Homeland
Security
Current Nationwide
Threat Level
ELEVATED
Daily Open Source Infrastructure
Report for 26 August 2009
Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks
For information, click here:
http://www.dhs.gov
Top Stories

According to the Associated Press, several explosions and a fire at Diversified Chemical
Technologies Inc. in Detroit forced about 300 factory employees and surrounding
businesses to evacuate on Monday. (See item 3)

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that teachers at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo,
California tackled a former student, armed with 10 pipe bombs, a chainsaw, and a sword,
after he detonated two bombs on the campus on Monday. Investigators believe the
teenager’s plan was to kill people with bombs, then slaughter the survivors with the chain
saw and sword. (See item 24)
Fast Jump Menu
PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES
• Energy
• Chemical
• Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste
• Critical Manufacturing
• Defense Industrial Base
• Dams Sector
SUSTENANCE AND HEALTH
• Agriculture and Food
• Water Sector
• Public Health and Healthcare
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
• Banking and Finance
• Transportation
• Postal and Shipping
• Information and Technology
• Communications
• Commercial Facilities
FEDERAL AND STATE
• Government Facilities
• Emergency Services
• National Monuments and Icons
Energy Sector
Current Electricity Sector Threat Alert Levels: Physical: ELEVATED,
Cyber: ELEVATED
Scale: LOW, GUARDED, ELEVATED, HIGH, SEVERE [Source: ISAC for the Electricity Sector (ES-ISAC) [http://www.esisac.com]
1. August 24, Taragana.com – (District of Columbia) Electrical explosion in busy
section of downtown DC sends 2 injured workers to hospital. Authorities say an
explosion in an electrical vault in a busy section of Washington, D.C., has sent two
workers to the hospital with injuries. The D.C. deputy fire chief says the two men were
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contract employees working in an outdoor electrical vault when there was an explosion
in downtown D.C.’s busy Dupont Circle area. He says one man was critically burned
and the other suffered smoke inhalation. The vault contains various feeds of high
voltage. It is unclear what caused the explosion. No power outages were reported.
Traffic in the area is being redirected because parts of 19th Street and the Dupont
traffic circle have been closed.
Source: http://blog.taragana.com/n/electrical-explosion-in-busy-section-of-downtowndc-sends-2-injured-workers-to-hospital-148454/
2. August 20, New Hampshire Union Leader – (New Hampshire) 10,000 lose power to
errant squirrel. Power was zapped to more than 10,000 households the morning of
August 20 from Fremont to Derry, caused by a scampering squirrel that was stopped
dead in its tracks. A spokesman for Public Service Co. of New Hampshire (PSNH) said
the squirrel apparently stretched between a live line and grounded structural steel,
becoming a conduit for electricity and taking out the Scobie Substation in Londonderry.
The squirrel’s electrocution put the lights out initially for 4,500 PSNH customers. But
that incident tripped a circuit at a substation in Chester, putting the lights out for
another 5,000 PSNH customers. In addition, at least 1,400 other customers of the New
Hampshire Electric Co-op found themselves in the dark. The Chester substation was
back on line about 20 minutes later while power was restored to everyone in just under
two hours. PSNH already has squirrel guards in place along its lines but the PSNH
spokesman said the company will be taking a hard look at the Scobie Pond substation
to see what else can be done to prevent it from happening again.
Source:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=10,000+lose+power+to+errant+squ
irrel&articleId=61298141-9b9d-4059-a2ac-6d18eff23232
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Chemical Industry Sector
3. August 24, Associated Press – (Michigan) Fire under control at Detroit chemical
factory. Officials say a chemical fire in northwest Detroit is under control, though
firefighters continue pouring water on the smoldering blaze. Cleanup efforts began
Tuesday, a day after several explosions were heard from inside Diversified Chemical
Technologies Inc. No injuries were immediately reported. Firefighters evacuated about
300 employees and some surrounding businesses. Diversified Chemical Technologies’
Web site says its complex encompasses 750,000 square feet of office, laboratory and
manufacturing space. The company produces chemicals for clients ranging from the
automotive to food and beverage industries.
Source: http://www.toledoonthemove.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=341187
4. August 24, Galveston Daily News – (Texas) Trail derails, spills plastic
pellets. Railroad crews worked through the night Saturday and Sunday morning to
clean up a load of plastic pellets that spilled from a Union Pacific train that derailed.
Twelve of the train’s 80 cars left the tracks on a section of the line near Algoa, TX on
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Saturday. A Union Pacific spokeswoman said a few of the cars that left the tracks
turned over on their sides. Rail crews had successfully moved the derailed cars to the
side and expected the line to reopen to rail traffic late Saturday night. There were no
injuries and no release of hazardous material, even though some of the cars being
pulled contained dangerous chemicals. The mix-load train also was carrying aluminum
and rice. No vehicle traffic that crosses the tracks was hampered, she said. The line that
runs parallel to state Highway 6 is owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, but the
train is owned by Union Pacific.
