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What
first response actions should be taken?
This page describes activities
during the initial or emergency phase (generally
the first 24-48 hours) of a response to a suspected
incident involving anthrax. It is intended for
personnel who discover the potential contamination
and for first responders on the scene.
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| Notification and
Initial Actions |
As soon as a initial anthrax
contamination is confirmed:
- Call 9-1-1 for
local police assistance and the local
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Federal agencies located in buildings
managed by GSA should contact the Federal
Protective Service.
- Notify the National
Response Center (NRC) at (800)424-8802.
The NRC will notify appropriate agencies,
such as the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), FBI, United Stated Coast
Guard (USCG), and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), to arrange
needed assistance.
- Contact the owner or operator of the
facility.
- Direct occupants of the facility to
report to a designated meeting place,
as identified in the local facility response
plan.
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Immediately
dial 9-1-1 if you
have a confirmed anthrax attack. |
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| Lead
Agencies and Incident Command System/Unified
Command |
The
lead agencies responding to a suspected incident
will coordinate their efforts under a Unified
Command (UC) within an to ensure their actions
and resources are integrated into a single, effective
response. The UC for anthrax response will
usually include:
- FBI
- Federal On-scene Coordinator (such
as the EPA, USCG)
- State On-scene Coordinator and/or local
Incident Commander(s) (such as the local
police, fire department, or public health
official)
- Facility manager or property owner
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| Preliminary
Assessment to Determine Credible Threat |
| Initial
efforts should be made to assess the situation
and determine whether the incident poses
a credible threat. The assessment
may begin with a conference call with the
reporting party and involved agencies,
such as the FBI, EPA, USCG, CDC, and appropriate
local health and law enforcement authorities.
If the report appears to be credible, the
FBI and other responding agencies will
coordinate a site assessment to confirm
the threat. |
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| Site
Assessment to Verify Contamination |
The
objectives of the Site Assessment sampling may
include any of the following:
- Determine qualitatively
whether any spores are present. Typically,
composite samples of large areas and
air volumes are obtained to maximize
the likelihood of finding contamination.
- Identification of
Spores in a Bulk Material (such as
powder in an envelope) On-site
analysis may be used for preliminary
assessment to determine qualitatively
if a bulk material is contaminated
with anthrax.
- Determination of
Contamination of an Article Composite
surface samples of large articles and
individual samples of small articles
are collected to determine whether
the article's surface is contaminated.
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Vacuums
such as this are used to
sample large volumes of air. |
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| Identification
of Potentially Exposed
Personnel |
As quickly as possible,
facility managers and first responders should
identify personnel who might have been exposed,
including:
- People in the area where the spores were
released,
- People who may have handled contaminated
items or packages, and
- Response personnel.
Potential sources of data
include:
- Employee timecards,
- Visitor logs, and
- Security videotapes.
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