Backflow water-line attack feared

WSJ via MSNBC | December27,2001 | Yochi J. Dreazen

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Thanks for the bump, Sabertooth.

Thinking off the top of my head, it seems to me that terrorists would have to put a lot of any agent in a water system, otherwise dilution would take care of most of the problem.

My father-in-law is a former President of the American Water Works Association and is still active as a consultant, so I'm going to run this by him. He's on vacation, so it will be a few days before I can ask him. Anyone want a ping?

[UCANSEE2]

Whenever a convenient 'date' (like a specific holiday, or religious event) is not available, or just gone by, the media will feed the American public new possibilities we hadn't thought of.

This is needed to keep the public riled up, and supportive of whatever our government is doing.

The true driver of human activity is the pleasure principle. We will do much to achieve pleasure, but we will do ALMOST ANYTHING to avoid pain.

To control a society, you give it pain, then keep convincing it more pain could occur. That society will do anything you want it to.

If terrorists were going to attempt these kind of attacks, they would happen first, then you would get the info about how/why, and what to do.

You wouldn't be fed the info first, like this. It is reasonable for us all to use this information to be as prepared as possible. But don't let it control your life.

THEY WANT US TO BE SCARED. (the big question is: Who, in this case, is THEY ?)

[dennisw]

You are right. This is a simple operation but something I would never would have thought of. Now Al_Qaeda and other wack jobs can add this to their can do list.

Look at the extreme panic over anthrax and only a few died. Some scum doing the above will panic millions even though his real physical impact is local and in the thousands.

[Brian Allen]

The scariest water terror scenario I've heard so far would be to take a few grams of plutonium and toss it into a reservoir. Easier than making a bomb, and a coordinated attack could poison a large region. Chlorine would be useless.

All the more reason to continue to pray that President Bush is a man of his word -- and of quite incredible resolve -- and that as the consequence of that resolve and determination -- and of Our Beloved FRaternal Republic's ability to project our immense power far beyond our borders -- that the manifestation of the forces of evil that we call "terrorism" and that and those who drive it -- will be chased to the edges of Hell and beyond -- and be eliminated from the Earth.

Not a good decade, one must hope and pray, for being an inciter, an enabler, a facilitator or a Hitlerist-Marxist-gangster-bastard member of "fatah" or "islamic jihad," the "plo" -- or the much-vaunted "ira!" Etceteras .....

[Ditter]

Yes I'd appreciate a ping. I would like more info before I call my plumber.

[harpseal]

The scariest secnario I can think of has little to do with plutonium but a great deal to do with biologicals. First, one can go to many places commercially and obtain water system pumps that will generate more than the 40lb to 60 lb head pressure of most municipal water systems. The large cities of the East and Midwest have an old water systems. The homes there do not have the check valves and backflow preventers that modern systems are requiring. They just plainly were not installed prior to 1970.

A fifty gallon drum of botulinus toxin introduced into an urban water system would result in thousands of casualties prior to its detection. I cite this because such a scenario has been widely published prior to this. In order to accomplish this attack all the terrorists would need is access to a home water system with commonly available hardware.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[GOPJ]

Well said:

All the more reason to continue to pray that President Bush is a man of his word -- and of quite incredible resolve -- and that as the consequence of that resolve and determination -- and of Our Beloved FRaternal Republic's ability to project our immense power far beyond our borders -- that the manifestation of the forces of evil that we call "terrorism" and that and those who drive it -- will be chased to the edges of Hell...

[Alamo-Girl]

I agree!

[Pelham]

Chlorine breaks it down.

[Pelham]

Plutonium is extremely heavy- it's not going to migrate very far, is it? Other than irradiating some salts in solution, what would it do? Not that I'd recommend casually handling it, but wouldn't you have to be very close to the material to be affected by it?