'Anthrax attack' tackled (From Free Press Series)

'Anthrax attack' tackled

A suspicious envelope containing a white powder arrives at a government office.

The alarm is raised and within minutes a huge police operation swings into action.

More than 40 officers wearing protective suits and breathing apparatus seal off the building so no-one can get in and no-one can get out.

Police are taking no chances because if the envelope contains anthrax it could within hours kill anyone who inhales it.

Eventually, the desperate people trapped in the building are brought out and decontaminated and the emergency is over.

This frightening scenario was played out close to Pontypool last Wednesday morning, bringing the full gravity of a terrorist attack to a quiet Welsh valley.

But the major operation was not an actual incident, but part of a Gwent Police training exercise at the deserted Usk Valley industrial site in Mamhilad.

The 'victims' were acting, and the police response was exactly as it would have been if the threat were real.

It was the first such exercise the force has carried out as part of new police procedures following the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Each police force in the UK must have three chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear (CBRN) teams to deal with potential terrorist attacks.

CBRN support officer PC Mark Barwood said: "Every force has to have this equipment and carry out these exercises to train officers to deal with these situations."

The resources involved in such an operation are immense.

Each CBRN suit costs £480, and soon the force will have to replace them with the latest suits, which cost £2,800 each.

PC Barwood added: "In a real incident of this nature, up to 2,000 officers would be drafted in from neighbouring forces to deal with the threat."

CBRN training officer Sgt Jon Harris said the operation was a success. "We have achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve."