Since the media has decided to scare everyone with predictions of
chemical, biological, or nuclear warfare on our turf I decided to
write a paper and keep things in their proper perspective. I am a
retired military weapons, munitions, and training expert.
Lesson number one: In the mid 1990's there were a series of nerve
gas attacks on crowded Japanese subway stations. Given perfect
conditions for an attack less than 10% of the people there were
injured (the injured were better in a few hours) and only one
percent of the injured died. 60 Minutes once had a fellow telling
us that one drop of nerve gas could kill a thousand people, well
he didn't tell you the thousand dead people per drop was
theoretical. Drill Sergeants exaggerate how terrible this stuff
was to keep the recruits awake in class (I know this because I
was a Drill Sergeant too). Forget everything you've ever seen on
TV, in the movies, or read in a novel about this stuff, it was
all a lie (read this sentence again out loud!)! These weapons are
about terror, if you remain calm, you will probably not die. This
is far less scary than the media and their "Experts," make it
sound.
Chemical weapons are categorized as Nerve, Blood, Blister, and
Incapacitating agents Contrary to the hype of reporters and
politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction they are
Area denial and terror weapons that don't destroy anything.
When you leave the area you almost always leave the risk. That's
the difference; you can leave the area and the risk; soldiers may
have to stay put and sit through it and that's why they need all
that spiffy gear.
These are not gasses, they are vapors and/or air borne particles.
The agent must be delivered in sufficient quantity to
kill/injure, and that defines when/how it's used. Every day we
have a morning and evening inversion where stuff suspended in
the air gets pushed down. This inversion is why allergies
(pollen) and air pollution are worst at these times of the day.
So, a chemical attack will have it's best effect an hour of so
either side of sunrise/sunset. Also, being vapors and airborne
particles they are heavier than air so they will seek low places
like ditches, basements and underground garages. This stuff won't
work when it's freezing, it doesn't last when it's hot, and wind
spreads it too thin too fast. They've got to get this stuff on
you, or, get you to inhale it for it to work. They also have to
get the concentration of chemicals high enough to kill or wound
you. Too little and it's nothing, too much and it's wasted.
What I hope you've gathered by this point is that a chemical
weapons attack that kills a lot of people is incredibly hard to
do with military grade agents and equipment so you can imagine
how hard it will be for terrorists.
The more you know about this stuff the more you realize how hard
it is to use.
We'll start by talking about nerve agents. You have these in your
house, plain old bug killer (like Raid) is nerve agent. All nerve
agents work the same way; they are cholinesterase inhibitors that
mess up the signals your nervous system uses to make your body
function. It can harm you if you get it on your skin but it works
best if they can get you to inhale it. If you don't die in the
first minute and you can leave the area you're probably gonna
live. The military's antidote for all nerve agents is atropine
and pralidoxime chloride. Neither one of these does anything to
cure the nerve agent, they send your body into overdrive to keep
you alive for five minutes, after that the agent is used up. Your
best protection is fresh air and staying calm. Listed below are
the symptoms for nerve agent poisoning.
Sudden headache, Dimness of vision (someone you're looking at
will have pinpointed pupils), Runny nose, Excessive saliva or
drooling, Difficulty breathing, Tightness in chest, Nausea,
Stomach cramps, Twitching of exposed skin where a liquid just got
on you.
If you are in public and you start experiencing these symptoms,
first ask yourself, did anything out of the ordinary just happen,
a loud pop, did someone spray something on the crowd? Are other
people getting sick too?
Is there an odor of new mown hay, green corn, something fruity,
or camphor where it shouldn't be?
If the answer is yes, then calmly (if you panic you breathe
faster and inhale more air/poison) leave the area and head up
wind, or, outside. Fresh air is the best right now antidote. If
you have a blob of liquid that looks like molasses or Kayro syrup
on you; blot it or scrape it off and away from yourself with
anything disposable. This stuff works based on your body weight,
what a crop duster uses to kill bugs won't hurt you unless you
stand there and breathe it in real deep, then lick the residue
off the ground for while. Remember they have to do all the work,
they have to get the concentration up and keep it up for several
minutes while all you have to do is quit getting it on you/quit
breathing it by putting space between you and the attack.
Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood's
ability to provide oxygen to your tissue. The scenario for attack
would be the same as nerve agent. Look for a pop or someone
splashing/spraying something and folks around there getting
woozy/falling down. The telltale smells are bitter almonds or
garlic where it shouldn't be. The symptoms are blue lips, blue
under the fingernails, rapid breathing. The military's antidote
is amyl nitride and just like nerve agent antidote it just keeps
your body working for five minutes till the toxins are used up.
Fresh air is the your best individual chance. Blister agents
(distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to even handle
it let alone use it. It's almost impossible to handle safely and
may have delayed effect of up to 12 hours. The attack scenario is
also limited to the things you'd see from other chemicals. If you
do get large, painful blisters for no apparent reason, don't pop
them, if you must, don't let the liquid from the blister get on
any other area, the stuff just keeps on spreading. It's just as
likely to harm the user as the target. Soap, water, sunshine, and
fresh air are this stuff's enemy.
