Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons, also known as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), have the potential to kill thousands of people in a single attack. Although concern over WMDs is not new, the disastrous consequences that may result from using these weapons has spurred the federal government to prepare for and respond to WMD threats.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) serves as the lead federal agency for investigating WMD crimes. The FBI focuses its WMD-related activities towards preventing the illicit acquisition of WMDs and identifying and disrupting their attempted use. The preemptive focus of these efforts requires the FBI to use its investigative and analytical capabilities to identify potential WMD suspects, targets, and threats before an attack occurs.Several different FBI investigative divisions once conducted WMD-related activities. In July 2006, the FBI consolidated its WMD investigation and prevention efforts into a WMD Directorate within its National Security Branch. Comprised primarily of Special Agents, Intelligence Analysts, program managers, and policy specialists, the WMD Directorate designs training for employees of the FBI; other federal agencies; state and local law enforcement organizations; and public health, industry, and academia partners. The WMD Directorate also provides national-level WMD intelligence support to FBI field divisions and to the larger U.S. Intelligence Community. At the local level, the FBI primarily relies on a designated Special Agent in each field division, referred to as the WMD Coordinator, to implement a significant portion of the FBI's WMD-related activities.