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*********************.com Reports on "Is the Nation Ready for a 'Dirty Bomb?'"
Thursday May 27, 9:00 am ET

POINT ROBERTS, WA--(MARKET WIRE)--May 27, 2004 -- www.*********************.com (HDS), an investment research portal for the Homeland Defense and Security Sector, reports on recent terror threats and the country's state of preparedness to deal with a major attack. The site does not make recommendations, but offers a unique information portal to investors following the homeland security sector.
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Article excerpt:

"The federal government has announced that further terrorist attacks are likely this summer. Several new reports say a major concern is that terrorists may acquire and use a chemical, biological or radiological enhanced weapon.

In the opinion of at least one expert, a 'dirty bomb' is the most dangerous terrorist scenario we face.

"I think an explosive is by far the most likely scenario," says Dr. Carl Schultz(1), professor of emergency medicine at U of C, Irvine. "That's what they (the terrorists) do best and it's very hard to stop. It doesn't have to be particularly deadly radioactive material, because ANY radioactivity would take an entire area right off the map in the public's mind."

A dirty bomb would use conventional explosives to spread radioactive materials. It would have no atomic chain reaction and would likely be made without highly enriched uranium or plutonium, which tend to be well-guarded and difficult to move or handle.

"It would be incredibly hard to ever get people to go back to Disneyland, for example, after any radioactive release. Because the public 'knows' that radioactivity lasts forever, even though that isn't true," says Dr. Schultz.

So what will happen if Al-Qaida does manage to pull off an attack?

Dr. Schultz, who has published several papers on hospital preparedness, says there are lots of similarities between responses to earthquakes and a large-scale terrorist attack, and the biggest lesson the country has learned to date is the key to an effective response is a very robust public health infrastructure. He says that infrastructure has been badly neglected, and the government is finally moving to update it. Recent announcements suggest he's right."

Click here for the full article: www.*********************.com/Companies/HomelandDefense/Articles/Bioterror.asp

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