Homeland
Security
Current Nationwide
Threat Level
ELEVATED
Daily Open Source Infrastructure
Report for 10 August 2009
Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks
For information, click here:
http://www.dhs.gov
Top Stories

According to BBC News, U.S. firm Molex has shut a car parts factory in southern France
on grounds of “security” after angry workers allegedly assaulted a manager. Workers at the
Villemur-sur-Tarn plant are protesting over plans to relocate production to the United
States in October. (See item 8)

KCTV 5 Kansas City reports that the University of Kansas has increased security after a
former employee was found with a rifle in his truck on campus on August 5. The suspect
was fired from his job as a research assistant at the university’s geological survey in July.
(See item 27)
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 7, Associated Press – (Texas) 1 slightly hurt during Baytown plant fire. A
small fire at an Exxon Mobil Corp. chemical facility in Baytown, Texas generated
some black smoke but left behind no air quality problems. A Company spokeswoman
said on Friday that one contract worker fell and suffered a shoulder injury. She said
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nobody was burned in Thursday’s fire. Electricity was knocked out to about 1,500
Centerpoint residents, but most power was restored by late Thursday. Company
officials blame a power surge that led to a pipe rack catching fire. The spokeswoman
said emergency personnel quickly put out the blaze and that industrial air monitoring
“showed no detectable levels of hydrocarbon.” She said crews worked Friday to get
operations back to normal.
Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6564239.html
2. August 7, Bloomberg – (Texas) ConocoPhillips has ‘system failure’ at Sweeny oil
refinery unit. ConocoPhillips, the second-largest U.S. refiner, dumped fire supression
agent in the control room of the copper treater at its Sweeny, Texas oil refinery. The
action was taken because of a “system failure,” which is being investigated, the
company said in a regulatory filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.
Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aEVOwQx0zSaM
3. August 7, Summit Daily News – (Colorado) Loveland Pass reopens nearly a day after
rollover. Highway 6 over Loveland Pass in Summit County was closed for nearly a full
day after a fuel tanker crashed Wednesday afternoon and caught on fire, damaging the
pavement and guardrail. The highway closed at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and was
reopened shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, after repairs had been made to the road,
according to Colorado Department of Transportation. Firefighters with Lake Dillon
Fire-Rescue were on scene nearly five hours Wednesday as they allowed the fire to
consume the 7,300 gallons of diesel and unleaded fuels in the tanker. The fire caused
two boiling liquid expanding vapor explosions. The fire’s flames reached as high as
150 feet, and temperatures were recorded up to 1,400 F. The tanker had rolled over
while rounding a tight corner; the driver as well as witnesses were not injured in the
ensuing fire. Damage to the vehicle was about $150,000, according to initial estimates
from LDFR. While the highway was closed, vehicles carrying hazardous materials
were directed hourly through Eisenhower tunnel on Interstate 70.
Source:
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090807/NEWS/908069976/1078&ParentProfile
=1055
4. August 6, KPLC 7 Lake Charles – (Louisiana) Official: Natural gas leak may have
been intentional. A valve on a production well failed causing a natural gas leak at
Zachery Exploration in Starks, Louisiana. A hazmat team is on the scene. Officials at
the scene tell 7 News that it is possible someone intentionally damaged the well. State
Police, CPSO, and other agencies are on the scene of the natural gas leak. Nine families
were evacuated due to visible vapors in the air in the Hardy Johnson-Green Moore road
area. The Office of Emergency Preparedness tells 7 News that the well will not be fixed
until morning, and that an information center has been set up for evacuees at First
Baptist Church in Starks.
Source: http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10861655
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5. August 6, Reuters – (Illinois) Exxon has alky upset at Joliet refinery. Exxon Mobil
said it had an upset at an alkylation unit at its 238,600 barrel per day refinery in Joliet,
Illinois on Thursday which resulted in two people being taken to the hospital. Exxon
Mobil said the cause was a propane leak at about 12:30 p.m. that resulted in a release of
hydrofluoric acid. Impact on the refinery’s operations was not immediately available.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSN0635287520090806
[Return to top]
Chemical Industry Sector
6. August 6, Houston Chronicle – (Texas) Collision of fire truck and van closes
road. People are evacuated and traffic is at a standstill after a Spring Volunteer Fire
Department truck and van collided in far northwest Harris County on August 6, sending
three people to the hospital. The wreck occurred about 12:30 p.m. in the 3600 block of
FM 2920, said the fire chief of Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office. The fire
truck, which was headed eastbound on FM 2920 in response to a motorcycle wreck,
overturned. Deputies have closed FM 2920 in both directions near the crash site as
workers clear the area. An unknown substance spilled from the van in the crash and
crews were cleaning it up. People in the immediate area were evacuated as a precaution
because of possible danger from the chemical. Officials have yet to determine the cause
of the wreck.
