Emergency Preparedness
Preventing a catastrophe generally includes careful emergency preparedness, business continuity planning, data recovery and disaster recovery, often with the use of GPS, Wi-Fi and other communications technologies that offer alert systems, backup solutions and interoperability.
Four different approaches to thwarting a terrorist attack
August 18th, 2008
Because a terrorist attack in the U.S. using explosives could come from a variety of directions -- and take a variety of shapes and sizes – the U.S. Government is moving forward in a variety of ways to thwart such attacks.
Different technical concepts and different business models are being pursued by different agencies to address these dire scenarios.
Roundtable in Seattle slated to establish VoIP interoperability
August 12th, 2008
On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a public working group in Seattle, WA, to discuss ways to develop a common technical protocol that would enable different brands of public safety radios that utilize VoIP technology to communicate with each other.
AMA to organize Third National Congress on Health System Readiness
August 12th, 2008
The Department of Health and Human Services will award a contract to the Chicago-based American Medical Association (AMA), so that it can plan and convene the Third National Congress on Health System Readiness, intended to improve the capacity of hospitals and communities across the country to prepare for public health emergencies.
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Industry wants to "grandfather" in today’s rail cars for 25 years
August 1st, 2008
Trade associations representing the nation’s chemical manufacturers, railroads, chlorine suppliers and rail tank-car builders have petitioned the Department of Transportation to issue new "interim regulations" that would allow newly-built rail tank cars that use today’s existing safety technology to be "grandfathered" in for the next 25 years.
FDA to provide state and local governments with food-testing gear
August 1st, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration announced on July 23 a new program in which it will help state, local and tribal governments obtain the laboratory equipment they would need to test fruits, vegetables, juices, milk, fish and other foods for indications of a chemical terrorism event.
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Industry Day on preparedness training requirements slated for July 31
July 15th, 2008
The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP), a unit of FEMA that is based at the former Fort McClellan in Anniston, AL, wants to identify commercial contractors who can help it develop and manage a broad range of training courses it offers to the nation’s first responders.
Life of security zone around LNG port in Massachusetts Bay is extended
July 15th, 2008
The Coast Guard intends to extend the life of two temporary safety zones that surround the submerged turret-loading buoys about 18 miles offshore, east of Boston, MA, known as the Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port. The buoys enable liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to unload their gas, so it can be transferred underwater and merged into New England’s gas pipeline network.
Hospitals at security risk, study finds
July 15th, 2008
Forty percent of hospitals experience an average of one major security-related incident per month, ranging from assaults to kidnapping, according to a recent survey, and yet 45 percent of hospitals do not have a visitor/ID badging system.
