CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

US Handbook

Terrorism

The bombings of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993, and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, the nerve gas attacks in Matsumoto in 1994, and Tokyo in 1995, and finally the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11 2001 have forced Americans to face the fact that terrorism is not something that happens only overseas.1 With chemical and biological weapon manufacturing information readily available on the internet coupled with the new technologies for delivering weapons by missile, ammunition, and back packs, the probability of an attack by a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is increasing dramatically.

U.S. Legislation

The United States government, while continuing to purse the goal of effective international prohibition of chemical and biological weapons through the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention, and activities such as those of the Australian Group, has recognized the need to address possible use of these agents by individuals or groups unlikely to be deterred by threats of economic sanctions or massive retaliation. In the past decade, Congress has passed three major laws aimed at preventing the acquisition and use of chemical or biological weapons by states, groups or individuals. The Biological Weapons Act of 1989 makes it a federal crime knowingly to develop, manufacture, transfer, or possess any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon. It calls for heavy criminal penalties on violators and allows the government to seize any such material for which no legitimate justification is apparent. (P.L. 101-298) The Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act of 1991 (CBWCA) established a system of economic and export controls designed to prevent export of goods or technologies used in the development of chemical and biological weapons to designated nations. Principles of Protection pp. 102-82.[2]

As a result of the threat to the US from black market for nuclear weapons, the US Government has formed the Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST). This team is made up of more than 1000 people who do one thing- search the country for nuclear terrorist weapons. Many of these NEST experts are those who helped make the nuclear weapons. They are funded by an annual budget of $70 million. US Intelligence officials stated that a terrorist would have no more difficulty shipping a nuclear device into the US than a drug trafficker has bringing in bulk loads of cocaine. The NEST team has extensive and state of the art equipment for detecting radioactive materials. They routinely practice in various parts of the country and play various nuclear terrorism games.

Although they are well equipped, detecting nuclear radiation and distinguishing it from naturally occurring radiation found in yellow rest room tiles, freshly paved roads, smoke detectors, patients walking out of a hospital after radiation therapy, or a bunch of bananas is extremely difficult. One of the members of the NEST team summed it up by saying, "Looking for a nuclear bomb in a city is like looking for a needle in a haystack of needles." This makes the prospect of detecting and dismantling a terrorist nuclear weapon rather slim. In case you think the possibility is not real, think about this. The Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge Tennessee has set up a Radiation Emergency Assistance Center (REAC) dedicated solely to treating nuclear radiation patients injured from nuclear terrorist weapons.

The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 or the Nunn-Lugar Domenici amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act was passed and funded. This bill provides for training of fire, police, and emergency medical technicians in 120 of the largest cities in the country. By the end of 1998 forty cities had received training with the remaining cities scheduled to complete training by 2001. Each city receives $300,000 from the Department of Defense for personal protection, decontamination, and detection equipment. The Public Health Service will also set up Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams in each of the 120 cites, as well, with each city receiving $350,000 of equipment and pharmaceuticals. The federal government is spending on average of seven billion dollars annually to deal with the threat of weapons of mass destruction.Principles of Protection [3]

Chemical Agent Persistence

Persistence is the length of time the chemical agents remain potent. Chemical agents are classified as persistent or nonpersistent. Nonpersistent agents would persist for a few minutes to a few hours. One nonpersistent agent is , which is lethal for only a few minutes and is used in United States chambers. Another nonpersistent agent is Sarin, which is one of the original developed in Germany in 1938. Sarin would persist on a battlefield for one to ten hours. Nonpersistent agents would be used against targets which are to be taken over and controlled very quickly.

Persistent agents would remain on the battlefield for up to a week. These agents would be used against targets not in the direct line of attack. Defense against this type of agent requires shielding for extended periods of time. Sulfur-mustard agents produced more casualties in World War I than any other single agent. It is not as toxic as nerve gas but presents a great danger on the battlefield because there is no antidote to counter the .

For both chemical and biological agents, the factors affecting their length of persistence vary according to a number of factors. Wind causes the chemical agents to dissipate in the atmosphere if they are in gas or vapor form. Sunlight reduces the coverage of by as much as 60 percent because it causes chemical decomposition. This is why most chemical agents are dispersed at night. When the weather is cold, the chemical agents ability to spread out is greatly reduced. This, in turn, causes higher concentration in smaller areas. When the weather is warm, the chemical agents sink more to the ground, which makes inhalation less likely. Mustard gas will last up to 8 weeks in the winter and only approximately 7 days in the summer. Soldiers will also be wearing heavy clothing during winter, making skin agents the least effective. Moisture tends to wash the chemical agents away and this, in turn, can contaminate drinking water supplies. This condition of contaminated water only exists until the concentrations are diluted to nontoxic levels. When chemical agents come in contact with porous soil, the chemical agents are retained for a longer period of time. Nonporous soil cannot absorb as much of the chemical agents, and any moisture or rain tends to wash the chemical agents away. Chemical agents in gaseous form tend to follow the contour of the land and settle in the valleys. For this reason, a chemical agent may be released on a mountain above the enemy and allowed to flow down and settle towards the enemy in the valley or low area.

Chemical Warfare Logistics

Some of the reasons for using one chemical agent over another are based on the purpose and problems associated with the use of the weapon. It would seem that it would be easiest just to use nerve gas, since it is so potent and acts so quickly, but the problem is that this gas creates decontamination problems. Even if a person or vehicle leaves the contaminated area, the vehicle is contaminated and requires hundreds of gallons of water to decontaminate. Decontaminating a chemical agent is far more complicated than decontaminating radioactive fallout, which simply has to be brushed away or washed off. Special agents are used in the water to decontaminate a vehicle or person exposed to chemical agents. (See chapter 18.)