Source: http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=3b817fa1104a1cf6
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Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste Sector
5. August 22, New London Day – (National) Rate of cancer deaths near nuclear
reactors to be focus of federal study. The rate of cancer deaths near nuclear reactors
will be the subject of a major national study to be conducted by federal regulators. In
1990, a National Cancer Institute report on the subject found cancer mortality rates
were “generally not elevated for people living in the 107 U.S. counties containing or
closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities,” according to information provided by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Office of Regulatory Research. Since data used in
that study relies on records from 1950 to 1984, the NRC decided last year it was time to
revisit the controversial issue, with an eye to its impact on human health, said a
spokesman for the NRC. “It hasn’t been a formal request, but the topic comes up often
enough (at public meetings) that the staff said, ‘Yes, it’s about time we come up with
an up-to-date work product we can refer people to.’ When 20 years have passed and
research methods and tools have evolved over time, it’s reasonable to see if there’s a
more refined research project that can be put together.”
Source: http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=cd5fafd9-18c5-40f8-bf35-50c62a0ef2a3
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Critical Manufacturing Sector
6. August 24, WHBQ 13 Memphis – (Arkansas) Plant explosion sends two to
Med. Workers at the JW’s East Arkansas recycling plant say they received quite a
scare on August 24 when they saw and heard a massive explosion outside in their scrap
yard, injuring two of their coworkers. Both workers were airlifted to the Med after
Forrest City fire officials say they were cutting metal outside in the scrap yard which
means they had lines laid out connecting propane and liquid oxygen tanks to the cutting
torches. “Workers were probably somewhere around 60 feet away from where the tanks
were, somehow there was initiation, it got back to that we know there was an explosion
and there was a longer explosion,” says the Forrest City Fire Marshall. But fire officials
say there was another full 90 pound tank of propane not hooked up, which they believe
was the vapor leak causing the massive explosion. Plant employees say that tank flew
out of the plant, down the road.
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Source:
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/arkansas/082409_Plant_Explosion_Sends_
Two_to_Med
7. August 24, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (Washington) Aircraft equipment
manufacturer in Kent, Wash. will pay over $12,000 for failing to report dangerous
chemicals. GKN Aerospace Chemtronics, an aircraft parts manufacturer in Kent,
Washington, failed to properly report its use and storage of hazardous chemicals to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state and local agencies, alleged a consent
agreement and final order issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The actions
violated the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. EPA alleges
that in 2006, GKN failed to report its releases, waste management activities and
transfers of nitric acid, a dangerous substance that can cause severe burns and
explosions, to the Toxic Release Inventory. GKN used approximately 12,000 pounds of
nitric acid in 2006, exceeding the Toxic Release Inventory reporting threshold of
10,000 pounds, according to EPA’s order. In addition, EPA alleges that in 2007 the
company stored approximately 8,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid and 34,000 pounds of
nitric acid, but did not report this storage to the appropriate government agencies. The
threshold for reporting storage of hydrofluoric acid, an extremely hazardous substance
that can cause severe burns, is 100 pounds. The threshold for nitric acid is 1,000
pounds. The company will pay a fine over $12,000, and has agreed as part of the
settlement to perform a two-year project worth $50,000. It will provide the City of Kent
with an emergency telephone notification system that can quickly warn the public in
the event of a chemical release or other emergency.
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/74C6459E305D79BD8525761C007A5B74
8. August 23, San Jose Mercury News – (California) Two-alarm fire controlled at San
Jose manufacturing company. San Jose firefighters working steadily but efficiently
on August 23 to put out flames in the lining of a tank holding hot tar — saving a
neighborhood west of downtown San Jose from what could have been a plume of
black, noxious smoke. The fire inside a tank at Reed & Graham Inc., a company that
manufactures paving material, was reported by employees just after 9 a.m., said a fire
department spokesman. Workers at the Sunol Street company were transferring tar
from one tank into another, he said, when some of the tar overflowed from the
receiving tank, dripped into the material that insulates the tank and ignited. The fire
was confined to the lining of the tank, which holds 10,000 gallons of tar. The tank is
kept extremely warm (300 degrees Fahrenheit) to prevent the tar inside from becoming
too firm to manipulate. Two hazardous materials teams were called in, one from San
Jose, the other from Santa Clara County, amid suspicions that the tank’s insulation may
have contained asbestos. And firefighters had to peel away portions of the tank’s metal
skin to reach the flames — laborious work that required a second-alarm and help from
some 60 firefighters. Meanwhile, firefighters were mindful of the chance that the rest of
the tar in the tank could have ignited. He said the “toxic, irritating” plume could have
been visible for blocks and caused traffic foul-ups on nearby Interstate 280.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_13189553?nclick_check=1
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Defense Industrial Base Sector
9. August 24, Navy Times – (National) Navy takes delivery of destroyer Dewey. The
Navy took delivery of its 57th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the Dewey, August 17
after combined builder’s and acceptance “super trials” earlier this summer in the Gulf
of Mexico. The Dewey, which carries hull number DDG 105, was built at Northrop
Grumman’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississipipi, and is named for Admiral George
Dewey, the Navy hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in the Spanish-American War. The
Dewey’s commissioning, at which it will formally join the fleet, is scheduled for
December.