Bottom line on chemical weapons (it's the same if they use
industrial chemical spills); they are intended to make you panic,
to terrorize you, to herd you like sheep to the wolves. If there
is an attack, leave the area and go upwind, or to the sides of
the wind stream. They have to get the stuff to you, and on you.
You're more likely to be hurt by a drunk driver on any given day
than be hurt by one of these attacks. Your odds get better if you
leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this
stuff a knock_out_punch. Don't let fear of an isolated attack
rule your life. The odds are really on your side.
Nuclear bombs. These are the only weapons of mass destruction on
earth. The effects of a nuclear bomb are heat, blast, EMP, and
radiation. If you see a bright flash of light like the sun, where
the sun isn't, fall to the ground!
The heat will be over a second. Then there will be two blast
waves, one out going, and one on it's way back. Don't stand up to
see what happened after the first wave; anything that's going to
happen will have happened in two full minutes.
These will be low yield devices and will not level whole cities.
If you live through the heat, blast, and initial burst of
radiation, you'll probably live for a very very long time.
Radiation will not create fifty foot tall women, or giant ants
and grass hoppers the size of tanks. These will be at the most 1
kiloton bombs; that's the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT.
Here's the real deal, flying debris and radiation will kill a lot
of exposed (not all!) people within a half mile of the blast.
Under perfect conditions this is about a half mile circle of
death and destruction, but, when it's done it's done. EMP stands
for Electro Magnetic Pulse and it will fry every electronic
device for a good distance, it's impossible to say what and how
far but probably not over a couple of miles from ground zero is a
good guess. Cars, cell phones, computers, ATMs, you name it, all
will be out of order.
There are lots of kinds of radiation, you only need to worry
about three, the others you have lived with for years. You need
to worry about "Ionizing radiation," these are little sub atomic
particles that go whizzing along at the speed of light. They hit
individual cells in your body, kill the nucleus and keep on
going. That's how you get radiation poisoning, you have so many
dead cells in your body that the decaying cells poison you. It's
the same as people getting radiation treatments for cancer, only
a bigger area gets radiated. The good news is you don't have to
just sit there and take it, and there's lots you can do rather
than panic. First; your skin will stop alpha particles, a page of
a news paper or your clothing will stop beta particles, you just
gotta try and avoid inhaling dust that's contaminated with atoms
that are emitting these things and you'll be generally safe from
them.
Gamma rays are particles that travel like rays (quantum physics
makes my brain hurt) and they create the same damage as alpha and
beta particles only they keep going and kill lots of cells as
they go all the way through your body. It takes a lot to stop
these things, lots of dense material, on the other hand it takes
a lot of this to kill you.
Your defense is as always to not panic. Basic hygiene and normal
preparation are your friends. All canned or frozen food is safe
to eat. The radiation poisoning will not effect plants so fruits
and vegetables are OK if there's no dust on em (rinse em off if
there is). If you don't have running water and you need to
collect rain water or use water from wherever, just let it sit
for thirty minutes and skim off the water gently >from the top.
The dust with the bad stuff in it will settle and the remaining
water can be used for the toilet which will still work if you
have a bucket of water to pour in the tank.
Finally there's biological warfare. There's not much to cover
here. Basic personal hygiene and sanitation will take you further
than a million doctors. Wash your hands often, don't share
drinks, food, sloppy kisses, etc., ... with strangers. Keep your
garbage can with a tight lid on it, don't have standing water
(like old buckets, ditches, or kiddie pools) laying around to
allow mosquitoes breeding room. This stuff is carried by vectors,
that is bugs, rodents, and contaminated material. If biological
warfare is so easy as the TV makes it sound, why has Saddam
Hussein spent twenty years, millions, and millions of dollars
trying to get it right? If you're clean of person and home you
eat well and are active you're gonna live.
Overall preparation for any terrorist attack is the same as you'd
take for a big storm. If you want a gas mask, fine, go get one. I
know this stuff and I'm not getting one and I told my Mom not to
bother with one either (how's that for confidence). We have a
week's worth of cash, several days worth of canned goods and
plenty of soap and water. We don't leave stuff out to attract
bugs or rodents so we don't have them.
These people can't conceive a nation this big with this much
resources. These weapons are made to cause panic, terror, and to
demoralize. If we don't run around like sheep they won't use this
stuff after they find out it's no fun. The government is going
nuts over this stuff because they have to protect every inch of
America. You've only gotta protect yourself, and by doing that,
you help the country.
Finally, there are millions of caveats to everything I wrote here
and you can think up specific scenarios where my advice isn't the
best. This letter is supposed to help the greatest number of
people under the greatest number of situations. If you don't like
my work, don't nit pick, just sit down and explain chemical,
nuclear, and biological warfare in a document around three pages
long yourself. This is how we the people of the United States can
rob these people of their most desired goal, your terror.
