110 STAT. 2716
PUBLIC LAW 104-201—SEPT. 23, 1996
(10) Terrorist groups have already conducted chemical
attacks against civilian targets in the United States and Japan,
and a radiological attack in Russia.
(11) The potential for the national security of the United
States to be threatened by nuclear, radiological, chemical, or
biological terrorism must be taken seriously.
(12) There is a significant and growing threat of attack
by weapons of mass destruction on targets that are not military
targets in the usual sense of the term.
(13) Concomitantly, the threat posed to the citizens of
the United States by nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical weapons delivered by unconventional means is significant
and growing.
(14) Mass terror may result from terrorist incidents involving nuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical materials.
(15) Facilities required for production of radiological,
biological, and chemical weapons are much smaller and harder
to detect than nuclear weapons facilities, and biological and
chemical weapons can be deployed by alternative delivery
means other than long-range ballistic missiles.
(16) Covert or unconventional means of delivery of nuclear,
radiological, biological, and chemical weapons include cargo
ships, passenger aircraft, commercial and private vehicles and
vessels, and commercial cargo shipments routed through
multiple destinations.
(17) Traditional arms control efforts assume large state
efforts with detectable manufacturing programs and weapons
production programs, but are ineffective in monitoring and
controlling smaller, though potentially more dangerous,
unconventional proliferation efforts.
(18) Conventional counterproliferation efforts would do
little to detect or prevent the rapid development of a capability
to suddenly manufacture several hundred chemical or biological
weapons with nothing but commercial supplies and equipment.
(19) The United States lacks adequate planning and
countermeasures to address the threat of nuclear, radiological,
biological, and chemical terrorism.
(20) The Department of Energy has established a Nuclear
Emergency Response Team which is available in case of nuclear
or radiological emergencies, but no comparable units exist to
deal with emergencies involving biological or chemical weapons
or related materials.
(21) State and local emergency response personnel are not
adequately prepared or trained for incidents involving nuclear,
radiological, biological, or chemical materials.
(22) Exercises of the Federal, State, and local response
to nuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical terrorism have
revealed serious deficiencies in preparedness and severe problems of coordination.
(23) The development of, and allocation of responsibilities
for, effective countermeasures to nuclear, radiological,
biological, or chemical terrorism in the United States requires
well-coordinated participation of many Federal agencies, and
careful planning by the Federal Government and State and
local governments.
(24) Training and exercises can significantly improve the
preparedness of State and local emergency response personnel
�
