Biological and Chemical Threat Primer

[izzyscout21]

Ok guys, as part of our mission statement, we try to be versed and prepared for all sorts of contingencies.

With recent events, I think it would be prudent to have a discussion about various sorts of biological and chemical threats in order to have a better understanding of how to counter them. To that effect, the best way to combat against them is to have a general working knowledge of said threats.

It is with this in mind, I present the Biological and Chemical threat primer.

Hope you find this informative.

Questions are welcome.

Izzy

[izzyscout21]

Biological weapons use microorganisms and natural toxins to produce disease in humans, animals, or plants. Biological weapons can be derived from: bacteria (anthrax, plague, tularemia); viruses (smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fevers); rickettsia (Q fever and epidemic typhus); biological toxins botulinum toxin, staphylococcus enterotoxin B); and fungi (San Joaquin Valley fever, mycotoxins).

These agents can be deployed as biological weapons when paired with a delivery system, such as a missile or aerosol device. Generally, the danger associated with a particular pathogen can be measured by how effectively it kills (lethality); how easily it spreads (infectivity); and how likely it is to cause disease in an affected organism (virulence). However, other factors such as ease of dispersal, responsiveness to medical treatment, the availability of vaccines, the infective dose, and a pathogen’s ability to survive during dispersal or storage (stability) affect a pathogen’s suitability as a weapon.

For example, although anthrax cannot be transmitted from person-to-person and therefore will not continue to spread, it poses a serious threat because it can be dispersed as an aerosol and is difficult to treat. Pneumonic plague is highly lethal and contagious, but is generally treatable with modern medicines.

[izzyscout21]

Warring parties have used primitive biological weapons since the beginning of recorded history. In the 20thcentury Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Iraq, Libya, and South Africa at one point possessed known biological weapons programs.

While these countries now participate in the BTWC, the treaty lacks mechanisms for verifying that countries are not engaged in banned activities. During World War I, Germany undertook limited biological attacks on military animals. More notoriously, Japan released plague and cholera infected fleas against Chinese civilians and soldiers during World War II.

Several countries have stockpiled biological weapons in significant quantities. Most egregiously, the Soviet Union violated the BTWC by maintaining the largest known offensive BW program into the 1990s. In addition to anti-crop and anti-livestock agents, this program produced Marburg, anthrax, smallpox, plague, botulinum toxin, tularemia, and Q fever.

The Soviets also genetically engineered strains resistant to antibiotics. In 2008, the U.S. Congressional Research Service listed China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Taiwan, as commonly-discussed potential biological weapons countries, but without a clear standard of evidence and with varying degrees of certainty.

[izzyscout21]

Several non-state actors have developed or attempted to develop biological weapons. Over the past 25 years, the diffusion of technical know-how has dramatically increased the threat posed by bioterrorism.

The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo unsuccessfully attempted to weaponize botulinum toxin and anthrax in the mid-1990s. However, it later became known that the cult likely never had bacteria capable of producing botulinum toxin, and were working with a vaccine strain of anthrax that cannot cause human disease. In 2001, a series of anthrax-laced letters sent to several news agencies and two U.S. Senators killed five and sickened 17 others.

While the FBI identified Dr. Bruce Ivins, a senior biodefense researcher with decades of experience in anthrax research as the perpetrator, debate continues as to the strength of the evidence against him. The difficulties encountered in investigating the 2001 anthrax mailings (also known as the Amerithrax case), highlighted the limitations of microbial forensics. Attributing responsibility for biological attacks, absent a credible claim by the perpetrator, will continue to present challenges even with improved microbial forensics.

[izzyscout21]

Over the past 25 years the biotechnology revolution has made increasingly powerful technologies more widely available, and at lower costs. Many previously tedious and labor-intensive processes have been simplified or even automated, decreasing the personnel and financial requirements for a biological weapons program.

New technologies continue to broaden the scope of what is possible for both large-scale and more limited programs. For example, synthetic biology permits the human manufacture of genetic material for eradicated or controlled diseases. Also of significant concern are new methods that allow scientists to cross the properties of chemical and biological agents. Such techniques could be used to create novel agents that enable perpetrators to control their victims’ behavior. Historically, the USSR misused several advanced techniques. Soviet scientists engineered diseases to make them resistant to known medical treatments and also purportedly created “superbugs” by crossing the properties of highly lethal and contagious diseases.

