In recent history, chemical and biological counter-terrorism have come to the forefront of defense due to the immense threat to public health and national security. In the last decade a number of chemical and/or biological attacks on civilian populations have occurred, including the release of sarin nerve gas in a Tokyo subway system (1995) and the release of anthrax spores through the mail system in the U.S.A. (2001). Advances in biotechnology have provided the capability for terrorist groups to produce bio-weapons in makeshift laboratories, secretly and inexpensively.
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