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October 13, 2003

The Department of Defense is activating another twelve Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMDCST). This will make a total of 44 WMDCST. Each of the new teams will cost $7.35 million each to establish, and operate for at least a year. The costs include recruiting, personnel costs, equipment (including the bulky "moon suits") and training. Each team has 22 members, drawn from the army and air force National Guard. The teams can trained to identify and respond to nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological incidents. It takes fifteen months to train the team members once they have been selected. The current teams are deployed in 31 different states (two are in California.) A recent Senate report urged that 66 teams be established.