County has anti-bioterrorism plan

Acknowledging the readiness of the military on Kaua’i and statewide in the event of bioterrorism attacks, Kaua’i County’s Civil Defense director says a scaled-down civilian readiness plan is in place, too.

“The military has 56 different (readiness) steps, we have 26,” said Mark Marshall.

He said most of the readiness plan isn’t “for public consumption.”

“We don’t want to (help) those who want to harm us,” Marshall said, adding that he felt a lot better now that the county “has something in place.”

Marshall, speaking to the County Council last Thursday, said the big topic in civil defense circles is bioterrorism, specifically anthrax scares.

So far on Kaua’i, and in the rest of Hawai’i, every questionable parcel or letter involved in anthrax scares has turned out to be legitimate and non-lethal, he related.

Marshall credited most people with exhibiting good, common sense after the initial panic and numerous falsse alarms about suspicious white powder two weeks ago. But not everybody.

“We even had some as ludicrous as a woman (on Oahu) who said, ‘This is my mom’s return address but it doesn’t look like her handwriting,” Marshall recounted.

Marshall noted that his agency is working with the county’s fire, police and water departments, among others, to prepare for any emergency.

Acting police chief Wilfred Ihu noted that his department has put together threat-assessment teams trained to evaluate suspicious calls before activating the HAZMAT (hazardous materials) personnel, which is a very costly procedure. Each time HAZMAT team members are called in and don their safety suits, there is an $800 to $1,200 cost per man (the suits cannot be re-used).

“Be assured,” Marshall concluded. “We have a plan in place.”

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net