Source: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/08/navy_dewey_acceptance_082409w/
10. August 24, Defense Industry Daily – (South Carolina) 99M to ATI for shipbuilding
technology development center. Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) in North
Charleston, South Carolina received a $99 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinitequantity contract to operate and manage the Shipbuilding Technology Center of
Excellence (STCOE) to develop shipbuilding-related manufacturing technologies and
to implement them in America’s shipyards. The STCOE will work closely with the US
Navy’s acquisition community and the shipbuilding industry to identify manufacturing
technology issues that have a negative impact on shipyard efficiency (cycle-time and
cost). The STCOE will then solicit, select, and implement projects to improve these
inefficiencies. ATI expects to complete the Center by August 2014. Under the contract,
ATI will carry out a number of STCOE tasks for the US Navy.
Source: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Up-to-99M-to-ATI-for-ShipbuildingTechnology-Development-Center-05732/
For another story, see item 7
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Banking and Finance Sector
11. August 25, Washington Post – (National) European cyber-gangs target small U.S.
firms, group says. Organized cyber-gangs in Eastern Europe are increasingly preying
on small and mid-size companies in the United States, setting off a multimillion-dollar
online crime wave that has begun to worry the nation’s largest financial institutions. A
task force representing the financial industry sent out an alert on August 21 outlining
the problem and urging its members to implement many of the precautions now used to
detect consumer bank and credit card fraud. “In the past six months, financial
institutions, security companies, the media and law enforcement agencies are all
reporting a significant increase in funds transfer fraud involving the exploitation of
valid banking credentials belonging to small and medium sized businesses,” the
confidential alert says. The alert was sent to members of the Financial Services
Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an industry group created to share data about
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critical threats to the financial sector. The group is operated and funded by such
financial heavyweights as American Express, Bank of America, Citigroup, Fannie Mae
and Morgan Stanley. Because the targets tend to be smaller, the attacks have attracted
little of the notoriety that has followed larger-scale breaches at big retailers and
government agencies. But the industry group said some companies have suffered
hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in losses. In many cases, the advisory warned,
the scammers infiltrate companies in a similar fashion: They send a targeted e-mail to
the company’s controller or treasurer, a message that contains either a virus-laden
attachment or a link that — when opened — surreptitiously installs malicious software
designed to steal passwords. Armed with those credentials, the crooks then initiate a
series of wire transfers, usually in increments of less than $10,000 to avoid banks’ antimoney-laundering reporting requirements.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402272.html?hpid=topnews
12. August 24, Associated Press – (National) Attorneys general form mortgage fraud
task force. Ten state attorneys general and four federal agencies have announced the
formation of a task force to combat mortgage fraud. According to a statement issued by
the Washington state attorney general, targets of the enforcement effort include equity
skimming, bogus foreclosure rescue, straw purchases and unethical lending practices.
The group is headed by the Washington state attorney general and the Iowa attorney
general. Other members include the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Illinois,
Nevada, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Missouri and Ohio, as well as representatives
from the Department Justice, federal treasury, Department of Housing and Urban
Development and Federal Trade Commission. The Washington state attorney general
says the task force is the result of meetings on July 15 in Washington, DC, between
federal regulators and a number of state attorneys general.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/24/business/AP-WA-MortgageFraud.html
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Transportation Sector
13. August 25, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – (Pennsylvania) Pittsburgh airport to stage
mock disaster. Pittsburgh International Airport officials will stage a mock disaster
Wednesday afternoon to meet Federal Aviation Administration training requirements.
Thirty emergency agencies will respond to a mock disaster in which 100 people aboard
a large aircraft are injured in an accident, said an airport spokeswoman. The fuselage
from a C-130 cargo plane the Allegheny County Airport Authority uses for emergency
training will be placed in a field near the airport’s Parkway West entrance. Crews will
work to remove the injured passengers from the plane and get them necessary medical
attention. The spokeswoman said the authority will post a message on its electronic
message board at the airport’s front entrance notifying visitors about the emergency
training. The airport is required to successfully complete such training once every three
years. During a September 2006 drill, emergency crews responded to a mock terminal
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fire.
Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/breaking/s_639827.html
14. August 24, WJXT 4 Jacksonville – (Florida) Talleyrand reopens after bomb scare. A
search of a truck entering the Jacksonville Port Authority’s terminal Monday afternoon
that kept 10 blocks of Talleyrand Avenue closed for nearly two hours found nothing
explosive. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office bomb squad was called to check out a
suspected explosive device in the truck just before 2 p.m. Talleyrand was closed from
Eighth to 18th streets until nearly 4 p.m., when the all-clear was sounded. Police said a
routine questioning and inspection of a truck entering the gate caused security
personnel to call for backup. “When they inspected the vehicle, they found a device
that was suspicious enough in construction that we decided it was better to be safe than
sorry,” said a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office source. The immediately area was evacuated
and the bomb squad responded to inspect the suspicious device. After a close look,
officers said the item was benign, the evacuation was lifted, Talleyrand was reopened
and traffic in an out of the port returned to normal.
Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/20533731/detail.html
For more stories, see items 4 and 27
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Postal and Shipping Sector
15. August 25, Lacrosse Tribune – (Minnesota; West Virginia) Houston man gets IED in
mail. A West Virginia man has been indicted in federal court for mailing a bomb to his
former neighbor in Houston, Minnesota. Federal prosecutors charged the suspect with
one count of mailing an injurious article, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years
in prison. The suspect moved from Houston in 2006 and sent the bomb intending to kill
or injure a former neighbor, authorities said. The bomb did not go off when the package
was opened July 22 because the man lifted the packaging flap that was not connected to
matches intended to ignite the improvised explosive device, according to the affidavit
of a federal postal inspector. The man called the Houston County Sheriff’s Office after
he reached into the box and found what appeared to be two sticks of dynamite
connected to a fuse. Deputies dismantled the IED, made from gun powder-filled toilet
paper tubes, a fuse, matches and a striker plate. A deputy lit the fuse and found “it
burned faster than a ‘firework’ fuse,” according to the complaint. Messages left on
August 21 with deputies were not returned.
Source: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-andregional/article_d9b3fc04-8ed5-11de-8c96-001cc4c002e0.html
16. August 24, WKTV 2 Utica – (New York) Washington Mills man arrested for post
office bomb threat; unlicensed gun found on his person. New Hartford Police have
arrested a Washington Mills man for allegedly making a fake bomb threat at the
Washington Mills Post Office. The threat was reported around 3:30 p.m. with multiple
police units responding. Authorities were told by United States Postal Workers that a
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male in his fifties had walked up to one of the Post Office boxes outside the Post Office
and as he was walking away stated that there was a bomb and that it was about to blow.
The workers stated that the male then walked across the street and stood there watching
the Post Office. The post office was temporarily closed as postal workers immediately
evacuated and contacted the New Hartford Police Department. As police units arrived,
one of the Postal workers pointed out the male who had made the threat standing across
the street. The police arrested the suspect, and found a loaded, unregistered .22 caliber
pistol tucked inside his waistband. Police later determined that the suspect did not have
a pistol permit and possessed the weapon illegally. No suspicious packages were found
during the search and police were able to determine that there was not an explosive
device present.
Source: http://www.wktv.com/news/local/54633532.html
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Agriculture and Food Sector
17. August 24, U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service – (Texas) Texas firm recalls
smoked beef brisket product for possible listeria contamination. Lone Star Brisket
Company, a Thorndale, Texas, establishment, is recalling approximately 207 pounds of
smoked beef products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced
Monday. The recall involves 2 to 3 pound vacuum packed “Texas Star Meat Company
SMOKED BEEF BRISKET Fully Cooked.” Each label bears the establishment number
“EST. 27340” inside the USDA mark of inspection and a day-glo sticker “Sliced” next
to the product label.
Source:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_045_2009_Release/index.asp
18. August 22, Associated Press – (North Dakota) Investigator to protect N.D. from
animal diseases. With the threat of bovine tuberculosis to the east and brucellosis to
the west, North Dakota animal health officials have added another precaution against
new animal diseases entering the state. The state Board of Animal Health has hired a
field investigator, a first for North Dakota. The agriculture commissioner said the
investigator, who has worked as a livestock producer and a government administrator,
will help the state ward off diseases that can have devastating effects on livestock.
Beginning in early September, the investigator will do some spot checking of livestock
and work with brand inspectors, who deal with animals leaving North Dakota.
Source:
http://www.hpj.com/archives/2009/aug09/aug24/0819NDprotectinganimaldisea.cfm
For another story, see item 4
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Water Sector
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19. August 24, WJZ 13 Baltimore – (Maryland) Water main break may take weeks to
repair. A busted 40-inch line has carved out a big chunk of Saratoga Street, in
Baltimore, Maryland. Water was still flowing from the broken line on August 24, but
not with the force that collapsed part of Saratoga Street near the Social Security
building and the University of Maryland. Millions of gallons of water poured out of the
40-inch line August 23. It carved its own tunnel 25 feet down, causing the street above
to buckle and give way. “This is a really deep hole. This is much more damage, it looks
like, than what happened on Lombard Street,” said a Department of Public Works
(DPW) spokesperson.That break last April happened along a 30-inch water line in the
middle of a major city intersection. The Saratoga break is not causing the kind of
gridlock and detours that Lombard Street did, but what caused the pipe to give way is
exactly the same. It is another 100 year-old cast iron pipe. Despite the tremendous
amount of water lost, Social Security and the 50 buildings that make up the University
of Maryland medical campus have their water back. According to DPW, repairing the
damage is going to be such a big job, a private contractor may have to be used.
Source: http://wjz.com/local/water.main.break.2.1142154.html
20. August 24, Wicked Local Wareham – (Massachusetts) Two million gallons of water
lost from vandalism of Wareham hydrant. The Wareham Water Department was hit
by an act of vandalism over the weekend that caused the discoloration of water
throughout the water system. According to the Water Department superintendent, an
unknown person — or people — opened a fire hydrant in a secluded area off Great
Neck Road. The incident occurred on August 23. He said the cause of the dirty water is
the result of all the wells coming online sequentially as the tower water levels fell. A
fully open hydrant is capable of discharging 3,500 gallons per minute. He said the
Water Department monitoring system determined that 2 million gallons of water was
discharged from the hydrant. He said the department became aware of the situation at 4
a.m. on August 24 after alarms began going off. A report finally came in about water
running down the street. “There’s no question it’s an act of vandalism,” he said, adding
that there doesn’t appear to be any damage done to the hydrant.” The incident was
immediately reported to the Wareham Police and the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP). The Water Department also issued an advisory via its
reverse 911 system regarding the dirty water. The superintendent said it is believed
there is not a health threat to water consumers and that the public can continue to use
their water normally. He said the best-case scenario is that this was just a random act of
vandalism. “The worst-case scenario is something more sinister,” he said. “Maybe
someone trying to contaminate the water system.” The cost of producing 2 million
gallons of water is approximately $3,500.
Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/news/x1886179026/Two-milliongallons-of-water-lost-from-vandalism-of-hydrant
21. August 24, Water Technology Online – (National) High atrazine in water unreported,
NY Times finds. Levels of the widely used herbicide atrazine have spiked well above
the allowable maximum in many public water systems, sometimes for as much as a
month at a time, but few water systems have reported those occurrences, an
investigation by The New York Times has found. A report on the investigation was
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published in the August 23 edition of the newspaper. The report also refers to new
research suggesting that even levels of the chemical that comply with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum limit of 3 parts per billion (ppb)
in public drinking water may be associated with birth defects, low birth weight and
menstrual problems. The principal producer of atrazine, Basel, Switzerland-based
Syngenta AG, issued an August 24 press release saying that “water systems in the US
are safe where atrazine is concerned” and that many studies worldwide have shown
that, when used as labeled, atrazine “can and has been used safely.” In a response to the
Times, the EPA told the newspaper that the agency has applied large safety buffers in
regulating atrazine. However, the newspaper wrote: “Some high-ranking EPA officials
say there are concerns over atrazine, and that it, among other chemicals, is likely to be
closely re-examined by the new EPA administrator.” Atrazine is used to kill weeds in
fields where corn and other major crops are grown. It is one of the most widely used
herbicides in the United States. Use of the chemical was banned in the European Union
in 2005, a move that was part of an effort to set a limit for many agricultural chemicals
in groundwater, the Peoria (Illinois) Journal Star reported in an August 22 article that
also cited atrazine’s benefits to farmers. The environmental group Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) has issued a new report on atrazine, saying the chemical is
found in many public water systems, especially those in the central United States where
corn is a significant crop. The NRDC claims the EPA is “ignoring” atrazine’s presence
in those water systems.
Source: http://watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=72465
22. August 24, Associated Press – (Michigan) Northern Mich. plant source of tainted
groundwater. A six-mile-long plume of contaminated groundwater from a polluted
northern Michigan factory site is threatening the Cedar River, one of two sources for
the area’s drinking water. “I would have to say this is one of the largest contaminations
we’ve ever seen,” a senior geologist with the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality said. The state has spent more than $14 million battling the tainted groundwater
generated at the Mancelona plant, which made auto parts in southern Antrim County.
Dura Automotive Systems Inc., which operated there most recently, closed the factory
in February. The now-defunct Mount Clemens Industries Inc. operated the plant from
1947 to 1967, when workers used trichloroethylene, or TCE, to degrease the
machinery. To dispose of the chemical, workers poured it on the ground or dumped it
into seepage pits. The giant plume of contaminated groundwater, at its thickest point, is
about a mile and a quarter wide. It reaches northwest into Mancelona Township and
adjacent Custer Township, to the Schuss Mountain-Shanty Creek Resorts area. Along
the contaminated stretch of water, state officials have transferred the use of well water
to municipal water for 200 homes, 400 condominium units and the resorts. Now the
municipal water supply is threatened because much of it comes from the Cedar River.
TCE has already been discovered in those waters at levels considered safe for people to
drink but DEQ tests indicate that in 10 years or less, levels will rise to the point that the
water becomes harmful.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mi-mancelonagroundw,0,6496360.story
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Public Health and Healthcare Sector
23. August 25, Bloomberg – (National) Hospitals may face severe disruption in swine
flu’s U.S. return. Swine flu may hospitalize 1.8 million patients in the U.S. this year,
filling intensive care units to capacity and causing “severe disruptions” during a fall
resurgence, scientific advisers to the White House warned. Swine flu, also known as
H1N1, may infect as much as half of the population and kill 30,000 to 90,000 people,
double the deaths caused by the typical seasonal flu, according to the planning scenario
issued yesterday by the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.
Intensive care units in hospitals, some of which use 80 percent of their space in normal
operation, may need every bed for flu cases, the report said.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a8_2nrwYD1kM
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Government Facilities Sector
24. August 25, San Francisco Chronicle – (California) Ex-student held in San Mateo
school blast. A former student at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, armed with 10
pipe bombs, a chainsaw and a sword, planned to forge a path of destruction through his
old campus Monday, authorities said. Investigators believe his plan was to kill people
with bombs, then slaughter the survivors with the chain saw and sword. Authorities
said the 17-year-old was able to detonate only two of the bombs — injuring no one —
before teachers at the school tackled him and police arrived. On Monday evening, he
was at juvenile hall after being questioned by police and prosecutors. His name has not
been released because he is a juvenile. Prosecutors said no decision had been made on
whether to charge him as an adult.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/24/MNAT19CUPM.DTL
25. August 24, KOTV 6 Tulsa – (Oklahoma) False explosion report prompts evacuation
at TU science lab. Keplinger Hall at the University of Tulsa was evacuated Monday
afternoon after reports of an explosion. Crews with the Tulsa Fire Department arrived
to the scene and found there had not been an explosion, however crews removed
chemicals said to have the potential to be explosive under certain circumstances.
