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Chemical Hazards: Risk Assessment and Analysis
Introduction
Critical Systems and Key Resources (CI/KR) in America are essential for optimizing the basic functioning and security of the country. Through risk assessments (RA), impending dangers will be discovered promptly, allowing for mitigation. Risk assessment evaluates the potential hazards to buildings and other types of assets in the case of a disaster to reduce the dangers and lessen the disasters effect (Pant et al., 2018). Typically, risk assessments involve five steps to analyze each infrastructure-related aspect that may be affected within a facility. Risk assessment begins with identifying threats, followed by evaluating asset value to evaluate the property and personnels importance to the facility. The third phase of the risk assessment process is assessing the susceptibility of the facilitys resources in the case of a hazard or danger by which risk assessment is accomplished. Finally, the mitigation alternatives for the threat are studied for each of the vulnerabilities found in the preceding steps, and measures are taken to mitigate the threat successfully. For instance, in the case of a hazardous chemical, such as in Situation Seven: Nerve Agent Chemical Attack, food production and distribution communications, banking and financial services, energy, water, and information technology could be compromised.
Nerve agents are any chemical molecules that affect the nervous system of a human. VX, Tabun (GA), Sarin (GB), and Soman (GD) are among the most frequently employed neurotoxins. Locally produced offenders use nerve agents as chemical warfare weapons. VX is oilier than some other nerve agents at room temperature. According to Amend et al. (2020), these are water-soluble and can also combine with most current solvents, increasing their deadly potential.
Sarin is the most rapidly evaporating and unscented nerve agent, making it difficult to detect by smell if exposed. Actions of nerve agents include inhibiting the function of nervous system neurotransmitters in the human body, hence decreasing nerve-ending functionality. As a result, the nerves of the affected individual begin delivering many impulses at once, causing an overload in the body. Contact with Sarin is, therefore, hazardous to human health and nearly lethal.
Poisoning is the word used to describe chemical attacks that involve nerve agents. Therefore, it is a danger that must be addressed immediately. As a result of the discharge of Sarin into the three office towers, the lives of an estimated six thousand people are in peril, as are numerous building infrastructure sectors. Loss of life and economic ramifications for corporations and the city of New York are the most significant anticipated risks. However, there is a potential that the situation can be saved if rescuers arrive within fifteen minutes of the attacked structures. In addition, for the Global Adversarys strike to be successful, the right temperature, wind speed, and precipitation must be present so that the Sarin spreads as intended.
Determining The Threat, Vulnerability, And Consequences To The Various CI/KR
Banking and Finance
The sarin exposure resulted in six thousand deaths and 350 patients being harmed. The poisoning was widespread, and the estimated economic cost of the attack was $300 million. New York Citys banking and finance industry will be indirectly affected. There will be a need for restitution and life insurance payments for the deceased. In addition, the banking and finance industry will be directly responsible for the medical bills of the injured and the costs associated with fumigation and contaminant clearance. The victims of the chemical attack were investors in a variety of New York and United States banks. There is a possibility of delinquent loans from the deceased, as they cannot repay the loans previously provided. Additionally, financial and banking organizations will be required to assist in maintaining corporate social responsibility, which will financially impact them. Decreased output and labor will severely impact New York Citys local business until the structures can be used again due to the buildings shutdown for the expected period required for rehabilitation from the attack.
Food and Agriculture
Sarin is odorless, colorless, and capable of spreading through the air. Consumers will be more susceptible to food illness if exposed to contaminated foods or agricultural products. When Sarin is discharged into the ventilation system of office buildings in New York City, the majority of open and uncovered food will be affected. If Sarin is thrown into the air as a liquid spray, it can poison all agricultural goods on which it falls (Rosenberg et al., 2017). Based on these facts concerning Sarin, there is a chance that employees who are not impacted by breathing the chemical will be harmed if they ingest fruits or vegetables that have been exposed when Sarin was in the air. Therefore, evaluating the employees digestive and respiratory systems, among other capacities, will be necessary.
Water
Water is a life-sustaining resource frequently used as a chemical weapon by terrorists. In scenario seven, a significant factor of the chemical attacks spread. Since Sarin dissolves in water, the exposure rate increases if the aerosol emitted from the valves comes into contact with the individuals drinking water. By touching or ingesting the water, additional individuals will be affected. Therefore, the probability of fatalities is increased because water is widely accessible in all commercial structures. Moreover, an excessive water supply will be required for cleaning and disinfecting the buildings after the attack. Consequently, the increased demand poses a threat of water shortages or restrictions in New York City while the aftermath of the chemical attack is cleared up.
