GOLDSBY, Okla. (AP) — A crop-duster sprayed a harmless substance above a field of cattle and oil pumps Monday in a test to see if weather radar systems could detect a bioterrorist attack.
It was the first spray of a three-week Army test over central Oklahoma. The plane will make 261 runs, dropping grain alcohol, clay dust and a mix of water and polyethylene glycol — a common ingredient in lotions and mascara.
The harmless materials were chosen to produce a mist resembling the airborne particles that might be produced by a bioterrorism attack.
The test, taking place in Oklahoma because of the state’s advanced weather radar system, will help Army and Environmental Protection Agency scientists determine how well radar can detect such toxic materials.
The new system would keep track of small planes and tiny puffs of particles that typical radars ignore. It will take weeks to analyze the data and determine how successful the test was, Army officials said.
The goal is to develop computer technology for a nationwide bioterrorism detection system, said Robert Lyons, with the Army’s nuclear, biological and chemical detection program. The government hopes to install high-tech software in about 150 radar stations across the country.
The EPA has conducted similar tests in Maryland, Utah and Florida since early 2001, before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.