Weapons Causing Mass Casualty/Domestic Preparedness

The passage of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Act in 1996 presented many challenges. This act mandated that we become prepared for the threat of violence from terrorist attack. This was characterized by the term Weapons of Mass Destruction. Targeted in particular are Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Incidents (NBC). The initial target audience was the 125 largest cities in the United States. Ohio is fortunate to have six cities: Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron and Dayton. ODH Disaster Coordinators completed the Train the Trainer courses and continue to work with MMRS cities and their local health departments to accomplish capacity to deal with Domestic Preparedness issues.

By mid 1999-2000, we responded to many incidents involving the threat of biohazards. Although all were determined to be hoaxes, all were treated as real threats. A team of people from ODH labs, ODH response, ODH infectious disease, the FBI, Ohio Emergency Management, and the Ohio Highway Patrol developed the Ohio Guidelines: Threatened Human Biologic Incidents in January of 2000.

Last Updated: 5/7/01

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