Energy
After the chemical attack, power will need to be directed to the commercial structures to decontaminate, disinfect, and sterilize the offices. As a result, the energy industry will be affected, as it must meet the equipments unexpected demand for a high energy supply. In the affected area of New York City, the astronomical need for power services could lead to a price hike.
Communication
When Sarin is discharged into the ducts, most workers are seated at their desks and ignorant of the impending threat. Since sarin vapor is denser than air, it will descend, making it easier for those operating in their workstations to breathe it and experience the effects. It may be hard for individuals to communicate until they are already exhibiting the symptoms of a chemical assault, making it difficult for qualified rescue teams to arrive quickly. There is a chance that attack casualties may be unable to radio for help in time, making it challenging for reaction teams to reach in time to decrease the number of fatalities. Such hazards explain the six thousand deaths that have occurred. In addition, the chemical may leak into the surrounding region and affect further persons.
Information technology
There will not be any direct effect on the information technology industry. However, the facilitys computer system and data management will need to be evaluated for possible threats by the attackers since this may have been the opening via which they obtained access to the facility when plotting the attack. During the chaos generated by the attack, additional harm may have been committed against the businesses data sources.
Risk Assessment Methodologies
Risk Assessment in Water, Energy, and Banking and Finance
The threats effect must be established for these three areas to assess the associated risks appropriately. Therefore, dynamic and location risk assessment methods are suggested for the industries. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)s energy risk assessment measures incorporate the international breadth of facilities, distribution networks, and products (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). Guided by this, a continuous risk assessment to establish the dangers on the spot applies most well to energy-related threats, as it identifies genuine issues that have developed due to the attack. According to Schmidt et al. (2018), it is stated that In addition, the DHS indicates that crisis management in the water, energy, and financial sectors is the duty of the impacted facilities, which are expected to evaluate and predict the unique risks associated with banking, power, and water in their organizations following an assault.
Risk Assessment in Food and Agriculture
Carver Shock is the approved risk assessment technique for the food and agricultural industry. This methodology addresses priorities and is geared to control food industry-related hazards. The vulnerabilities anticipated to occur in connection to food and agricultural goods in impacted institutions will be determined to guarantee that the most feasible mitigation techniques are implemented (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). The methodology was chosen because it enables the assessor to think like the adversary in every threat, facilitating possible mitigation.
Technology Risk Assessment
The chemical attack will potentially influence the information technology industry, but cyberattacks and intelligence threats remain. The All-Hazards Strategy is the most feasible IT risk assessment technique (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). This strategy helps ensure that the procedure for risk assessment is rigorous and comprehensive since it focuses on the capabilities and capacity of the affected businesses or infrastructures (Landoll, 2021). Therefore, it guarantees that potential information gaps are identified and evaluated. The organizations public cloud, networks, and computers will be scanned for viruses and bypassed to ensure that the chemical attack is not associated with any virus.
Risk Assessment in Communications
In the case of a chemical attack, the Route Diversity Project is the most recommended way to assess communication risk. The Department of Homeland Security designed the initiative to assist businesses and facilities in mitigating the risks associated with compromised communication connections. The Remote desktop protocol (RDP)s risk assessment capabilities extend beyond the local scale and are therefore usable in the event of a significant tragedy. The method is also beneficial for identifying cyber security threats in affected facilities and IT difficulties expected to arise after an attack.
Interdependencies Between CI/KR
Notable security organizations in the United States at the municipal, state, federal, and global levels have a primary duty to protect vital infrastructure. The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) aims to drive all Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources industries toward risk management to safeguard critical infrastructure and necessary resources adequately. Due to the shared purpose, interrelations are unavoidable between these sectors (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). Dependencies exacerbate all aspects of risk and can be divided into upper interdependencies and lowest-part interdependencies. Interdependencies can be sector-specific or cross-sectoral.
The energy sector is linked with mobility, water, and information. In different ways, power, an element of the energy sector, drives all of these industries. Transport systems, in particular, rely on fuel energy, but communication relies on electricity to operate communication devices. Similarly, the point is essential in the water sector to boost water production, and water is necessary for energy to power vehicle operations. Consequently, the risks that influence the energy industry will likely affect these other industries (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). All sectors are negatively impacted when a danger impacts one sector in the interdependency chain.