SFC Red Thomas (Ret)
Armor Master Gunner
Mesa, AZ
Unlimited reproduction and distribution is authorized. Just give
me credit for my work, and, keep in context.
posted on October 25, 2001 08:33:36 AM new
Here's another opinion:
"I'm a Haz - Mat response team lead, and just want to make sure that everyone that reads this post is not overly relaxed now about what kind of damage chemical agents can do.
We MUST remember that chemical agents can be VERY effective if the conditions are right. Remember chemical releases like Bopal India, and the several hundred other accidental releases of chemical agents that have killed tens of thousands of people. Remember that Iraq (Saddam) have used chemical to effectively erradicate thousands of his own countrymen. If chemical agents are generally ineffective...why has the US and soviets invested so much $ in there development and stockpiling?
Make no mistake that these weapons can be weapons of mass human destruction and be very effective when used by those with the experience to do so.
By the way attropine and 2 pam chloride cause your body to go into a state of full relaxation as they counteract the agents tendancy to make the body cramp up. Including the diaphram. One could see why it would be bad to have one's diaphram cramp.
Blister agents will kill you if enough of your body becomes blistered. Many learned this lesson during ww1.
And if the agent used prevents your breathing, you ain't runnin' far.
Be careful and aware of your surroundings, but do not become complacent."
Both posts were from another message board.
Sort it out for yourself.
posted on October 25, 2001 09:15:30 AM new
Both have elements of truth. Just think ahead of time if you want to go where there is a crowd of people who can't quickly and easily leave the area. Especially if weather conditions are favorable.
Subways
Shopping Malls
Transportation Terminals
Sports Stadiums
Very Tall buildings
Museams
Tunnels
You can make a kit that will allow you to get through most chemical areas safe.
A couple big jars of Vasoline for face and arms.
A couple garbage bags and a several rubber bands for each leg.
A big garbage bag as a ponco.
A Large clear bag to pull over your whole upper body that will trap enough air for 5 minutes or so. An elastic cord to seal it.
A pair of surgical gloves to let you strip all this off after you walk as far as you can from the area. Then you'll need a hose down.
posted on October 25, 2001 09:35:17 AM new
You think like I do, gravid.
Nothing like a little common sense and preparedness. I don't waste time panicking over stuff like this, because it will do no good.
Instead, if I can afford to prepare somewhat, I do. Just in case. That kit you mentioned is all things most people have in the house anyway. Throw them in the trunk with the first aid kit if you're worried. Or stay away from crowded areas, like you said.
I'm so sick of the media trying to create a panic with their sensationalism. Just think back to how they handled Y2K.
posted on October 25, 2001 09:53:24 AM newI'm so sick of the media trying to create a panic with their sensationalism. Just think back to how they handled Y2K.
CNN is trying to fill 24 hours of air time with news that people will watch. They have found the panic tactics work well for their ratings I believe. Just turned it on... yup, they are still at it.
There was a 2 car collision last night, more were killed in that accident than all the Anthrax deaths this year... but that news can't be used to scare folks.
posted on October 25, 2001 10:31:43 AM new
Very good overall discussion in those writeups. If I may nitpick or elaborate a bit, though, there're some real further considerations to the ultimate escalation of a terrorist nuke detonation. Consider the expansion of horror from the use of hose airplanes by picking concentrated targets... a few portable nukes might do much more than kill a few tens of thousands of average citizens in Preoria, say. The NYSE/WTC area with all its nearby computers and population density, Washington DC while Congress is in session, in close proximity to a nuke power plant (or worse, a waste storage area like Hanford), on top of the Hoover Dam... well, I don't like exercising my imagination too much like that. I'm not too concerned about being very close to an actual blast, but there is a LOT to worry about in collateral effects to our civilization's infrastructure.
I'll also add a bit to the comments about ionizing radiation. The writer neglected the non-lethal genetic damage; it's not just a case of cell nuclei being killed as the X-ray level radiation zaps through a person. Survivors will have had large amounts of their DNA and chromosome structure altered by those rays and particles randomly breaking strands. Such damage causes mutations and can both be passed on to newly-procreated offspring and be the direct cause of various cancers in particular. The more you get hit by it, the higher your chances are of bad effects years down the pike, just like with medical X-rays, or the sun's UV radiation, for that matter.
We don't want to go there as a world civilization. If there's any chance to chop these guys back before they can get, or build, nukes, we have to do so. Suicidal fanatics with nukes are a lot uglier than the same guys with airline tickets.
posted on October 25, 2001 12:05:05 PM new
One of the few really expensive things I bought for emergencies is a radiation detector by S.E. International that reads all three forms of ionizing radiation and displays the count both through a speaker and on an analog scale in 3 ranges - 0 to .5, 0 to 50 mR/hr. About the size of a pocket calculator and uses one 9v battery. Cost about $400.00 a few years ago.
When we were going to Toledo with friends in the car I turned it on and explained the wind was from the east that day and I wanted to see if we could detect it when we went through the downwind from FermiII nuke plant.
They were making fun of me and cracking jokes - until we got right down wind and the count on the detector doubled then tripled for a few seconds. HaHa.
