The Northwest Regional Technology Center (NWRTC) is a virtual resource center supporting regional preparedness, response, and recovery by enabling homeland security solutions for emergency responder communities and federal, state, and local stakeholders in the Northwest.
To help facilitate and accelerate homeland security technology solutions, the center will:
- Work with regional emergency management and public safety professionals to define and prioritize technology needs.
- Coordinate and lead regional efforts to test, demonstrate, and deploy new and emerging technologies.
- Conduct forums focusing for prevention and emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
- Provide information and expertise on new and emerging technologies, including chem-bio detection, analysis, and forensics; radiological detection; information analytics; explosives detection; and situational awareness.
Economic Impacts of a Wide Area Release of Anthrax
"Economic Impacts of a Wide Are Release of Anthrax" report, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense - Defense Threat Reduction Agency is now available. This report explores the economic impacts that might result from a wide‐area release of anthrax. The intent is not to provide a quantitative analysis of such a disaster, but to:
- Define the general categories of economic impacts that the region should be concerned about; and,
- Explore what types of private sector businesses or industries, if any, may have the greatest impact on speeding the economic recovery of the region.
This analysis was conducted through a review of literature on regional economic development, regional resiliency, and the economic impacts of major disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, the 9/11 attacks, and other hypothetical analyses.
Community Resilience Workshops
"Community Resilience: Workshops on Private Sector and Property Owners Requirements for Recovery and Restoration from a Disaster" final workshop report, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense - Defense Threat Reduction Agency is now available.
A series of three workshops was conducted August 12-14, 2008, at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's offices in Seattle, Washington. Each workshop focused on a specific stakeholder group: 1) private sector businesses; 2) building owners and operators; and 3) service providers/critical infrastructure operators. The workshops were designed to identify and prioritize major concerns of each group regarding their ability to recover from a biological disaster and restore property and normal operations. The body of the report captures discussion and requirements of these three groups which will lead to the development of appropriate tools and information for these groups in the future.
Regional Homeland Security Summit
A giant step toward a regional partnership was taken on May 28, 2008, when key representatives from ten western states and the Territory of Guam embraced the idea of developing a concept to partner with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories—specifically the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Idaho National Laboratory. PNNL and INL would focus on the needs of the states by helping to identify technology needs and requirements, establish priorities, and provide unbiased technical support and training. National labs can also serve as agents to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the states. Participants also gained a new awareness of the homeland security capabilities that have resulted from national laboratory science and technology.
Anthrax Symposium Report Available
The Workshop Report for the Catastrophic Incident Recovery: Long-Term Recovery from an Anthrax Event Symposium is now available. The day-long symposium was aimed at enhancing regional response and restoration capabilities in a catastrophic event by understanding the associated challenges that impact entire communities, including people, infrastructure and critical systems. View Report