.

Two Events Affecting Infrastructure Protection

The CIPIC received information that in late March, emergency vehicle license plates were stolen from three ambulances. The theft of the red and white Pennsylvania plates (EV 24281, EV 24282, EV 23391) was reported to the police. Consequently, law enforcement officials recommended awareness of ambulances delivering patients to facilities or parked in the vicinity of emergency facilities within Pennsylvania or surrounding states. They further requested immediate notification of the local police if an ambulance or any type of emergency vehicle with one of these plates is located.

This week, the FBI published a bulletin advising police personnel to be observant for terrorists making toxins such as ricin and botulism. The bulletin warns that ricin and other lethal agents "can be easily concocted using recipes found on the Internet with ingredients and equipment purchased at nurseries, hardware stores, and mail order houses." It also tells emergency first responders to be aware of telltale signs of toxin production (e.g., large caches of yeast or infant formula, and sacks of castor beans). Officials fear it is possible that foreign or homegrown extremist and hate groups "could create enough toxins to contaminate a local food source or stage assassinations without elaborate lab equipment or a risky smuggling operation."

New NIST Report

A new report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides comprehensive descriptions of the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) activities that should be of great interest to police and fire departments, as well as other organizations concerned with public safety. According to a NIST Update, the six OLES program areas covered in the publication are: weapons and protective systems; detection, inspection and enforcement technologies; chemical systems and materials; forensic sciences; public safety communication standards; and critical incident technologies.

The report (NISTIR 6952) may be viewed at: www.eeel.nist.gov/lab_office/documents.html. At this website, go to "2003 Technical Programs, Activities, and Accomplishments, " then click on "Office of Law Enforcement Standards." Single copies of the document can be obtained by sending electronic mail to: oles@nist.gov.