07/28/05 America`s security begin with you, Part 1

Criminal misuse of fertilizers has become a major concern for the ag community, rural sector, and law enforcement over the last decade. But the sense of added security was heightened after the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on our nation, aware that a key fertilizer sold to the agriculture industry, ammonium nitrate, in the wrong hands could be an ingredient for a terrorist's explosives. That is one reason that when the sweeping changes that broadened the powers of the Department of Homeland Security came about, that one agency reporting to Homeland Security under went a name change. It is now known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms&and Explosives. To that end, A.T.F. has partnered with a key player in the fertilizer industry to present an education and awareness campaign &"America's Security Begins With You". JESSEN: It's really important that A.T.F. have the good side. A lot of times people think of A.T.F. as maybe not a good guy, but maybe more of a bad guy. And so, it's important that we put forward that we kind of put forward a front and The Fertilizer Institute has been really helpful with that. They've done a lot to help us make people understand that we all have the same goal and that is to reduce crime and terrorism. Kathryn Jessen is an A.T.F. investigator based in Spokane. She says the key to this campaign is direct interaction with members of the farm chemical industry JESSEN: We just kind of drop in on the retailers and just introduce ourselves and give them a business card. And its one thing to just get a flyer and toss it over to the side, but it's another thing to have somebody come over and talk with you for five minutes and introduce themselves. And I really think it does increase the awareness that A.T.F. really does care about this stuff. The education aspect of the "America's Security Begins With You" campaign includes a four part approach. One part is an open line of communication between farm chemical dealers, users, and local law enforcement. The second prong features farm chemical dealers developing a working plan through a coalition of farm retail and chemical organizations to assess safety and plan to prevent an incident. Third, the identification of customers who are ag professionals. The fourth part is contacting law enforcement when suspicious activity is spotted. JESSEN: What we want to do is basically educate the end users of ammonium nitrate of the fact that it can be used in terrorism. But also what to look for in terms of just being aware and noticing things that might seem a little bit off. Signs to watch out for potential misuse of fertilzer, and keeping vital information handy in such an event, will be discussed in our next program.