Firefighters were called to the campus at about 2:30 p.m. in the 400 block of South
Gary. Firefighters found there was not an explosion, no gas release and no injuries.
School officials said no students were in the immediate vicinity of the lab where the
chemicals were. A Tulsa Fire Department spokesman said a professor explained to
firefighters he had found two chemicals near each other. One was a type of peroxide
that will crystallize after a period of time and create a potentially volatile chemical
reaction. Another chemical found was one that is flammable when it comes in contact
with moisture. The chemicals are commonly used in chemistry labs, but TU officials
said they notified authorities because it was unclear how long the materials had been
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stored in a lab that was used by a former employee. University officials are reviewing
the incident, but foul play is not suspected.
Source: http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=10981589
26. August 24, Associated Press – (Colorado) Possible mustard agent leak detected at
chemical weapons depot in Colorado. The Army says a low level of mustard agent
has been detected in a building storing chemical weapons at the Pueblo Chemical
Depot. The leak was found on August 24 when a mobile laboratory drew an air sample
from inside the building. The Army says the air inside the building is being filtered to
clear out the agent. It says technicians in protective gear will go inside later to look for
leaks from the shells stored there. Officials say there were no injuries. A similar
incident was reported in April. Mustard agent is highly toxic and can cause severe skin
and lung inflammation, cancer and birth defects. About 2,600 tons is stored at the
Pueblo depot, about 100 miles south of Denver. The agent is slated for destruction.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-chemicalweapons-leak,0,3340431.story
[Return to top]
Emergency Services Sector
27. August 25, Martha’s Vineyard Gazette – (Massachusetts) Air space restrictions
disrupt Angel Flights service after all. Angel Flights, the nonprofit organization
which flies people who are critically ill to off-Island medical appointments, has shut
down Martha’s Vineyard operations this week, apparently in reaction to flight
restrictions in place for the duration of the presidential vacation visit to the Island. The
move came despite assurances that special dispensation was made for the mercy flight
operators during temporary flight restriction (TFR) orders to protect air space over
Martha’s Vineyard from August 23 to 30. A flight coordinator for Angel Flights
Northeast said that the eight to 10 flights scheduled for this week have now been
cancelled. Officials were unable to explain the reasons for the cancellations in calls
yesterday from the Vineyard Gazette to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
the United States Secret Service and the Transport Security Administration (TSA), the
three federal agencies in control of the flight restriction and the travel waiver program
for the airport this week. A spokesperson for the FAA said that the protocol would be
handled by the TSA. However, a spokesperson for the TSA said that the United States
Secret Service is ultimately responsible for restrictions. A Secret Service spokesman
said that he is certain that an accommodation would have been made for Angel Flights,
though he was still looking into the question at deadline time for the Gazette.
Source: http://www.mvgazette.com/article.php?22682
28. August 24, WPTV 5 West Palm Beach – (Florida) Riviera Beach SWAT rifle
stolen. Riviera Beach Police say one of their own high-power sniper’s rifles was stolen
Saturday night just moments after one of their own SWAT team officers had loaded
into his personal vehicle for work. He had reportedly locked the vehicle door. The
weapon itself is a .308 bolt-action rifle, a long-distance high-powered sniper’s rifle
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with a clip of three or four shots, with a Zeiss scope, A short time after the theft, police
responded to a ‘shots-fired’ call in Riviera Beach and spotted the officer’s stolen SUV.
One suspect was arrested while two escaped. Police are also concerned because the
officer’s SWAT uniform, body armor, and helmet were taken.
Source: http://www.wptv.com/content/news/centralpbc/rivierabeach/story/stolenweapon-high-powered-sniper-rifle-swat-rivie/A0DOTuyDnkivJ3dzmI5ZQQ.cspx
29. August 24, Providence Journal – (Rhode Island) R.I. Guard starts emergency drills
Tuesday in Newport. Members of the Rhode Island National Guard’s 13th Civil
Support Team began conducting three days of multi-agency exercises focusing on the
National Guard’s support of local authorities in the event of a chemical, biological,
radiological or nuclear attack Tuesday. Public safety officials in Newport will work
alongside the Providence police and fire departments. The National Guard invited these
two cities because they have two of the largest and best-trained response teams in the
state. The exercises, which conclude on Thursday, will be evaluated by the U.S. Army
Northern Command.
