2455

Shaimika Jones

Waldorf University

HLS 3305

Jamie Gauthier

February 19, 2019

Food and agriculture sector is a major source of security to many citizens in a country. It ensures increased life sustainability without which life could be lost. Terrorist activities targeting this sector target the water and wastewater systems which targets the household water supplies, food processing and storage companies, farms and manufacturing firms. Therefore, securing such infrastructure is important to ensure increased health benefits to the population. The greatest threat to food and agriculture sector when it comes to terrorist attack is the water supply terrorism (Monroe, Ramsey& Berglund, 2018). This is the case where water supplied to different households is contaminated from the source so as to reach as many people as possible. This area is under high vulnerability because once water is contaminated with harmful chemicals then it is supplied, most of the connected households will be affected (Monroe, Ramsey & Berglund, 2018). The target of terrorism activity is to kill as many people as possible and hence this method would lead to several deaths.

The major threat that may occur is the chemical attack. This is where a substance is intentionally put in the water system which has effects on the human body (Monroe, Ramsey & Berglund, 2018). The use of potassium cyanide can cause the death of many people if left in the water system. This chemical is colorless and hard to detect in water. It releases hydrogen cyanide gas which is highly toxic and it interferes with the ability of the body to use oxygen causing death. The agencies that can be used in the response of chemical terrorist attack include the National Incident Management System which is found at the local and national scale. They are responsible for mitigation of a terrorist attack (Gearon, 2017). The second agency is the National Communications System which is responsible for communicating and relaying information to the public. Homeland security programs should be well formulated to ensure that there is well formulated measures of curbing terrorism. Some of the programs include characterizing contamination and assessing exposure so as to ensure the water systems remain safe and secure from invasion. The second strategy is water security system and resilience to ensure that there is reduced probability of such an exposure(Gearon, 2017). The last important program is remediating a wide area so as to ensure the safety of the entire community.

Annotated Bibliography

Birkett, D. (2017). Water Critical Infrastructure Security and Its Dependencies.Journal of Terrorism Research, 8(2).

Water is an important infrastructure that is essential for the existence of human beings. It is therefore important to ensure that the water sources are well protected from contamination so as to improve human safety. People cannot survive for days without water hence it is very essential in life. However, the terrorist activities have been targeting the water sources as a way of increasing their attacks. Studies have shown that water systems are a soft target for the terrorist activities. This is because water affects a number of people once it has been contaminated. It is a soft target because it involves easy methods of introducing the contaminants and hence leads to massive deaths. This book is important in understanding the security of water infrastructure systems and some of the ways in which it is prone to terrorism.

Maiolo, M., &Pantusa, D. (2018). Infrastructure Vulnerability Index of drinking water systems to terrorist attacks. Cogent Engineering, 5(1), 1456710.

The vulnerability of the water supply systems as targets for counter-terrorism is a threat in the entire world. This is the reason why the international community scientists involve in vulnerability assessment of such events. It is important to always determine the vulnerability index of the drinking water distribution system so as to be able to make the right decisions related to the investment on security against terrorism. This is the index that breaks down the system into components and ensures that it is well known on the right measures that can be taken in case of a contamination. This index also ensures that there is increased preparedness to curb any threats of terrorism. This article will be important in enhancing and gaining more knowledge on how to carry out water assessment and calculating the vulnerability index on different water infrastructures. This helps in understanding how to prevent any contaminations or quickly respond to ensure minimal damage is caused.

Nafi, A., Crastes, E., Sadiq, R., Gilbert, D., &Piller, O. (2018). Intentional contamination of water distribution networks: developing indicators for sensitivity and vulnerability assessments. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 32(2), 527-544.

It is important to always ensure there is reliable and sustainable water supply. This is done by establishing a reliable and comprehensive risk analysis procedure. It enables the establishment of the vulnerabilities that exist in deliberate contamination of water. It is necessary to conduct sensitivity and vulnerability assessment so as to analyze the presence of early warning signs. This is because intentional introduction of contaminants leads to harmful effects on both the water as well as the infrastructure. This enables the agencies responsible for prevention and counteracting terrorism activities to respond at the right time. This article will be important in understanding the ways in which water terrorism is carried out. It also helps in understanding the effects of water terrorism and how it can be prevented.

References

Birkett, D. (2017). Water Critical Infrastructure Security and Its Dependencies.Journal of Terrorism Research, 8(2).

Gearon, L. (2017). The counter-terrorist campus: Securitisation theory and university securitisation–Three Models. Transformation in Higher Education, 2(1), 1-9.

Maiolo, M., &Pantusa, D. (2018). Infrastructure Vulnerability Index of drinking water systems to terrorist attacks. Cogent Engineering, 5(1), 1456710.

Monroe, J., Ramsey, E., & Berglund, E. (2018).Allocating countermeasures to defend water distribution systems against terrorist attack. Reliability Engineering & System Safety.

Nafi, A., Crastes, E., Sadiq, R., Gilbert, D., &Piller, O. (2018). Intentional contamination of water distribution networks: developing indicators for sensitivity and vulnerability assessments. Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 32(2), 527-544.