The Department of Defense has created a new DoD Laboratory Network (pdf) to coordinate existing programs on the assessment of and response to the use of weapons of mass destruction.
The new Network is intended “to provide timely, high-quality, actionable results for early detection, confirmation, response, and effective consequence management of acts of terrorism or warfare involving CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear] agents; infectious disease outbreaks; and other all-hazards agent events requiring a DoD integrated incident response.”
The initiative was set forth in DoD Instruction 6440.03, “DoD Laboratory Network (DLN),” June 10, 2011.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has updated its “Minimum Security Standards for Safeguarding Biological Select Agents and Toxins,” OPNAV Instruction 5530.16A (pdf), 11 May 2011.
The Department of Defense has also issued new guidance on regulating access to classified nuclear weapons information, including the relatively new (2006) category known as “Sigma 20” information, which pertains to improvised nuclear devices. See “Access to and Dissemination of Restricted Data and Formerly Restricted Data,” DoD Instruction 5210.02 (pdf), 03 June 2011.
Called today to speak on behalf of U.S. science and technology, Dr. Jedidah Isler, astrophysicist, educator, strategist, policy-maker, and science communicator, will provide constructive, nonpartisan feedback to the House Committee’s hearing “American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership.”
“Federal data and access to it is not a partisan issue. It is a people issue. Our country cannot achieve greatness without access to the data that measure what we value, who we are, and where we’re heading.”
The United States’ biosecurity governance system is structurally incapable of detecting and responding to certain classes of threats. U.S. biosecurity tools have not kept pace with technological advancements or a changing threat landscape.
The United States has never lacked for scientific ambition. What we need now is a renewed civic commitment to ensuring that talent is harnessed for the benefit of all people. Science can work for everyone. Join us as we build a broader coalition committed to that vision.