Source: http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=68975
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Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste Sector
7. August 7, Mid Columbia Tri-City Herald – (Washington) Nuclear plant considered
safe despite fires. Despite two fires at the Columbia Generating Station in the past six
weeks, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers the nuclear plant north of
Richland in solid operating condition and has no plans to increase oversight. Neither
fire posed a risk to the public or nuclear plant personnel, but the plant was forced to go
offline after each incident. The latest fire occurred Wednesday when an electrical fault
flashed and the arc caused surrounding sheet metal and insulation to melt and smolder.
The spokesman said the “arc flash” occurred in an overhead tray that carries electrical
conductors, which distribute plant-generated electricity throughout the facility. The
plant was automatically taken off-line when the flash occurred. It will remain off-line
until an investigation is complete, the spokesman said, adding that the probe should
stretch into next week. Another fire happened in late June when dripping oil sparked a
fire in insulation surrounding.
Source: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/673816.html
[Return to top]
Critical Manufacturing Sector
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8. August 6, BBC News – (International) Clash shuts U.S. factory in France. U.S. firm
Molex has shut a car parts factory in southern France on grounds of “security” after
angry workers allegedly assaulted a manager. A union official told the BBC that “a few
eggs were thrown.” “He did not receive any blows,” a spokeswoman of the CGT union
said. Workers at the Villemur-sur-Tarn plant are protesting over plans to relocate
production to the United States in October. “They are preventing anyone getting onto
the site,” the spokeswoman said on August 6. About 160 demonstrators have gathered
at the plant, where the dispute has paralyzed production of electronic components since
July 7. Molex is in talks with union representatives about the relocation plan, which
could see 283 workers lose their jobs. The unions argue that the plant is economically
viable and that the current offer of compensation for layoffs is unacceptable. There
have been several incidents of workers threatening violence against employers
elsewhere in France this year, amid a spate of factory closures and redundancies.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8187412.stm
9. August 6, Sheboygan Press – (Wisconsin) Explosion, fire force brief evacuation of
Vollrath Co. An explosion at Vollrath Co. forced a brief evacuation early August 5
and caused minor injuries to one employee. Firefighters responded to a report of an
explosion at Vollrath at about 6:30 a.m. The explosion, which was near a furnace used
to anneal stainless steel products, ignited a fire in the roof deck of the building,
according to the shift commander for the Sheboygan Fire Department. The building, at
1236 N. 18th St., was briefly evacuated while firefighters put out the fire. It caused
only minimal damage to the roof. Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the
explosion. The furnace will be taken out of commission for the time being, pending
further investigation, the company said. Another furnace will be used and no
production time will be lost.
Source:
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20090806/SHE0101/908060470/1973/SHE04/
Explosion--fire-force-brief-evacuation-of-Vollrath-Co
10. August 5, National Public Radio – (National) FAA orders Boeing 767 fix to prevent
midair explosion. To prevent the catastrophic loss of a Boeing 767 from a fuel-tank
explosion similar to the one that in 1996 caused the loss of TWA Flight 800, a Boeing
747, the Federal Aviation Administration on August 5 ordered airlines to install
automatic shutoff systems for center fuel tanks, among other measures. The order came
in what is called an airworthiness directive from the agency. The directive was
intended, the agency said, to prevent overheating that “could cause an ignition source
for the fuel vapors in the fuel tank and result in fuel tank explosions and consequent
loss of the airplane.” According to the Associated Press, the safety directive issued by
the Federal Aviation Administration gives operators of the popular airliner three years
to install an automatic fuel pump shut-off system for the center fuel tanks on 767s. The
concern is that if fuel in the tanks becomes too low while the pump is still operating,
under certain conditions it could ignite fuel and air vapors, causing an explosion. In the
meantime, flight crews are supposed to shut-off the pumps themselves when fuel gets
low. The estimated fleetwide cost of complying with the order is $4.6 million. A spark
inside the fuel tank of TWA Flight 800 was implicated in the explosion of the Paris-
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bound jet shortly after its took off from New York’s John F. Kennedy International
Airport. The explosion and subsequent break up and crash of the aircraft off Long
Island killed all 230 on board.
Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwoway/2009/08/faa_orders_boeing_767_changes.html
11. August 5, Louisville Courier-Journal – (Indiana) One worker hurt in Indiana plant
tried to help another. One of two workers hurt in a release of nitrogen at a
Jeffersonville, Indiana, steel plant on on August 5 was trying to help the other when he
succumbed to the gas, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Labor said. The
incident occurred at the Steel Dynamics Inc. facility just before 9:30 p.m., said a
spokesman of the Jeffersonville Fire Department. One man was not breathing when he
was found by emergency workers, but another was alert and conscious, he said. “We
have someone on site investigating what happened,” a Labor Department spokesman
said. “The hazard was controlled so there was no work stoppage at the plant,” he said.
The fire official said it appeared the men were doing work on a 15-foot ladder when
they were hurt. Steel Dynamics employs about 3,500 people and is the nation’s fifthlargest producer of carbon steel products, according to its Web site.
