Good morning all. Last night I went to a talk where the speaker was a special agent from the FBI. His department was weapons of mass destruction. As most of you know, I work in the pharmaceutical industry and in todays environment, the threat of terrorism is very serious. Especially chemical and biological weapons. Since pharmaceutical/biotech industry uses a lot of chemicals that can be easily used to make explosives, this talk was a part of the FBI’s outreach initiative. They work with local law enforcement, first responders and civilians to raise awareness about terrorism. Especially post 9/11, the focus has been on prevention of such acts. We were also told that if we see something we should say something. You never know what might be a dangerous situation. He told us about some cases they have come across where students or enraged spouses had gotten instructions from the internet and tried to create devices to endanger people. Common chemicals like nail polish remover, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ammonium nitrate that can be bought in beauty supply stores or home improvement stores can be turned into deadly weapons easily. These things can be built in the basements, backyards or other places. In most cases, neighbors don’t even know that something is going on.

Now most pharma/biotech companies have restricted access to their labs and facilities, but beauty supply and home improvement stores don’t. Neither do facilities like garages, pool supply stores, and metal polishing stores. So the bottom line is be aware and when in doubt report it to the proper authorities.