From a public health perspective, both the emergence of new diseases and the natural evolution of pathogens are constantly changing the nature of the biological weapons threat. For example, emerging diseases such as Ebola have proven highly infectious, lethal, and beyond the control of contemporary medicine.

[izzyscout21]

Although chemical weapons receive significantly less attention than nuclear and biological threats, the historical record shows that chemical weapons are, by far, the most widely used and widely proliferated weapons of mass destruction. Chemical weapons use the toxic properties of chemicals to cause physical harm ranging from discomfort to death. Relatively small amounts of chemical weapons can inflict devastating psychological and physical effects.

The military value of chemical weapons is such that the United States and the Soviet Union stockpiled tens of thousands of tons during the Cold War. Countries traditionally have acquired chemical weapons before attempting to produce biological or nuclear weapons, because they are the least technologically demanding of the three. While 188 countries have joined the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and have agreed not to develop, produce, stockpile, or use chemical weapons, a handful of key countries—particularly in the Middle East—remain outside of the treaty.

Additionally, interest in chemical weapons by non-state actors continues to grow. The international community must therefore continue to work to prevent chemical weapons, and the technologies to produce them, from falling into the hands of terrorists.

[izzyscout21]

Chemical weapons use several different biochemical properties to debilitate or kill people, animals, and plants.

Blister agents (sulfur mustard, nitrogen mustard, and lewisite) cause skin, eye, and lung irritation. Victims eventually develop painful blisters on their bodies, but usually do not die.

Choking agents cause severe and painful breathing problems, leading to suffocation. Examples include chlorine gas, chloropicrin, diphosgene, and phosgene.

Blood agents such as hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride stop blood from distributing needed oxygen throughout the body.

Nerve agents debilitate the nervous system, causing muscle contraction, loss of control over bodily functions, and death within minutes. The World War II-era agents (Tabun, SArin, Soman, and VX) remain the most widely proliferated. However, the Soviet Union also discovered, developed, tested, and produced Novichok agents – a new generation of nerve agents several times more toxic than the World War II-era agents.

[izzyscout21]

In warfare, chemical weapons have been used against opposing battlefield forces or dispersed to deny an enemy access to strategic areas. The introduction of chemical warheads and ballistic missiles has also expanded the list of potential targets of a chemical weapons attack to include civilian populations.

Combatants used 124,000 metric tons of chemical weapons (mostly phosgene and mustard), during World War I. During World War II, Italy used tear gas and mustard gas during the invasion in Ethiopia.

During the Japanese invasion of China, a Japanese covert chemical and biological weapons branch known as Unit 731 used a variety of chemical weapons, including tear gas, phosgene, mustard gas, and lewisite.

During the Cold War, conflicts in Korea, Afghanistan, and Vietnam involved only non-lethal riot control agents and defoliating agents.

Egypt used mustard gas and possibly nerve agents during the North Yemen Civil War.

During the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq employed blister agents and likely also used nerve agents against Iranian forces.

[izzyscout21]

Terrorist organizations seeking to cause death and injury, as well as mass panic and economic disruption, would find many attractive features in chemical weapons.

Very lethal weapons can be made with widely understood techniques and common equipment, and can be easily concealed until they are used.

In the mid-1990s, the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released self-produced sarin on multiple occasions. The deadliest incident occurred when cult members released the nerve agent into the Tokyo subway on March 20, 1995. The scale of the Aum Shinrikyo chemical ambitions revealed that non-state actors are fully capable of organizing and financing chemical programs.

Because many chemicals commonly used in industry are themselves very toxic, terrorist organizations may also achieve their goals through the sabotage of chemical plants and shipments.

[izzyscout21]

Biological agents are organisms or toxins that can kill or incapacitate people, livestock and crops. A biological attack is the deliberate release of germs or other biological substances that can make you sick.

The three basic groups of biological agents that would likely be used as weapons are bacteria, viruses and toxins. Most biological agents are difficult to grow and maintain. Many break down quickly when exposed to sunlight and other environmental factors, while others, such as anthrax spores, are very long lived. Biological agents can be
dispersed by spraying them into the air, by infecting animals that carry the disease to humans and by contaminating food and water. Delivery methods include:

Aerosols - biological agents are dispersed into the air, forming a fine mist that may drift for miles. Inhaling the agent may cause disease in people or animals.