Source: http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090805/NEWS01/908050435/-1/rss
For another story, see item 12
[Return to top]
Defense Industrial Base Sector
12. August 7, Reliable Plant – (Massachusetts) Composites factory facing $442,150 in
OSHA penalties. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) has proposed a combined total of $442,150 in fines against
Globe Composite Solutions Ltd. and ADP TotalSource II Inc. for alleged violations of
health and safety standards at the companies’ Rockland, Massachusetts composite
materials research, development, manufacturing and assembly facility. “The inspection
identified inadequate or absent safeguards against employees’ exposure to lead and its
attendant health hazards, including failure to conduct required monitoring, follow basic
lead hygiene procedures and ensure adequate respiratory protection,” said the OSHA’s
area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. Specifically, the companies
did not conduct required air and biological monitoring to determine and track
employees’ lead exposure levels; did not prevent employee overexposure to lead; did
not implement adequate controls to reduce lead exposure; did not keep work surfaces
and floors as clean of lead accumulation as possible; failed to equip the ventilation
system with backup HEPA filters and lead monitoring equipment; lacked adequate
respiratory protection programs, procedures, equipment and training; allowed
respirators and protective suits to be stored in lead contaminated areas; did not provide
clean change rooms, showers and an appropriate lunchroom for lead exposed
employees; did not prevent employees from wearing lead contaminated clothing home
and in the lunch room; and did not provide lead hazard training. Both companies also
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have been cited for lack of personal protective equipment; incomplete lockout/tagout
program and training; and lack of a comprehensive written chemical hazard
communication program and training.
Source:
http://www.reliableplant.com/article.aspx?articleid=19309&pagetitle=Composites+fact
ory+facing+$442,150+in+OSHA+penalties
13. August 6, Defense News – (National) Refitted Excalibur rounds hit test
targets. Raytheon on August 1 test-fired its GPS-guided 155mm XM982 Excalibur
artillery shell with a new inertial measurement unit (IMU), hitting all nine targets in a
trial at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, company officials said. The Excalibur rounds
“had an average impact distance of less than two meters versus a threshold requirement
of 10 meters,” said Raytheon’s deputy program manager, land combat product line. The
new IMUs, built by Atlantic Inertial Systems, Plymouth, England, were added over the
past several weeks after reliability failures with the previous Honeywell-built IMUs.
The U.S. Army, which has taken delivery of tens of thousands of XM982s, had
suspended deliveries of Excalibur because of the problem. “The XM982 [Excalibur]
round is required to operate in an environment that exceeds 15,000 times the force of
gravity,” an Army spokesman said July 30 in a written statement. “There was an
inherent lack of design robustness in the qualified IMU configuration, which resulted in
a failure rate of approximately 5 percent. We have not been able to conclusively trace
the exact cause to a design or process issue.” Army officials said none of the rounds
used in combat have had problems.
Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4221786&c=AME&s=LAN
[Return to top]
Banking and Finance Sector
14. August 6, Houston Chronicle – (National) FDIC sues to get information on Franklin
Bank probe. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has asked a federal judge to
force a law firm and an accounting firm to hand over information on an investigation
into the failure of Franklin Bank, S.S.B. The FDIC was appointed receiver for Franklin
Bank, which was seized and closed in November 2008. In a lawsuit filed August 4, the
FDIC says an internal bank audit committee has initiated an investigation of allegations
of accounting irregularities, fraud and misconduct at Franklin Bank. The law firm hired
Ernst&Young accountants to assist. The lawsuit says the investigation included
interviews with 23 bank executives and employees and reviews of computer hard
drives and 250,000 e-mails. But the two firms told the FDIC that their materials are
covered by attorney-client privilege. The FDIC asked a Senior U.S. District Judge to
force the firms to turn over the materials, arguing they are not privileged — partly
because they were shared in presentations and partly because the FDIC stands legally in
the place of Franklin Bank, which was itself the firms’ client. Spokesmen for the law
and accounting firms said they would not comment on the pending litigation. Franklin
bank’s former parent company Franklin Bank Corp. is in bankruptcy. Some branches
were reopened as Prosperity Bank after that institution assumed Franklin’s deposits and
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purchased some of its assets.
Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/flood/6563592.html
15. August 6, BloggingStocks.Com – (National) SEC plans for increased subpoena
power. The Securities and Exchange Commission has a new point man to head up the
compliance division of the agency. He is a former federal prosecutor. He wants to use
subpoena powers to gain cooperation with the SEC in fraud and all kinds of trading
schemes and violations. The subpoena power would be given to staff investigators.
This is a marked change from the previous policy, which required the Commission to
grant subpoenas. Other changes would include plans to submit more immunity requests
to the Justice Department. The SEC plans to investigate cases involving asset
management, foreign corrupt practices, market abuses, municipal securities, public
pensions and structured products.
Source: http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/06/sec-plans-for-increased-subpoenapower/
[Return to top]
Transportation Sector
16. August 9, Parade – (National) Mass transit a terror target. While America’s masstransit systems have not yet come under attack, security experts say that trains and
buses are atop terrorists’ target lists. Americans take more than 10 billion public-transit
rides per year — many times the number of flights — but federal efforts to secure
ground transportation from terrorist attacks have been underfunded and inefficient.
