Intentional acts may include airborne releases of a chemical, an attack on chemical infrastructure, or an attack on chemicals in transit. Alternatively, intentional acts may target food, livestock, or crops. The chemicals that may be selected for intentional use can vary from military grade chemical warfare agents to various improvised chemical agents, toxic industrial chemicals, or pharmaceuticals.
The recognition and characterization of intentional events will differ from that for accidents in several ways. Firstly, there will likely be no RP to declare that an incident has occurred. Therefore, unless the attack happens to occur at a venue with exactly the right real-time field detection equipment, the event will depend upon recognition of and reporting on the symptoms caused in affected individuals. Furthermore, the identity of the released substance will not be immediately known. Additionally, the amount of substance released, the location of the release, and the method of dispersal likely will be unknown at the outset of the attack. Special attention will need to be paid to public communications strategies, as the public will likely be more distressed by an incident with intent to harm. To reassure the public, protect the safety of responders, and take the extreme lack of information into consideration, decision-making and the initiation of response activities should be approached cautiously and continually reviewed. Following an attack, the unknowns can pile up quickly, and access to accurate information will lag significantly.
While the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leads all criminal investigations of suspected chemical terrorism, the unique nature of chemical incidents mean that criminal investigations will likely occur concurrently with those led by other groups, such as public and environmental health investigations. In recent years, the FBI and CDC have introduced the concept of joint criminal and epidemiological investigations in which law enforcement and public health practitioners share information and draw on the unique expertise of both fields to maximize the effectiveness of characterization and response efforts.30 This coordination extends to food contamination events; here, joint criminal and epidemiological investigations by law enforcement and public, animal, and/or plant health authorities should be conducted to determine the event’s cause. Similarly, FBI coordinates with EPA in joint investigations that involve oil or chemical facilities,31 as well as with other agencies with the appropriate jurisdiction and expertise. An effective multi-agency joint effort increases the likelihood of successfully attributing/resolving threats (and thus also protecting the involved sector in the future) and ensures that rapid response and recovery operations do not interfere with or impede law enforcement operations or vice versa.
Footnotes
30. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2018). Joint Criminal-Epidemiologic Investigations Handbook. Centers for Disease Control.
31. Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2021, February). Oil and Chemical Incident Annex to the Federal Interagency Operational Plan.