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2 Achievements of the Biological Threat Reduction Program
Pages 27-42

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From page 27...
... . 73 72.4 72 71 69.8 70 68.7 69 67.8 68 67.4 67 66 65 64 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 SOURCE: Data provided by DTRA, June 6, 2007.
From page 28...
... effort to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons. The categories of activities are as follows: • Biological Infrastructure Elimination, with three facility dismantlement projects completed in Kazakhstan and Georgia and on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the Aral Sea • Biosafety/Biosecurity, which involves facility upgrades, training, and related activities throughout the region and initial steps in establishing the Threat Agent Detection and Response (TADR)
From page 29...
... The changes include • Unprecedented transparency at dozens of important facilities with dual-use capabilities that had not previously been open to foreign specialists • Dismantlement and/or conversion of three production facilities and dozens of research institutes that supported biological weapons activities 29
From page 30...
... These personal contacts are important in building mutual respect and trust that are necessary for successfully addressing technical issues with dual-use implications. They also provide insights as to present and future scientific aspirations and intentions of foreign colleagues and their institutions in areas of national security importance.
From page 31...
... Also, they have set the stage for continuing access to important biological expertise in the former Soviet Union. The task of preventing proliferation has only begun, and the opportunities for future contributions by BTRP to national security are many fold.
From page 32...
... In short, the committee is unaware of other production, storage, or testing facilities in the former Soviet Union where BTRP should focus future infrastructure elimination activities.
From page 33...
... DOD created training modules to improve diagnostic and epidemiological capabilities of the scientific and technical staff; promote bioethics, biosafety, and biosecurity; and ensure sustainment, effectiveness, program investment, and strategic relevance. In non-Russian states, BTRP develops national Central Reference Laboratories (CRLs)
From page 34...
... In the other former Soviet states, construction and renovation to improve security at a variety of facilities are under way. Most of the activity in these non-Russian states relates to the establishment of the TADR system, such as upgrading epidemiological monitoring stations, consolidating strains in central repositories, and training in epidemiology, diagnostics, biosecurity, and information technology.
From page 35...
... It gives an estimate of the burden of disease or need, it describes gaps in services or responses, it provides a basis for setting priorities for interventions, it provides a baseline for estimates of program progress or success, and it begins the process of partnership and local ownership and helps build sustainability by breaking down barriers among disciplines and among local government agencies." American health policy analyst commenting on the importance of country specific needs assessments as important missing components of the TADR program, July 2007. In 2006, the National Research Council carried out a review of the plans for and early stages in development of the TADR network, with particular emphasis on the electronic data system and the General Data Repository that is to be located in the United States.
From page 36...
... BTRP should work with partner governments to ensure that such filtering of data in the partner countries is done in an appropriate, timely, and responsible manner. The committee questions the DOD viewpoint that the advantages of the fully automated data exchange features of the system outweigh the difficulties posed by false alarms generated by the unfiltered data.
From page 37...
... . Azerbaijan $1.8 Georgia $5.6 Uzbekistan $11.9 Russia $30.2 Kazakhstan Ukraine $.3 $12.6 SOURCE: Data provided by DTRA, April 2007.
From page 38...
... institutions should soon begin to decline, at least in the countries where BTRP has been engaged for a number of years and facilities are in improved condition. BOX 2-3 Upgrading Institutes "We are not just dropping projects into well-equipped institutes that have staffs that are trained in modern techniques, that have biosafety programs up to U.S.
From page 39...
... Initially, BTRP involved a number of Russian institutions and scientists that had been directly involved in biological weapons development. Immediate redirection to civilian topics of key weapon scientists took priority over the scientific importance of their research topics.
From page 40...
... The key question is whether the information obtained through the TADR network is a significant improvement over data collected through traditional methods and is useful in improving human health. This evaluation will help ensure that similar BTRP investments in other countries are well targeted and result in discernible benefits that encourage future local investments.
From page 41...
... Indeed, the BTRP budget during FY 2008 will probably be much larger than the budgets for DHHS and for USDA, and BTRP will have to make aggressive financial outreach efforts to encourage DHHS and USDA to continue their interests in nonproliferation. To this end, the authorizing legislation for BTRP should explicitly call on BTRP to utilize the assets and expertise of these departments to the fullest extent that is practical and to provide financial support to the other departments for facilitating joint activities.


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