Still, Congress plans this year to cut funding for mass-transit security from last year’s
level of just $400 million — less than 2 percent of the $30 billion spent on airline
security since the September 11th attacks. The president of the American Public
Transportation Association (APTA) insists that mass transit remains a safe way to
travel. However, he says: “One-third of terror attacks around the world have been
aimed at public-transit systems. There are no guarantees when it comes to security.” He
said public-transit agencies continue to improve security by conducting drills,
developing strategies, and deploying more and better-trained personnel, bomb-sniffing
dogs, and surveillance cameras. Transit authorities have spent only about $40 million
of the $758 million in federal grant money made available since 2006, according to a
recent TSA report. The president of ATPA blames the grant process for the delays but
says he expects improvement now that money is being given directly to transit systems
rather than funneled through state governments.
Source: http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/090809-mass-transita-terror-target.html
17. August 6, Federal Computer Week – (National) Airline crew members get
fingerprint IDs. The Transportation Security Administration has approved standards
for a fingerprint identification checking system for airline pilots and crew members, the
agency has announced. Under the system, named CrewPass, eligible crew members and
pilots enter a secure area through the exit lane of the security checkpoint after
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presenting their airline-issued identification and another form of identification to TSA
officers. Then TSA employees check those credentials against a cockpit access
personnel database.TSA’s actions are expected to lead to expansion of the
identification verification program which began operating at three airports last year as a
demonstration program, the agency said on August 5.
Source: http://fcw.com/articles/2009/08/06/tsa-approves-biometric-for-airlineworkers.aspx
18. August 5, Torrance Daily Breeze – (California) ‘Suspicious package’ causes brief
evacuation of LAX Terminal 5. Passengers were evacuated for about 90 minutes on
August 5 when a buzzing sound came from a “suspicious package” found in Terminal 5
at Los Angeles International Airport, officials said. A worker from Delta Airlines’
baggage claim office called airport police around 11:45 a.m. to report the noisy
package, an LAX spokeswoman said. The terminal was evacuated 15 minutes later as
the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad opened the bag and found that the
buzzing sound had come from a video game system.
Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_13001387
19. August 4, Associated Press – (Hawaii) NTSB issues final report on ‘sleeping pilots’
case. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has confirmed an initial
finding that the captain and first officer of a flight that overflew its destination in
Hawaii inadvertently fell asleep while the plane was on autopilot. The NTSB on
August 3 issued its final report in the case of a 2008 go airlines flight from Honolulu
that overflew Hilo International Airport by 30 miles. A contributing factor in the
incident was the captain’s previously undiagnosed severe obstructive sleep apnea, a
condition that likely caused him to experience chronic daytime fatigue and contributed
to his falling asleep during the February 13, 2008 flight, the NTSB said. Another
contributing factor was the flight crew’s then-recent work schedules, which included
several consecutive days of early morning start times, it said. The day of the incident
“was the third consecutive day that both pilots started duty at 0540,” the final report
said. “This likely caused the pilots to receive less daily sleep than is needed to sustain
optimal alertness and resulted in an accumulation of sleep debt and increased levels of
daytime fatigue.”
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5igeUCpd2BCEqK01S9Uiv9Hb
IoxgAD99RO7C00
For more stories, see items 3, 6, 10, and 35
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Postal and Shipping Sector
20. August 6, Kennebec Journal/ Morning Sentinel – (Maine) Franklin County Police:
Men made mailbox bombs. Three men have been arrested in connection with
exploding devices that blew up mailboxes at several properties near Webb Lake in
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Weld, Maine last week, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. A fiveday investigation was conducted by a deputy and detective and on August 4 they
arrested the three suspects, all of whom are from Carthage. They were summonsed for
criminal mischief and are scheduled to appear in Farmington District Court on
September 24, said a police lieutenant. Additional charges could be filed after the
Franklin County district attorney’s office reviews the case, the lieutenant said. Since
damaging any mail receptacle is a federal offense, the case also has been referred to the
U.S. Postal Service.
Source: http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/6696305.html
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Agriculture and Food Sector
Nothing to report
[Return to top]
Water Sector
21. August 6, Water Technology Online – (Colorado; Kansas) Century-old water dispute
close to an end. The states of Kansas and Colorado on August 4 announced they have
ended a long-running lawsuit over the Arkansas River. The two states’ dispute dates
back more than a century; the states’ first lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court was in
1902. The agreement the states have now filed with the Supreme Court resolves the
final technical issues about monitoring Colorado’s use of Arkansas River water. The
current lawsuit stems from a complaint Kansas filed against Colorado in 1985, claiming
Colorado was improperly diverting millions of gallons of water from the river. The
Supreme Court ruled a decade later that groundwater pumping took water rightfully
belonging to Kansas, and Colorado then paid more than $34 million in damages to
Kansas. The lawsuit continued because of other issues. The recently announced
agreement is the last step toward closing the case.
