Weapons of Mass Destruction Program

The Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Program supplies U.S. missions abroad and domestic facilities with first-responder gear and training to enable our personnel to survive and escape from a contaminated environment in the event of a chemical-biological terrorist attack.

The program provides a continuing full scope of chemical-biological training worldwide on a 2-year cycle. The program provides first-responder, general escape, and decontamination equipment to all posts and selected domestic facilities.

The WMD program publishes two brochures, Responding to a Biological or Chemical Threat: A Practical Guide and Responding to a Biological or Chemical Threat in the United States, which provide a broad overview of the chemical and biological terrorist threat. Drawing on the lessons learned from the few incidents to date, these pamphlets suggest basic means of detection, defense, and decontamination. The information is designed to help State Department employees and their families recognize and properly react to a chemical or biological situation both in the United States and while living abroad.