Storm brewing over BioWatch3 program.

AuthorMagnuson, Stew
PositionHomeland Security News

Department of Homeland Security officials in July went to Capitol Hill to give House lawmakers a briefing and demonstration of the BioWatch program, which is designed to alert authorities to the release of potentially deadly biological weapons on U.S. soil.

Apparently, they didn't like what they saw.

Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif, and a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a terse statement released after the meeting that next-generation BioWatch3 has the potential to he the most expensive acquisition program in the history of the department.

But questions remained whether the technology will work, and Lungren has called for a hearing in September to gauge whether progress is being made. House committee members, along with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, have demanded a Government Accountability Office report, which will be released at the hearing.

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The BioWatch program was designed to detect pathogens released in the air in major cities, and was born in the aftermath of the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The current monitors have high false alarm rates, and have inspired little confidence in public health officials. Furthermore, samples collected in scattered locations throughout the cities must be manually collected, and taken back to a laboratory to he examined. It is a laborious and time-consuming process that seemingly defeats the purpose of an "early warning" system.

The BioWatch3 program is expected to eliminate these flaws.

The boxes that sniff out the air samples are intended to be an automated "lab in a box" that can detect the...

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