The communications industry depends on the water, transportation, and energy industries. The resources provided by one sector are necessary for the activities of the subsequent enterprise. For activities such as cooling, end-to-end transmission, and fuel delivery, the communications industry is following these rules on the water, telecommunications, and transportation systems. These systems are intertwined with the sector of banking and financial services. In addition, all other sectors rely on the water sector to deliver potable water, drainage, and hygiene in their buildings. The communications and energy sectors require water for cooling systems, whereas the food and agriculture sectors require water for food and product manufacturing.
The interdependence of vital infrastructure is a complicated framework. No sector could function if it relied solely on another, necessitating the requirement for collaborative and dynamic risk management in all underlying infrastructure and critical resources areas. In addition, these interdependencies affect all risk-related factors, and their very existence may be a source of risk and danger (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). Risk management in all areas must be broad and interactive to ensure that the ultimate objective of national security against threats is achieved.
Possible Obstacles Facing CI/KR
All of these important infrastructure sectors face the challenge of danger. Hazards are inevitable in water, food, agriculture, and power. Consequently, they need a comprehensive risk assessment and reduction strategy to address these impending threats. Moreover, the incidence of hazards subjects the industries to new legal and policy-related issues (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). Troubles, cyber security risks, issues in supply and procurement of critical resources, capital distribution, workforce, and intersections or interdependence are significant obstacles for the energy sector. Each of these obstacles necessitates a unique solution, making it challenging to keep up, especially given the imminence and unpredictability of the threats.
The fundamental problem of the water sector is the acquisition and logistics of appropriate water management protective utilities. Moreover, proprietors of buildings and systems within the industry are concerned that the government cannot secure their data, which increases the vulnerability of their resources and goods to attacks and pollution, such as a chemical strike. In addition, the water industry has various issues linked with public policy and administration. Cybersecurity is the most significant problem and danger associated with the information technology sector (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). The information technology industrys responsibility is to generate, share, and secure federal data and information, a task complicated by the threat of cyberterrorism. Consequently, interdependencies with other industries become both a burden and a benefit. In addition, there is a requirement for continuous training and an advanced cyber data protection system.
Farmers in the United States confront a logistical issue in distributing their products to the appropriate national markets. Moreover, due to the worldwide food and agriculture industrys shifting trend, the United States sector is also subject to intense examination regarding cost and health promotion (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019). Moreover, climate change has affected a shift in agricultural trends, presenting the agricultural industry with new problems. The food and agriculture industry will also face cyber security challenges in the future, creating unknown risks that management systems must address.
Cybersecurity, creativity, and technology are difficulties that the financial and communications industries face similarly. However, due to the rapid advancement of technology, it is difficult for these industries to gain experience and stay ahead of the curve. For instance, banks and other financial organizations must stay abreast of technological advancements that pose an economic danger to their customers. In contrast, communication bodies must remain current to provide new methods of sharing and spreading information from one location to another.
Conclusion
Protecting vital infrastructure is among the duties of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Risk assessment is one method by which these departments manage essential resources and infrastructure. As outlined in the completed article, distinct risk assessment approaches are utilized for various industries. Communication bodies must remain updated to provide new techniques for sharing and disseminating information from one location to another. Infrastructure and important resources continue to be integral to security and Management. Therefore, hazards are inevitable in the water, food, agricultural, and energy industries. Consequently, they require a detailed risk assessment and mitigation plan to counteract these imminent dangers. In addition, risks expose sectors to additional legal and policy-related concerns.
References
Amend, N., Niessen, K. V., Seeger, T., Wille, T., Worek, F., & Thiemann, H. (2020). Diagnostics and treatment of nerve agent poisoningcurrent status and future developments. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1479(1), 13-28. Web.
Landoll, D. (2021). The security risk assessment handbook: A complete guide for performing security risk assessments. CRC Press 1-14. Web.
Pant, R., Thacker, S., Hall, J. W., Alderson, D., & Barr, S. (2018). Critical infrastructure impact assessment due to flood exposure. Journal of Flood Risk Management, 11(1), 22-33. Web.
Rosenberg, Y. J., Mao, L., Jiang, X., Lees, J., Zhang, L., Radic, Z., & Taylor, P. (2017). Post-exposure treatment with the oxime RS194B rapidly reverses early and advanced symptoms in macaques exposed to sarin vapor. Chemico-biological interactions, 274, 50-57. Web.
Schmidt, J. J., & Matthews, N. (2018). From state to system: Financialization and the water-energy-food-climate nexus. Geoforum, 91, 151-159. Web.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (2019). A. Guide to Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience. CISA
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