Source: http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/08/national-guard-3.html
[Return to top]
Information Technology Sector
30. August 24, Associated Press – (National) Officials warned about fake DHS intel emails. Some e-mails purporting to be from the Homeland Security Department’s
intelligence division were fake and contained malicious software. The e-mails actually
originated from Internet addresses in Latvia and Russia, according to a three-page alert
from the Homeland Security Department’s counterintelligence unit. The document was
obtained by The Associated Press. These fake e-mails were sent to officials in the
Defense Department and to state and local officials since June. The spyware appears to
be criminal, according to the alert. But counterintelligence officials “cannot discount
that targeting of DHS partners and DoD personnel may be for other purposes.” The emails were made to look as if they had actual text from a department intelligence
assessment. They included links embedded with spyware known for stealing banking
data and protected passwords. A Homeland Security spokeswoman said anyone who
receives an e-mail like this should not open the link and should report the e-mail to
their technology departments.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-08-24-dhs-emails_N.htm
31. August 24, IDG News Service – (International) New virus spreads by attacking
Borland compiler. An imaginative new virus that infects programs as they are being
compiled has claimed its first scalps, infecting software sent out on a cover CD by a
major German computer magazine and even other malware programs. The 18/2009
edition of Computer Bild reportedly distributed the Win32.Induc virus inside an
obscure browser aids called TidyFavorites 4.1 to its four million readership. The
software is also believed to have infected a second program, Any TV Free 2.41, and
Sophos reports with some irony of having discovered it inside several unnamed bank-
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hacking Trojans. According to a range of security companies that have been warning of
the virus in the last week, Win32.Induc targets the Pascal-based Borland Delphi
development tool, inserting its executable into any software compiled by the program.
Anyone running an application infected with the parasitic malware will become a new
host for its further spread, assuming they too use the Delphi compiler, which makes it
perhaps the first virus to successfully attack only one type of professional user.
Fortunately, the virus does not do anything, but could still cause a certain amount of
havoc if apparently legitimate programs are quarantined by unhappy anti-virus
software, experts have said.
Source: http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=4D1991F3-1A64-6A71CEC8E087D6B86025
32. August 24, Register – (International) Mass infection turns websites into exploit
launch pads. Malicious hackers have managed to infect about 57,000 web pages with a
potent exploit cocktail that targets a variety of vulnerable applications to surreptitiously
install malware on visitor machines. The exploits install an assortment of nasty
software, including Gologger, a keystroke logging trojan, and a backdoor that attempts
to connect to a website hosted in China, according to a researcher at ScanSafe, a
company that protects end users from malicious websites. The attackers were able to
plant a malicious iframe in the pages by exploiting SQL injection vulnerabilities. Once
in place, the script silently pulls down javascript from a0v.org that silently runs while
people are visiting one of the infected websites. Affected sites included health care
organizations such as the New York Methodist Hospital, charitable and nursing
facilities such as howellcarecenter.com, sweetgrassvillagealf.com,
foodsresourcebank.org, and morningsideassistedliving.com, and others, according to
web searches. The vast majority of search results returned by Google and Yahoo failed
to detect the threat despite the use of technology on both sites that’s supposed to
prevent users from clicking on malicious links.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/24/mass_web_infection/
Internet Alert Dashboard
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US-CERT at sos@us-cert.gov or
visit their Website: http://www.us-cert.gov.
Information on IT information sharing and analysis can be found at the IT ISAC (Information Sharing and
Analysis Center) Website: https://www.it-isac.org/.
[Return to top]
Communications Sector
33. August 25, IDG News Service – (International) Pirate Bay ISP victim of sabotage
after shutdown. Black Internet, the ISP that on August 24 turned off the access to filesharing site The Pirate Bay, says it has become the victim of sabotage. The damage is
substantial, according to the company’s CEO. Customers that get their Internet access
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from Black Internet were experiencing outages on August 25. The reason was sabotage
against its infrastructure, according to the ISP. On August 21, a verdict in the
Stockholm district court prompted Black Internet to shut down access to The Pirate
Bay. The verdict reached Black Internet on August 24, and it decided to immediately
comply. Only a few hours later it became the victim of sabotage, it said. The sabotage
was intentional, the CEO said. “Our network isn’t working as it should. We are
working with the police and technicians to find out what has happened,” said the CEO.
Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137083/Pirate_Bay_ISP_victim_of_sabotage
_after_shutdown?taxonomyId=144
[Return to top]
Commercial Facilities Sector
34. August 24, Wicked Local Brockton – (Massachusetts) State Hazmat team responds to
chlorine leak at Kingsbury Club. Firefighters evacuated the Kingsbury Club the
morning August 22 after a lifeguard reported a chlorine leak at the club’s pool, fire
officials said. Approximately 300 gallons of chlorine leaked from a 500-gallon tank in
the pool area. A lifeguard coming onto duty noticed the leak early in the day and
evacuated the pool area. Fire officials evacuated the club and the nearby Bog skating
rink. There were no injuries. A fire chief was called at home and notified the officer on
duty at the fire station. Fire trucks from Duxbury, Plymouth and Pembroke, and
ambulances from Duxbury, Halifax and Carver responded to the call. Halifax Fire
covered Kingston emergency calls. The spill triggered a response by the state Hazmat
team, which sent four trucks, an incident command vehicle and a rehabilitation vehicle.
The Department of Environmental Protection also responded. Clean Harbors
Environmental Services helped with the cleanup. The fire chief said the spill was
dangerous not only because of chemical fumes, but also because the spilled chlorine
could have interacted with the calcium in the concrete patio, turning it to mush. The
skating rink reopened later in the afternoon of August 22 and the Kingsbury Club and
its pool reopened August 23.
Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/carver/news/police_and_fire/x1886179316/StateHazmat-team-responds-to-chlorine-leak-at-Kingsbury-Club
[Return to top]
National Monuments and Icons Sector
35. August 24, New York Times – (National) Ready for your close-up, Mr. Lincoln?
Mount Rushmore to get 3-D scan. An American company is teaming up with two
British groups to begin recording three-dimensional models of global historical sites
that could be used to restore the sites if they are damaged by natural or man-made
conditions, The Guardian reported. CyArk, an Orinda, California-based nonprofit, will
begin working with Historic Scotland, the Scottish government’s heritage agency, and
the Glasgow School of Art in September to produce a 3-D model of Mount Rushmore
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National Memorial in South Dakota that would be accurate to about one-tenth of an
inch. That model can then be used by archaeologists to repair the granite portraits of
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. CyArk, which hopes to create
500 models of famous locations and monuments around the world, said that other sites
could be at risk, including the Acropolis in Athens, which is threatened by acid rain,
and Machu Picchu in Peru, which suffers from excessive tourism. The scan of Mount
Rushmore is expected to be completed in October.
Source: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/ready-for-your-close-up-mrlincoln-mount-rushmore-to-get-3-d-scan/
[Return to top]
Dams Sector
36. August 25, USA TODAY – (Louisiana) Probe: New Orleans flood control pumps not
reliable. Huge flood-control pumps installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
do not protect the city adequately and the Army Corps of Engineers could have saved
$430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment, a federal investigation
finds. The investigation by the federal Office of Special Counsel finds there was “little
logical justification” for the corps’ decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on
the “untested” hydraulic pumps, which are meant to empty millions of gallons of water
from the below-sea-level city during storm-related floods. Citing the corps’ $430
million plan to replace the hydraulic pumps by 2012, just five years after they were
installed, the special counsel concludes that a “proven” direct-drive pump design would
have been less prone to corrosion and breakdowns. Based on an independent
engineering review, the counsel says direct-drive pumps could have been purchased
“more quickly, more reliably and without planning for pump...replacement.” Hydraulic
pumps are powered by pressurized oil. Direct-drive pumps use solid drive shafts. The
investigation confirms “serious allegations about the reliability of the pumping
equipment” that were raised in a 2007 whistle-blower complaint by a corps engineer,
the letter says. The findings raise concerns about whether a major storm could
overwhelm rebuilt flood controls that the corps has set up in New Orleans since Katrina
hit four years ago this week.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-25-pumps-new-orleans_N.htm
37. August 24, Norwich Bulletin – (Connecticut) Century-old Putnam dam
demolished. Work crews this weekend demolished the century-old Murphy Park dam
originally built to provide a swimming area for Little River waders before safety
concerns prompted its removal. “We had a major rain event years ago that caused a
degree of flooding in that area,” said the town administrator. “[The dam] had become a
hazard.” In 2005, heavy rains caused the river to spill over its banks and flood sections
of the nearby Little League field. Rising water on the south side of the dam caused
water main breaks near where the river fed into the Quinebaug River. Earlier this year,
the town received permit approval from the state Department of Environmental
Protection to demolish the structure, a project paid for by a combination of state and
federal grants.
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Source: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/regional/x1528810349/Century-oldPutnam-dam-demolished
38. August 24, Santa Rosa Press Democrat – (California) More tests planned for Warm
Springs Dam. A series of new tests are planned for Warm Springs Dam, where the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is trying to determine why a monitoring well showed an
unusual increase in groundwater. The Corps division chief of operations, stressed there
are no concerns for the safety of the dam that forms Lake Sonoma, a source for water
and recreation and a flood-control project for the Russian River. “The face is absolutely
good. There are no signs of any seepage of water on any part of dam, no signs of
dampness except those we’ve known about for years and years,” he said. “It is
monitored and photographed and we are walking it daily.” The Corps will be planting
electrodes into the face of the dam and using electrical currents to detect any water
flow. Those tests are being devised by geophysical research scientists from UC
Berkeley’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. The dam is already fitted with 194
different physical and electronic monitoring devices. On July 21, a monitoring well on
the face of the dam 700 feet from the top detected an increase in groundwater. It was
the only monitor that has shown any unusual measurement. A chemical analysis found
that it was groundwater and not water from the lake behind the dam. The reading has
spurred the Corps to intensify its monitoring and to bring in experts to try to determine
what was happening, even though they do not believe there is a safety risk.
Source:
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090824/ARTICLES/908249942/0/NEWS02
[Return to top]
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DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report Contact Information
About the reports - The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a daily [Monday through Friday]
summary of open-source published information concerning significant critical infrastructure issues. The DHS Daily
Open Source Infrastructure Report is archived for ten days on the Department of Homeland Security Website:
http://www.dhs.gov/iaipdailyreport
Contact Information
Content and Suggestions:
Send mail to NICCReports@dhs.gov or contact the DHS Daily
Report Team at (202) 312-3421
Subscribe to the Distribution List:
Visit the DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report and follow
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Contact DHS
To report physical infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact the National Infrastructure
Coordinating Center at nicc@dhs.gov or (202) 282-9201.
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US-CERT at soc@us-cert.gov or visit
their Web page at www.us-cert.gov.
Department of Homeland Security Disclaimer
The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a non-commercial publication intended to educate and inform
personnel engaged in infrastructure protection. Further reproduction or redistribution is subject to original copyright
restrictions. DHS provides no warranty of ownership of the copyright, or accuracy with respect to the original source
material.
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