Terrorism

Chemical and Biological Weapons

Introduction

Since the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there has been a great deal of media attention focused on the possibility of a weapon of mass destruction being used in the United States. This section will first discuss the difficulties a terrorist would face in preparing an attack and secondly, what you can do to defend against such an attack. The following information relies heavily on published material from the Stimson Center's Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project.

Part I: An Unlikely Possibility

Chemical weapons formulas have been published and publicly available for decades. Mustard agents came of age during World War I, and nerve agents were discovered in the mid-1930s. The production processes used over seventy years ago are still viable. The ingredients and equipment a group would need to produce these agents are readily available because they are also the same items that are used to make various commercial items that we use everyday. Scientists with a solid chemical background could likely make certain agents in small quantities.

However, two factors stand in the way of manufacturing chemical agents for the purpose of mass casualty. First, the chemical reactions involved with the production of agents are dangerous: precursor chemicals can be volatile and corrosive, and minor misjudgments or mistakes in processing could easily result in the deaths of would-be weaponeers. Second, this danger grows when the amount of agent that would be needed to successfully mount a mass casualty attack is considered.

Attempting to make sufficient quantities would require either a large, well financed operation that would increase the likelihood of discovery or, alternatively, a long, drawn-out process of making small amounts incrementally.

Part of what terrorists count on to "terrorize" is that it is never really possible to know where they will strike next. Conventional wisdom says that terrorists intent on causing mass casualties would target large buildings, sporting arenas, or transit systems.

Part II: Defense

One of the many unsettling characteristics of chemical agents is that some of them cannot be seen or smelled. Citizens can protect themselves by observing the following rule of thumb: If a single person is on the ground, choking or seizing, it is likely this individual is having a heart attack or some sort of seizure. However, if several people are down, coughing, vomiting, or seizing, they could be reacting to the presence of a toxic substance. Evacuate the area immediately and dial 911, making sure to tell the dispatcher that a hazardous gas may be present.

Indoors: If indoors, exit the building as rapidly as possible.

Once outside, if you believe that you may have been exposed to the toxic substance, discarding your modesty and shedding your clothes could save your life.

Taking off your outer clothing can remove roughly 80 percent of the contamination hazard.

Look for a nearby fountain, pool, or other source of water so that you can quickly and thoroughly rinse any skin that may have been exposed (e.g., water alone is an effective decontaminant.

Rescuers will arrive within minutes, and firefighters will hook up hoses and spray everyone to decontaminate them.

Try to remain calm. Rescuers will triage everyone so that they can give medical attention to the most seriously affected individuals first.

Even if you are showing no symptoms of exposure (e. g., eye problems), paramedics and physicians on scene will want to give you a check-up and advise you about follow-up care.

Police officers will also want to speak with you about what you may have observed that could help them catch the individual(s) responsible.
Outdoors : Birds and other small animals would very quickly be overcome by a poison gas, so if birds are dropping from the sky, that is another warning sign of toxic trouble.

The most important thing to do is to get a physical barrier between you and the toxic cloud. Get indoors quickly--preferably into a building but even being inside a car will help.

Shut all windows and doors and turn off the air conditioner.

Plug any air drafts (e.g., under doors). This technique is known as sheltering in place.

Call 911 and notify authorities that a hazardous gas may be present. If that is indeed the case, the wind will carry the toxic hazard away within a relatively short period of time.

Stay indoors, and turn on the television and/or radio for news and announcements. Authorities will notify you when it is safe to go outside.

If you are at home, put your clothes in a plastic bag and take a shower, which will help remove any contamination that might have occurred before you were able to get indoors.

The chances that terrorists will turn to poisonous substances instead of conventional bombs are very, very remote. The media has repeatedly broadcast that biological agents can be dispersed from commercial sprayers, such as crop dusters. Often omitted from these reports is the fact that, among other complications, commercial equipment would have to be modified for such an attack strategy to have a chance of success.

It may not be apparent that a biological agent has been dispersed until people begin falling ill several days later. For most biological agents, the initial symptoms would resemble a flu-like malaise. Across the nation, local, state, and federal authorities are putting capabilities in place to improve the ability to detect abnormal public health problems rapidly -- to distinguish between multiple cases of the flu or a possible biological agent attack.

As the normal cold and flu season rolls around in the next few months, please do not jump to the conclusion that you have been infected with a biowarfare agent if you begin to feel achy or have the sniffles. In fact, people catch colds throughout the year. You are more likely to get hit by lightning than to be the victim of a bioterrorist attack.

If, however, you hear reports that a biological agent may have just been released, stay indoors or get indoors right away, shut all windows and doors, and turn off the air conditioning system. The most worrisome method of biological agent dissemination is aerosol dispersal. For a biowarfare aerosol to make you ill, microscopic particles must find their way into your lungs. Therefore, putting a physical barrier in between you and a possible aerosol cloud is a key self-protection step.

A gas mask can provide excellent respiratory protection. Alternately, a surgical mask or one of the respiratory protection masks recommended for various construction and laboratory tasks would help to screen out particulate matter that might be in the air. To protect your airway, masks need to be fitted snugly over the mouth and nose.

The Army Handbook on Medical Management of Biological Casualties recommends that medical personnel attending patients infected with most biowarfare agents employ what is known as "standard precautions." This term essentially means wearing a surgical mask and gloves. Standard precautions are effective against anthrax, brucellosis, Q fever, tularemia, viral encephalitis, botulinum toxin, and Staphylococcal enterotoxin b.

Poisoning of a city's water supply is much more easily said than done. However, citizens can protect themselves by boiling their drinking water, which will kill any microorganisms that may have survived the municipal filtration systems. Another option is to use a personal water filtration system.

The electronic and print media can be very useful sources of information, especially when events are developing at a rapid pace. However, reporters can occasionally pass along faulty or inaccurate information.

As soon as the circumstances are understood, Local, state, and national public health, public safety, and emergency management officials will call press conferences to convey accurate information and instructions to the public. In a genuine disaster, the Emergency Broadcast System would also probably be employed to give instructions to citizens The Henry L. Stimson Center is an independent, nonprofit, public policy institute located in Washington DC and committed to finding and promoting innovative solutions to problems of national and international security. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Retired Air Force General Larry D. Welch are among the distinguished members of the Center’s Board of Directors.

Nuclear Explosion

In the event of a nuclear explosion or act of nuclear terrorism, the University Police Department will make a detailed evacuation announcement over patrol car public address systems.

In the event of a surprise attack, upon seeing a bright flash immediately:

Outside: Drop to the ground face down, cover your head with your arms (“duck and cover”). If possible, use a wall or large stable object away from the direction of the blast as cover.
Inside: Take shelter under a table or desk, or lie flat, face down, alongside a wall without windows. If possible, avoid overhead hazards and potential flying debris.
After the attack: Move inside a major concrete building to avoid radioactive fallout. Avoid outside exposure. Inside locations above the first floor and below the top floor provide better protection.

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