Preparing for the worst

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Imagine a canister exploding at the pier on a busy

summer day, spraying a mysterious powder on a crowd of people who then

fall ill.

That’s one of the scenarios local officials trained for last week as part

of the federal government’s effort to prepare the city for a terrorist

attack using biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. Representatives

from the Department of Defense, the FBI, the Environmental Protection

Agency and others worked with city agencies.

Terrorists tend to target places where large groups gather, which makes

the city more vulnerable than most other cities in the county because its

famous shoreline attracts millions of tourists annually, said city

spokesman Rich Barnard.

“The terrorists are trying to make a statement usually,” he said.

Officials stressed that the city has never faced such an assault and that

none appears likely. But that’s no excuse for dismissing the potential

danger, they say.

“These are very minute possibilities in Huntington Beach, but they are

possibilities,” Fire Chief Mike Dolder said.

The threat can come from anywhere, either inside and outside the country,

said Michelle McCaskill Griggs, spokeswoman for the program sponsored by

the Department of Defense.

Although they failed, terrorists tried to use chemical agents when they

bombed New York City’s World Trade Center in 1993 and Oklahoma City in

1995, she said.

The types of weapons capable of mass destruction are no longer limited to

bulky missiles and rockets. Releasing deadly sarin gas or anthrax into

the air can be done using an ordinary aerosol can, Dolder said.

“They come in all sizes, shapes and forms,” he said.

To help local officials recognize the danger, federal experts spent five

days training around 500 people, including police, fire and public works

personnel. The city is one of 120 cities nationwide selected for the

program. The others in the county are Santa Ana and Anaheim.

Although the city already has a hazardous material response team, the

federal government will donate $300,000 so the city can buy protective

clothing and testing equipment to meet the dangers the city may face,

Dolder said.

“I hope we never do [need this training], but that doesn’t mean we

shouldn’t be prepared,” he said.