Prepared for terror

FIRST things first. The nation may have been put on a state of alert after Prime Minister Tony Blair revealed that security services were receiving terrorist threats on a 'daily basis' in the wake of September 11 and Bali.

But, as the PM also said, if he had acted on every piece of 'intelligence' that had come in during his time as premier, the country would have closed down long ago.

So just what is the level of risk we face: and what are the authorities doing to prepare for it?

According to Barry Kelly, City of York Council's emergency planning officer, the risk of terrorist attacks in the UK now is no greater than it was before September 11 - and no greater than when the IRA were active on the UK mainland.

What's more, even if the UK itself were to be targeted, he adds, it is unlikely that an area such as York or North Yorkshire would be on a terrorist hit list.

"For a terrorist, the whole purpose of an attack is to cause alarm and fear amongst the population," he says. Therefore, if terrorists were planning a strike on the UK, they would choose one of the country's major cities, or a nuclear or chemical plant where the impacts of an attack could be catastrophic. A comparative backwater like North Yorkshire wouldn't come into the reckoning.

Nevertheless, he says, since September 11 2001, no one assumes anything any more: "Anyone and everything is a target."

That is why, ever since the terrorist atrocities in New York and Washington 14 months ago, the security services and emergency planners in the UK have been tightening up procedures designed both to prevent a terrorist attack - anything from a deliberate train derailment to the release of chemical or biological agents in a crowded area - and to deal with the aftermath.

There are no nuclear power plants in York or North Yorkshire that might be an obvious terrorist target. Nevertheless, if the worst happened, we would not be immune from the effects of such an attack.

The nearest nuclear plant is in Hartlepool. The reactors of such plants are protected, Barry says, so that if a jumbo jet controlled by terrorists were flown into one, the destruction that resulted would be minimised. The reactor would shut down and harmful heavy neutrons, most destructive to human life, would be absorbed, he says - though some alpha, beta and gamma radiation might escape.

The range of such radiation, however, would be limited and would not pose a direct threat to North Yorkshire.

Food and water supplies might be a different matter - as the example of Chernobyl reveals.

In the event of a reactor such as Hartlepool being breached, Barry says, the Government would issue 'standstill' orders on areas that could possibly have been contaminated, so that meat and other agricultural produce could be kept out of the food chain until it had been checked.

Water companies already have rigorous testing procedures in place to monitor water quality, and contingency plans in place to deal with terrorist-related contamination, he says. And measures would be taken to import food and water. "In this day and age of food transportation you can have food supplies brought in from anywhere in the world within 24 hours," he says. "So no one is going to go without."

There may not be any nuclear power stations in the region but what about other potentially hazardous targets?

There are in North Yorkshire two commercial sites officially accorded COMA (Control of Major Accident Hazard regulations) status - the highest category of risk - according to Robin Myshrall, head of emergency planning at North Yorkshire County Council.

New legislation aimed at preventing the spread of information to terrorists prevents him giving details: but both are commercial operations producing domestic chemicals, one in the Selby area and one in Hambleton.

However, neither is anything like on the scale of Teesside or Cheshire, Robin stresses - so there seems little reason why North Yorkshire would be targeted.

As the example of Bali illustrates, however, a terrorist attack does not have to be aimed at an obvious target.

So what contingency plans are in place in case the almost unimaginable were to happen? In case, for example, a petrol tanker parked next to York railway station, and loaded with a biological agent, were to explode?

A sophisticated command and control structure, with the police in ultimate charge, would swing into place. There would be a 'cascade system' whereby the police would notify fire and ambulance chiefs, as well as local hospitals and the city and county councils.

While fire and rescue teams, aided by paramedics, began their jobs of rescuing the dead and injured - the first priority - and police cordoned off the scene to enable them to do their work, 'bronze' commanders on the ground would assess the situation and feed the information back to silver and gold commanders, who would decide what resources were needed.

York District Hospital would put its own major accident plans into operation, with non-emergency patients being shipped out to other hospitals to make way for casualties. If necessary, temporary morgues would be set up, while city council officers would organise temporary accommodation and social workers and counsellors would be on hand to aid traumatised victims.

If there were danger of release of chemical or biological agents, experts from the department of communicable diseases could be called in to help with decontamination, and even the military if there were a need for quarantines to be imposed.

Throughout, Barry says, the immediate effort would be concentrated on saving lives. Then would come secondary considerations: the need to preserve the scene of the terrorist attack to help the subsequent investigation; and the process of rebuilding and getting back to normal. Throughout, Barry adds, the city council would continue providing everyday services to people who needed them.

It all sounds reassuring, if reassurance is the word. But are there any measures ordinary citizens can be taking now to protect themselves?

No, says Barry. There is no need to stock up on supplies - and no point buying a gas mask. "You would only be wasting your money. If you were ever to get caught up in something like this, you wouldn't have time to put it on."

Which is honest enough. So his best advice? "You carry on as normal," he says. That's probably just what the terrorists don't want us to do - which is all the more reason for doing it.

Updated: 11:38 Wednesday, November 13, 2002