Source: http://watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=72366
22. August 6, Taft Midway Driller – (California) City has to replace blower at
wastewater plant. The city of Taft, California had to spend nearly $12,000 for an
emergency replacement of a blower on a biomixer at the city’s wastewater treatment
plant. The blower has been repaired twice at a cost of more than $6,000 for parts and
labor, according to a staff report from a Public Works manager said it would cost
another $8,000 to repair this time with no warranty. So instead, staff made the
emergency purchase of a new blower for $11,984 that comes with an 18-month
warranty. He said the blower is a “vital component that induces oxygen into the sewage
being treated.” The city is probably facing fines for failing to comply with regulations
for the treatment of the wastewater, but it may be able to escape heavy fines by
demonstrating an action plan to deal with the noncompliance. The city spent $11,984
for an emergency purchase of the blower and the city council will be asked to ratify the
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purchase at a special meeting next week.
Source: http://www.taftmidwaydriller.com/news/x1558729177/City-has-to-replaceblower-at-watewater-plant
For another story, see item 35
[Return to top]
Public Health and Healthcare Sector
23. August 6, Agence France-Presse – (International) WHO emphasises safety of
pandemic flu vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) moved to reassure the
public about the safety of pandemic flu vaccines on Thursday, emphasizing that
rigorous precautions were taken despite the speed of their development. “The public
needs to be reassured that regulatory procedures in place for the licensing of pandemic
vaccines, including procedures for expediting regulatory approval, are rigorous and do
not compromise safety or quality controls,” it said in a statement on its website.
Although many national regulators had fast-tracked procedures for approval, the swine
flu vaccine was built on the same technology used to produce vaccines for frequently
changing strains of seasonal influenza, the UN health agency underlined. The
streamlined process was established in the WHO’s 2007 pandemic preparedness plan,
agreed by health experts, regulators and vaccine makers to ensure that a flu vaccine for
a pandemic strain was available quickly and in large quantities. The WHO advised all
countries to carry on intensive testing and monitoring of vaccines even after they start
to be administered.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iccGIj2jhkPtT61AMBwZJDR
q1F5w
24. August 6, U.S. Food and Drug Administration – (National) FDA issues
pharmaceutical industry guidance on preventing melamine contamination. In a
guidance issued August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that
certain pharmaceutical ingredients used in the manufacture or preparation of drug
products should be tested for melamine. Melamine is a synthetic chemical with a
variety of industrial uses including the production of resins and foams, cleaning
products, fertilizers and pesticides. If ingested in sufficient amounts, melamine can
result in kidney failure and death. Although the FDA has no reason to believe that the
U.S. pharmaceutical supply is contaminated with melamine, recent events involving pet
and livestock food products in the United States, and milk products for infants in
China, underscore the potential problem. The guidance is an initial measure by the
agency in working with pharmaceutical manufacturers, repackers, other suppliers and
pharmacists to conduct melamine testing. The agency invites comments on the
guidance, available online and titled “Guidance for Industry: Pharmaceutical
Components At Risk for Melamine Contamination.”
Source:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm176088.htm
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[Return to top]
Government Facilities Sector
25. August 7, WHAU 27 Charlottesville – (Virginia) Woman taken to hospital in UVa
hazmat incident is released. A woman injured Thursday in a Hazardous Materials
incident in Wilson Hall at the University of Virginia is out of the hospital. The contents
of the package delivered to the academic building was safe; it contained a bunch of
brochures. But what was on the outside of the package made one woman sick and
created a toxic smell that was overwhelming to those inside. Ambulances and hazmat
crews were called to the building after the woman opened a package covered in a
strong glue. When it mixed with rainwater, it caused the woman who opened the
delivered package to have an allergic reaction.
Source: http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/52586007.html
26. August 7, KTVI 2 St. Louis – (Missouri) Congressman Carnahan responds to town
hall meeting melee. A congressman is calling for an end to confrontations at town hall
meetings after Thursday’s meeting at Bernard Middle School in Mehlville, Missouri
turned ugly. In recent weeks, town hall forums like this have been overtaken by
opposition groups who have heckled and mocked supporters of the President’s health
care reform plan including the congressman. The congressman said he is concerned
about what happened Thursday night and worried about the people injured. He also
said he is aware people were arrested after he left. Now the congressman is asking
Democrats and Republicans to stop calling on these types of confrontational incidents
to occur at town hall meetings so that there can be a “return to a civil but very spirited
debate over the future of our nation’s healthcare.” He also said he does not want to give
up town hall meetings, but if the discourse is always interrupted, smaller meetings may
be necessary.
Source: http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-russ-carnahan-town-hall-folo080709,0,712936.story
27. August 7, KCTV 5 Kansas City – (Kansas) Ex-KU employee arrested with rifle on
campus. The University of Kansas (KU) has increased security after a former
employee was found with a rifle on campus on Wednesday. The suspect was fired from
his job as a research assistant at the university’s geological survey in July, but showed
up to campus on Wednesday with a rifle in his truck. KU police found that the rifle was
unusable and sent the suspect off campus, but he was later arrested by Douglas County
Sheriff’s officers for criminal possession of a firearm, due to a state law that says
someone committed to a mental health facility involuntarily can not possess a gun. The
suspect was also charged with stalking, telephone harassment, and violation of a
protection order. He was also charged with criminal damage of property after roughing
up the police cruiser he was put in. The stalking and telephone harassment charges
come from the days after he was terminated from his job on July 8. The suspect is
currently being held on $250,000 bond. The suspect was an employee of the university
for more than 17 years. Douglas County District Attorney officials said that the
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suspect’s behavior has escalated over the past month.