The harassment weapons can be used more freely without endangering one's own troops. This is especially true when the persistence time is very short. Harassment chemicals are very often fired on troops about to be attacked in order to weaken their defense. This action can be taken over a period of hours or days. Depending on the persistence time, the chemical agents form excellent barriers against enemy movements. It should also be noted that harassment chemicals are not used to be humane, but are used to discourage the soldier from fighting by two methods.Principles of Protection [4]

First, the effects of chemical agents require a soldier to wear cumbersome protective gear, which reduces voice communication and vision by 25 to 50 percent. Also, if the weather is warm, the soldiers can wear the protective gear for only a few hours a day without suffering from heat prostration. It is also very difficult to eat, sleep, drink, or urinate in heavy protective clothing.

Secondly, soldiers become demoralized after talking to other soldiers who have been exposed to chemical weapons. Such contact makes even the best soldiers lack the initiative to fight. Bad news travels quickly, and a soldier who lives to tell many other soldiers about his experience with chemical weapons has more of a damaging effect, militarily, than one soldier's death.

Chemical Agents: Time to Take Effect

Different agents require different time periods to take effect. Nerve gas is the fastest of the inhaled gases, followed by blood gases. Mustard and blister gases attack the eyes first. This contact is made from hand to face. Whatever concentration is required to affect the eyes, it will take 10 times this amount to blister the skin and 50 times this amount to inflict fatal injuries. Knowing this concentration may allow a person to determine what concentrations were used in the field and approximately how long to stay clear of the area.

Methods of Dispersal

Chemical warfare agents can be delivered by missiles, artillery, mortar shells, bombs, aircraft spray, land mines, US mail, UPS, cars, and back-packs. Both FROG (free rockets over ground) and SCUD (surface to air missiles) can deliver chemical warfare agents to airfields, supply depots, harbors and military command stations up to 250 miles away. Many countries are able to deliver chemical agents by intercontinental ballistic missiles .

The most common method of dispersal is by aircraft spraying. This is the method that will most likely be used during the opening stages of a war since it is the most effective. During the later stages, when tanks and artillery are shipped and dropped onto U.S. soil, rocket launchers such as the BM-21 will be used. This particular rocket launcher can deliver large quantities of an agent with no warning. The BM-21 can be expected to be used extensively by any enemy needing the element of surprise.⁵

Chemical Warfare Protection

There are basically three methods of protecting against chemical air agents:

Gas Masks

During the Gulf War many people learned through experience that gas masks can only be worn for a few hours. Common problems experienced by both military and civilian personnel were severe headaches due to the face pressure of the mask, overheating, and exhaustion due to the amount of work necessary for a person to draw air through the carbon filter in a gas mask. Compounding these problems was the inability to eat or drink while wearing a gas mask.

Gas masks only protect against agents which are inhaled and will do nothing to protect against skin blistering agents like the Mustard Gas used during World War I. Gas masks are extremely limiting and very difficult for children to use. During the Gulf War, some parents were not aware that many gas masks are shipped with a plastic cover over the carbon in the gas mask filter which must be removed to breath in fresh air. Consequently some children suffocated when they were forced to keep them on for fear of SCUD missiles carrying chemical agents. Another interesting phenomena during the Gulf War was when tens of thousands of gas masks were purchased by civilians in the U.S. but virtually none thought to purchase a chemical warfare detection kit to determine when to put the gas mask on!

Internal Room Filter

A battery powered internal room filter can be used to bring fresh filter air into a room in a house and pressurize the room. This method allows normal living and functioning.

The only company manufacturing a commercial unit suitable for an NBC environment Radius Engineering Inc.

Radius manufactures a product called the Multi-Chamber Air Sterilization which is a coffee table size self contained battery powered unit designed to provide life support in nuclear-biological and chemical warfare environments where no electricity is available. It will deliver high pressure filtered air -- removing all NBC agents -- into a room placing the room in positive pressure. Thus, gas masks are not needed.

The room that is usually used to create an isolated clean environment is the bathroom or bedroom. Depending on the geographic location, it may be critical that the amount of heat generated by sunlight entering through the room window be restricted. This can be accomplished by simply taping white paper to the inside of the window to control the temperature of the room. It is psychologically important to be able to look out the window so some "peek hole" that is 3 inches in diameter for viewing is a good idea.

The most common problem in small environments is overheating. The bathroom is advantageous because it is usually small and contains a toilet and bathtub for water storage. The entire house should be caulked to stop all filtration leaks. This does not require any procedure unique to NBC environments, just weatherization common sense to keep outside air from being blown into the house through cracks around doors and windows. Of particular importance is where the house walls and floor meet the top of the basement wall. Leaks must be sealed along the top of this basement wall. Once the house is sealed, the Multi-Chamber Air Sterilization is placed inside the room and the door of the room is simply closed. A portable chemical toilet should be used. If electricity is available, the bathtub can be filled with water for drinking if a disaster water tank was included in disaster preparation plans. A plastic shower curtain should be placed on the water surface to prevent evaporation and reduce the amount of moisture in the bathroom. When weapon agents are reported on the radio, television or detected by an optional U.S. military chemical warfare detection kit, the Multi-Chamber Air Sterilization is turned on.

Underground Shelters

The third and best method is a underground NBC shelter which have nuclear, biological and chemical filters allowing normal living for extended periods of time.

Types of Chemical Agents

Chemical agents, used as chemical weapons, derive their name usually based on what they do to the human body. Below, the chemical agents are listed with the two-digit United States Army code name listed in parenthesis.