On December 22, 2006 at 10:44pm local time, security cameras monitoring the Pershing Square Red Line subway station in Los Angeles captured a man who appeared to kneel down just before spilling a liquid-filled vial filled with mercury onto the platform. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) personnel were notified of the incident instantly. Security footage confirmed that the man responsible for the spilt mercury sought out an MTA intercom and informed the operator of the incident in its entirety. Following the brief conversation, the man boarded the next train and left the station. Trains continued to service the station until 2 am. Sheriff?s deputies were notified of the incident some eight hours later. Once notified, responding officers cordoned off the station and summoned the Los Angeles City Fire Department hazardous-materials team to the scene. No injuries or illnesses resulted from the incident.
Officially, the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) stated that the incident was not related to terrorist, or even criminal, activities, citing a complete lack of evidence to suggest any such ties. However,, in light of multiple terror groups? known abilities and desires to target mass public transportation, hypothesizing as to the individual?s true intentions in what appeared to be an intentional spilling of mercury onto a subway platform may better prepare first responders who are faced with similar situations in the future.
Prior Mass Transit Terror Incidents
The most recent terror attacks on the London tube and Madrid train system lends credence to the belief that public mass transit systems represent an accessible target for terrorists. Additionally, various terror groups have declared their desire to deploy biological and chemical agents in an attack, yet none have done so since Aum Shinrikyo?s attacks in 1995 , primarily because of the technological difficulties inherent in such an endeavor.
However, with the rapid development and widespread dispersion of biological-related technical capabilities, often referred to as the ?biotechnology revolution,? this limiting impediment may soon be overcome, placing such options within the grasp of well-financed, aspiring criminal or terror groups. Thus, it remains unclear whether the LA incident was an accident or an opening salvo for a new terror frontier.
Value of a Dry Run
Should the incident prove to be an accident as the JTTF has stated, attentive terrorist groups may still glean tactical information from the spillage and subsequent emergency response,
First, since heightened levels of publicity have surrounded the numerous technology-based security upgrades major public transportation systems have made, terrorists know that their actions are often recorded on CCTVs, etc. While thousands of people who use public transportation may believe such systems are a decidedly reactive apparatus, the individual?s decision to alert MTA personnel of the spill provides a plausible manner in which to diffuse the immediacy of a crisis in which real-time monitoring is employed. The fact that the individual informed MTA personnel that the liquid was a toxic element furthers the idea that immediate notification provides a decreased sense of urgency, as witnessed by the surprisingly slow notification of the hazmat team.
The incident also brings to the forefront the need for training of all first responders. Los Angeles first responders are unlikely to act in a similar, delayed fashion in the near future; the lengthy reaction time will undoubtedly be addressed. Yet, opportunities for similar attacks in other cities continue to exist. Were a lethal biological or chemical agent to have been deployed, been intentionally misidentified, and/or left unattended for a similar length of time, the resultant casualties would have been substantial.
Finally, the fact that authorities are still searching for the individual suggests that:
a) there may be blind spots in the current CCTV monitoring systems,
b) there exists an increased need for facial-recognition technology to be incorporated into such monitoring systems, or
c) a combination of the two.
While blind spots may be possible, this option seems least likely and would be easily correctable. Rather, it seems more plausible that the analysis of footage from the MTA?s surveillance cameras remains a labor-intensive and time-consuming chore that provides would-be attackers with an increased window of opportunity to flee the scene and evade authorities. Facial-recognition technology?like that being developed by the British for their subway system–would increase the ability to track individuals and decrease the likelihood of escape, a key concern to those not intent on carrying out a suicide mission.
As was previously alluded to, even though authorities have determined that this incident lacks any linkages to terror activities, the lessons derived from it are no less valuable and must not be overlooked.