Source: http://www.kctv5.com/news/20314434/detail.html
28. August 6, WAVE 3 Louisville – (Kentucky) Abramson asks for federal aid to repair
flood damage. The damages from the flooding of August 4 are definitely in the
millions of dollars throughout Louisville, Kentucky. Now, the mayor is asking for
federal help to pay for the cleanup. The cost to repair all of the damage is still
unknown, but the mayor said he already knows the city and homeowners will need
money. More than 30 government buildings were damaged. The main library had the
most damage when the waters poured into the basement destroying books and
computers. Metro Animal Services had to evacuate animals when at least 3-feet of
water flooded its facility on Manslick Road. If approved, Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) will pay for 75 percent of claims to clean up
government property.
Source: http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=10861814
See item 36
29. August 5, Las Vegas Sun – (Nevada) Feds, state close historic nuclear blast site. Part
of the Nevada Test Site that hosted nuclear blasts in the past has been closed to avoid a
costly cleanup of contaminated soils. During the height of the Cold War, 100 aboveground nuclear weapons experiments were conducted in remote desert areas at the Test
Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. For more than 10 years, the U.S. Department of
Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration’s Nevada Site Office, and the
Nevada Division of Environmental Protection discussed how much cleanup would
occur at these above-ground nuclear locations. The state approved plans to close the
site on June 24. The decision is expected to save taxpayers millions of dollars, said the
acting soils federal sub-project director. First, the Nevada Site Office designed an
investigation into what remained, and how far hazardous and radioactive materials,
such as lead, plutonium, and cesium had spread. Once environmental officials knew
what and how much contaminated materials were at the site, state and federal officials
considered current and future land use, potential risks to current and future workers and
costs for removing or leaving the contamination and taking it to an appropriate disposal
site.
Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/05/feds-state-close-historicnuclear-blast-site/
For another story, see item 30
[Return to top]
Emergency Services Sector
30. August 7, Homeland Security Today – (Illinois) Fire, EMS, Police response to NIU
shootings praised. Last week the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) issued a report
documenting how, by assimilating lessons of earlier disasters, first responders to the
tragic campus shooting at Northern Illinois University last year prevented the damage
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from that event from being far worse. The shootings that occurred at Northern Illinois
University in DeKalb, Illinois on February 14, 2008, less than a year after a senior at
the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) murdered 32
people and committed suicide, provide, according to the report, an instructive example
of the benefits of emergency preparedness. “All of the injured who were transported
were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, the only hospital nearby,” the report
notes. “Several of the most seriously injured were then transferred to five other
hospitals in the region — four via helicopter and one via ground ambulance.” “A close
examination of how the emergency medical and hospital services were carried out,” the
study adds, “reveals that the right decisions and actions were taken during triage and
treatment, lives were saved, and no one was hurt in the process of providing emergency
medical services (EMS) to the victims, transporting them, or safeguarding the rest of
the campus immediately after the murders.” In addition the report comments that “the
City of DeKalb Fire Department, the NIU Department of Public Safety, the hospital,
and other mutual-aid responders were prepared. They had practiced emergency drills
together and coordinated their planning. They were familiar with the Incident
Command System (ICS) and had formally incorporated its use in their plans. The
fire/EMS, university police, and university events management partners had worked
together frequently in planned and unplanned events, so Command and control
procedures were well practiced. They also had studied the official report1 on the
Virginia Tech shootings and had integrated the lessons learned into their emergency
response plans.”
Source: http://www.hstoday.us/content/view/9697/149/
31. August 6, Fort Worth Star-Telegram – (Texas) Lewisville man accused of
impersonating federal officer. Police say a Lewisville, Texas man convinced officials
at several North Texas police agencies that he was one of their own. He was arrested at
the Collin County Sheriff’s Department after deputies received an alert from Dallas
police about a man impersonating a federal agent. He faces charges of impersonating a
public servant, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and failure to identify. He
faces the same charges in Grapevine, Dallas and Flower Mound, authorities said
Thursday. The man allegedly posed as an agent with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Police say he used a fake
name, flashed a badge and carried a handgun. He even rode along on patrol with
Flower Mound and Grapevine police.
Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/northeast/story/1525417.html
32. August 6, Los Angles Times – (California) L.A. Fire Department cutbacks begin
today; response times to increase. Controversial cutbacks at the Los Angeles Fire
Department that officials admit will increase response times began July 6. As part of
the cuts, 15 firetrucks and six ambulances are being pulled out of service daily on a
rotating basis citywide. Firefighters assigned to those units will be used to plug staff
vacancies, which for years have been filled by calling other employees in for overtime.