Animals - some diseases are spread by insects and animals, such as fleas, mice, flies, mosquitoes and livestock.

Food and water contamination - some pathogenic organisms and toxins may persist in food and water supplies. Most microbes can be killed, and toxins deactivated, by cooking food and boiling water. Most microbes are killed by boiling water for one minute, but some require longer. Follow official instructions.

Person-to-person - spread of a few infectious agents is also possible. Humans have been the source of infection for smallpox, plague, and the Lassa viruses.

[izzyscout21]

Biological Diseases/Agents

The CDC divides biological diseases and agents into categories according to their threat to national security. The top two categories are:

Category A agents
· Easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person
· Result in high mortality rates and have the potential for major public health impact
· Might cause public panic and social disruption
· Require special action for public health preparedness

Category B agents
· Moderately easy to disseminate or transmit from person to person
· Result in moderate public health impact and low death rates
· Require enhancements of CDC's diagnostic and disease surveillance abilities

Chemical Agents
Most chemical warfare agents are liquids that evaporate into vapors at varying rates. As effective weapons, they would need to be widely spread by a spray or explosion indoors. Outdoors, even small breezes disperse dangerous vapors.

Blister agents (vesicants)
· Inhaled or absorbed via contact with skin
· Affect eyes, airways, skin, gastrointestinal tract
· Cause large, often life-threatening blisters that resemble burns

Blood agents
· Generally inhaled, distributed through blood
· Inhibit the body's ability to use oxygen effectively
· Cause body to "suffocate" from lack of oxygen
Nerve agents

· Block a key enzyme, which allows a chemical buildup at key places in the nervous system, causing hyperactivity of muscles and organs
· Absorbed through skin or lungs by liquid or vapor exposure
· Affect eyes, nose, airways, gastrointestinal tract, muscles, central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)

Choking (pulmonary) agents
· Inhaled and absorbed through lungs
· Irritate nose, throat, and lungs
· Cause fluid to build in lungs, effectively "drowning" victim

[izzyscout21]

Agent
Type
Category


Anthrax
Bio
A


Botulism
Bio
A


Brucellosis
Bio
B


Chlorine
Chem
Choking


Cyanide
Chem
Blood


Food poisoning
Bio
B


Lewisite
Chem
Blister


Mustard
Chem
Blister


Phosgene
Chem
Choking


Plague
Bio
A


Ricin
Bio
B


Sarin
Chem
Nerve


Smallpox
Bio
A


Soman
Chem
Nerve


Tabun
Chem
Nerve


Tularemia
Bio
A


Viral encephalitis
Bio
B


Viral hemorragic fevers (like Ebola)
Bio
A


VX
Chem
Nerve

[izzyscout21]

Unlike an explosion, a biological attack may or may not be immediately obvious. While it is possible that you will see signs of a biological attack, as was sometimes the case with the anthrax mailings, it is perhaps more likely that local health care workers will report a pattern of unusual illness or there will be a wave of sick people seeking emergency medical attention. You will probably learn of the danger through an emergency radio or TV broadcast, or some other signal used in your community. You might get a telephone call or emergency response workers may come to your door.

The following are things you can do to protect yourself, your family and your property from the effects of a biological threat:

Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.

It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.

You may also want to inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.

Knowing your community's warning systems and disaster plans.

Notify caregivers and babysitters about your plan.

Make plans for your pets

Check with your doctor to ensure all required or suggested immunizations are up to date. Children and older adults are particularly vulnerable to biological agents.

Consider installing a High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter in your furnace return duct. These filters remove particles in the 0.3 to 10 micron range and will filter out most biological agents that may enter your house. If you do not have a central heating or cooling system, a stand-alone portable HEPA filter can be used.

High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are useful in biological attacks. If you have a central heating and cooling system in your home with a HEPA filter, leave it on if it is running or turn the fan on if it is not running. Moving the air in the house through the filter will help remove the agents from the air. If you have a portable HEPA filter, take it with you to the internal room where you are seeking shelter and turn it on.

If you are in an apartment or office building that has a modern, central heating and cooling system, the system’s filtration should provide a relatively safe level of protection from outside biological contaminants.

