The anthrax mailings in the wake of the September 11 attacks have raised the specter of a possible wide-scale bioterrorism assault on America. Newspapers and television broadcasts have considered every possible permutation in the weeks following the discovery of the first tainted letters, replaying horror stories of canisters in the subway or poison being released from airplanes. This program reveals the reasons why such attacks are so unlikely to be successful. Leading bioterrorism experts--including several veterans of the massive Soviet bioweapons program--detail the many obstacles standing in the way of a bio-attack. Officials from the State and Defense Departments tell how the government is working both to prevent and contain such attacks, and scientists explain the differences among the various potential bio-agents.

Originally broadcast on the television series Investigative reports. c2001.