In an effort to close a $56.5-million budget shortfall, three additional ambulances in
Sylmar, Hollywood and East Hollywood were closed indefinitely on Sunday. Those
ambulances, staffed by firefighters for 12-hour periods, eased the burden on busy
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paramedic ambulances by responding to lower-level emergencies. Also eliminated
indefinitely were three positions for captains who supervise paramedics in the field and
serve as emergency-room liaisons. Many contend that cut is dangerous. Los Angeles’
fire chief said last month that the cutbacks would create longer response times for both
medical emergency and fire calls, but he declined to speculate if that could lead to an
increase in deaths.
Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/la-fire-department-cutbacksbegin-today-response-times-to-increase.html
For another story, see item 41
[Return to top]
Information Technology Sector
33. August 7, The Register – (International) Microsoft whips out Office 2008 patch for
Mac lovers. Microsoft has hastily applied a fix to the Mac version of Office 2008, after
the software giant introduced a glitch in the Open XML format when it released
Service Pack 2 for the suite. The company noted Thursday that the 12.2.1 patch would
get rid of error messages that some Mac users were faced with when trying to open
various PC-created documents in Office 2008. Customers had reported the following
error message: “Microsoft Excel cannot open the file. You may have to download the
latest updates for Office for Mac. Do you want to visit the Microsoft Web site for more
information?” It had popped up when users tried to open some (though not all) OXML
file formats in the Office suite after applying Service Pack 2 to the software. Microsoft
released Office 2008 Service Pack 2 in July. At the time, Redmond wheeled out its
usual not-to-be-entirely-trusted promise about improving “stability, reliability, and
performance.”
Source:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/07/microsoft_office_2008_sp2_mac_oxml_fix/
34. August 6, Associated Press – (National) Hackers attack Twitter, Facebook also slows
down. Hackers on August 6 shut down the fast-growing messaging service Twitter for
hours, while Facebook experienced intermittent access problems. Twitter said it
suffered a denial-of-service attack, in which hackers command scores of computers
toward a single site at the same time, preventing legitimate traffic from getting through.
The attacks may have been related to the ongoing political conflict between Russia and
Georgia. They started with hackers using a botnet to send a flurry of spam e-mail
messages that contained links to pages on Twitter, Facebook and other sites written by
a single pro-Abkhazia activist, according to a research director of the San Franciscobased Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit that tracks Internet traffic. When people
clicked on the links, they were taken to the activist’s legitimate Web pages, but the
process of loading the pages at such volumes overwhelmed some servers and disrupted
service, he said. He said it is hard to immediately tell whether it was a case of hackers
trying to punish the sites for publishing views they disagree with, or if they were
directing traffic to the sites out of sympathy for the activist’s message. The fact that a
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relatively common attack could disable such a well-known Web site shows just how
young and vulnerable Twitter still is, even as it quickly becomes a household name
used by celebrities, large corporations, small businesses and even protesters in Iran.
Source:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4neQXU7Si64Fm2N7s4bOw
U7soTQD99TO8500
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
See item 35
[Return to top]
Commercial Facilities Sector
35. August 7, New York Daily News – (New York) Major water main break in Tribeca
snarls Manhattan rush hour traffic. Thousands of morning commuters who make
their way through the Tribeca area in New York City, New York were delayed or
diverted because of a massive water main break that happened early Friday morning.
At least 15 buildings were flooded and subways disrupted when a 12-inch water main
broke under a Tribeca street early Friday. Residents of five buildings on West
Broadway were evacuated due to rupture. Water poured into the subway, causing
causing delays on the No. 1, 2 and 3 lines. Emergency workers rushed to shut down the
main which dates back to the 1800s, and a number of streets were shut down, creating
havoc for morning commuters. The M20 bus line was diverted at Worth St. to
Broadway. Some city buses were being used as waiting areas for some of the people
who were evacuated. One building, a telecommunications facility had four feet of water
in the basement, fire officials said. The cause of the break was not immediately known.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/07/2009-0807_major_water_main_break_in_tribeca_snarls_downtown_manhattan_rush_hour.html
36. August 5, Louisville Courier-Journal – (Kentucky) Metro Parks facilities damaged
by flooding. Some Louisville Metro Parks golf courses, community centers, and
swimming facilities sustained damage in Tuesday’s heavy rainstorms. A Parks
spokesman said all nine Louisville Metro public golf courses were open Wednesday,
but several holes at the Shawnee course were under water and unplayable. The Iroquois
Amphitheater, which recently underwent a renovation that cost nearly $10 million, will
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be closed until further notice. Water was still standing Wednesday and needed to be
pumped out from the lower few rows of seats and also from the orchestra pit, said the
spokesman. The venue’s stage was damaged, with an assessment needed to see if the
stage has to be replaced, he said. The public swimming pool at Algonquin Park on
Cypress Street had flood damage to its pump room. He added that the swimming pool
will closed for the rest of the summer; the rest of the outdoor park pools are scheduled
to close after this weekend. Floods also caused a variety of damage at the Shelby Park
Community Center, which should reopen “in a few days,” he assured.
Source: http://www.courierjournal.com/article/20090805/NEWS01/908050394/Metro+Parks+facilities+damaged+
by+flooding
See item 28
[Return to top]
National Monuments and Icons Sector
37. August 7, Los Angeles Times – (National) Plan urged to save national parks from
global warming effects. The Federal Government must take decisive action to avoid “a
potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life” in national parks, according to a
new report that details the effects of global warming on the nation’s most treasured
public lands. The 53-page report from the National Parks Conservation Association, a
Washington-based advocacy group, details concerns related to climate change in the
parks, including the bleaching of coral reefs in Florida and the disappearance of highaltitude ponds that nurture yellow-legged frogs in California. The group called on the
National Park Service to come up with a detailed plan and funding to adapt to
temperature-related ecosystem changes. A major climate bill passed by the House in
June would allocate more than $500 million a year to natural resources adaptation
under a proposed carbon-trading program. The Senate is drafting a companion bill, but
the outcome of the legislation remains uncertain. The report recommends adaptation
strategies including the creation of wildlife corridors stretching from one park to
another so that species can move unencumbered into cooler areas. It also recommends
more effective limits on environmental hazards.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-national-parks72009aug07,0,7287363.story
38. August 7, Associated Press – (Alaska) Wis. firefighters helping in Alaska. Forty
federal and tribal firefighters from northern Wisconsin have flown to Alaska to help
battle a wildfire near Denali National Park that has burned nearly 600,000 acres. A U.S.
Forest Service spokesman in Rhinelander says the firefighters took a charter flight to
Alaska Thursday afternoon to join nearly 600 firefighters. He says two, 20-member
crews from Minnesota and one crew from Michigan were also on the charter flight for
two weeks of duty in Alaska.
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wifirefightinghelp,0,5899635.story
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39. August 7, NJ.com – (New Jersey) Water quality issues plague lake at Parvin State
Park. At Parvin State Park in New Jersey, bacteria from geese excrement has closed
the lake to swimming on multiple occasions the past few weeks, officials say. The
latest bout was discovered during the daily water quality test on Wednesday, according
to an official from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The
swimming area was shut down for the day. It reopened Thursday, officials said, thanks
in part to an overnight storm system which lingered in the region much of the day. This
was about the fourth time in the past two weeks the lake was closed to swimmers
because of high bacteria levels, according to a state DEP spokeswoman. She said the
fecal coliform levels were just above the state DEP’s mandated threshold of 200 parts
per 100 milliliters. Ingesting water contaminated with fecal coliform could lead to
illnesses like hepatitis, dysentery and E. coli.
Source: http://www.nj.com/sunbeam/index.ssf?/base/news5/1249627211263040.xml&coll=9
40. August 6, Associated Press – (National) Court blocks road construction in national
forests. A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in at least 40
million acres of pristine national forests. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates most of a 2001 rule prohibiting commercial logging,
mining, and other development on about 58 million acres of national forest in 38 states
and Puerto Rico. The 2001 federal ruling was repealed in 2005 which gave states more
control over whether and how to block road-building in remote forests. Citing legal
uncertainty, the current Presidential Administration ordered a one-year moratorium on
most road-building in national forests everywhere except Idaho and the Tongass
National Forest in Alaska. Idaho created its own plan for roadless forests in 2005 and
the Tongass was exempted from roadless protection in a separate 2003 decision.
Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6rl81Efi_0PRKk4s6Z7s6As6XQD99T11GO1
[Return to top]
Dams Sector
41. August 7, West Virginia MetroNews – (West Virginia) Damage at Burnsville
Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says there has been vandalism and theft
during the past week at Burnsville Dam and surrounding areas. The Corps is seeking
the help of the public after someone broke into the fenced compound around the dam in
Braxton County either August 4 or 5. Two windows in a Braxton County Sheriff’s
Department cruiser were broken out, an AR-15 rifle with scope; police radios, a Tazer
gun, and other equipment were stolen.The Corps also reports vandalism at the Left
Fork Picnic Area above Burnsville Dam.
Source:
http://www.wvmetronews.com/index.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=31614
42. August 6, KBMT 12 Beaumont/Port Arthur – (California) Effort to build protective
levee for Orange County reaches milestone. Orange County has taken a huge step in
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protecting homeowners from tropical storms. The county has reached an early
milestone in the effort to get a protective levee system to reduce the chance of flooding
following hurricanes and other tropical systems. Proponents of the idea say a levee
would protect from storms such as Hurricane Ike, which did heavy flooding damage to
the county. A spokesman for The Orange County Economic Development Corporation
(EDC) told KBMT it has hired Carroll&Blackmon, Inc.(CBI) to serve as project
managers and perform a feasibility study for a potential new levee. CBI has teamed
with LEAP Engineering, LLC (LEAP) and Costello, Inc. (CI), to work on the project.
He says the storm illuminated a potential threat to the county. “Hurricane Ike taught us
that we are not immune in Orange County to the effects of a storm surge,” he added.
Funding is not yet available for the project. County leaders say the engineering study is
an important step needed to find out how much funding will be needed.
Source: http://www.kbmt12.com/news/local/52585457.html
[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
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Contact DHS
To report physical infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact the National Infrastructure
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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
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material.
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