Publications

Using GIS technology to manage information following a bioterrorism attack

Finley, Patrick; Ramsey, James L.; Melton, Brad; McKenna, Sean A.

The BROOM system was developed to collect, manage and analyze information from bioterrorist attacks on strategic buildings. GIS features help decision-makers and analysts rapidly assess the current status of contaminated facilities and develop optimized cleanup strategies. BROOM consists of networked server, desktop and PDA components. PDAs are deployed to collect samples of suspected bioagents, such as anthrax. Novel geostatistical methods are used to generate contaminant maps and define optimum locations for subsequent sampling. Efficiency and accuracy gains witnessed in field tests show that GIS technology can play a vital role in visualizing, managing and analyzing data from bioterrorism incidents. © 2007 The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.