Biosecurity, Flu and Chemical Weapons updates
FAS has posted a new a Congressional Research Service report on Avian Influenza and two Biosecurity reports from the military. We also launched a revised chemical weapons resource website.
Congressional Research Service Report entitled “US and International Responses to Global Threat of Avian Flu” from May 1, 2006. It provides an up-to-date account of global H5N1-related human infections and deaths, outlines U.S. government global avian flu programs, and presents some foreign policy issues for Congress. (36 pages)
April 26, 2006 Air Force Policy Directive on Safeguarding Select Agents and Toxins. This directive lays out the Air Force policy on handling biological agents. (7 pages)
April 18, 2006 DoD Instruction on the Minimum Security Standards for Safeguarding Biological Select Agents and Toxins. (28 pages)
Finally, FAS has updated its Chemical Weapons Information Resource Page and will continue to add new content to it in the coming months.
The United Kingdom is modernizing its stockpile of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, as detailed today in the Federation of American Scientists latest edition of its Nuclear Notebook, “United Kingdom Nuclear Forces, 2024”.
FAS believes the resolution is a necessary advancement of scientific understanding of the devastating consequences of a nuclear war.
The U.S. should continue its voluntary moratorium on explosive nuclear weapons tests and implement further checks on the president’s ability to call for a resumption of nuclear testing.
To help protect U.S. critical infrastructure workers, the next presidential administration should ensure ample supplies of high-quality respiratory personal protective equipment.