HEPA filters will not filter chemical agents

[izzyscout21]

The first evidence of an attack may be when you notice symptoms of the disease caused by exposure to an agent. Follow these guidelines during a biological threat:

In the event of a biological attack, public health officials may not immediately be able to provide information on what you should do. It will take time to determine exactly what the illness is, how it should be treated, and who is in danger. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio, or check the Internet for official news and information including signs and symptoms of the disease, areas in danger, if medications or vaccinations are being distributed and where you should seek medical attention if you become ill.


If you become aware of an unusual and suspicious substance, quickly get away.

Protect yourself. Cover your mouth and nose with layers of fabric that can filter the air but still allow breathing. Examples include two to three layers of cotton such as a t-shirt, handkerchief or towel. Otherwise, several layers of tissue or paper towels may help.

There may be times when you would want to consider wearing a face mask to reduce spreading germs if you yourself are sick, or to avoid coming in contact with contagious germs if others around you are sick.

If you have been exposed to a biological agent, remove and bag your clothes and personal items. Follow official instructions for disposal of contaminated items.

Wash yourself with soap and water and put on clean clothes.

Contact authorities and seek medical assistance. You may be advised to stay away from others or even quarantined.

If a family member becomes sick, it is important to be suspicious.

Do not assume, however, that you should go to a hospital emergency room or that any illness is the result of the biological attack. Symptoms of many common illnesses may overlap.

Use common sense, practice good hygiene and cleanliness to avoid spreading germs, and seek medical advice.
Consider if you are in the group or area authorities believe to be in danger.
If your symptoms match those described and you are in the group considered at risk, immediately seek emergency medical attention.

Follow instructions of doctors and other public health officials.

If the disease is contagious expect to receive medical evaluation and treatment. You may be advised to stay away from others or even deliberately quarantined.

For non-contagious diseases, expect to receive medical evaluation and treatment.

In a declared biological emergency or developing epidemic, there may be reason to stay away from crowds where others may be infected.

Cover Your Nose and Mouth



Be prepared to improvise with what you have on hand to protect your nose, mouth, eyes and cuts in your skin. Anything that fits snugly over your nose and mouth, including any dense-weave cotton material, can help filter contaminants in an emergency. It is very important that most of the air you breathe comes through the mask or cloth, not around it. Do whatever you can to make the best fit possible for children. There are also a variety of face masks readily available in hardware stores that are rated based on how small a particle they can filter in an industrial setting. Simple cloth face masks can filter some of the airborne "junk" or germs you might breathe into your body, but will probably not protect you from chemical gases.

[izzyscout21]

If a family member develops any of the symptoms below, keep them separated from others if possible, practice good hygiene and cleanliness to avoid spreading germs and seek medical advice.
· A temperature of more than 100 degrees
· Nausea and vomiting
· Stomachache
· Diarrhea
· Pale or flushed face
· Headache
· Cough
· Earache
· Thick discharge from nose
· Sore throat
· Rash or infection of the skin
· Red or pink eyes
· Loss of appetite
· Loss of energy or decreases in activity
HYGIENEIf someone is sick, you should practice good hygiene and cleanliness to avoid spreading germs.
· Wash your hands with soap and water frequently.
· Do not share food or utensils.
· Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
· Consider having the sick person wear a face mask to avoid spreading germs.
· Plan to share health-related information with others, especially those who may need help understanding the situation and what specific actions to take.

[izzyscout21]

In some situations, such as the case of the anthrax letters sent in 2001, people may be alerted to potential exposure. If this is the case, pay close attention to all official warnings and instructions on how to proceed. The delivery of medical services for a biological event may be handled differently to respond to increased demand. The basic public health procedures and medical protocols for handling exposure to biological agents are the same as for any infectious disease. It is important for you to pay attention to official instructions via radio, television, and emergency alert systems.

Antibiotics

While antibiotics are often an appropriate treatment for the diseases associated with biological weapons, the specific drug must match the illness to be effective. One antibiotic, for example, may be appropriate for treating anthrax exposure, but is inappropriate for treating smallpox. All antibiotics can cause side effects including serious reactions. Plan to speak with your health care provider in advance about what makes sense for your family.

[izzyscout21]

Chemical agents are poisonous vapors, aerosols, liquids and solids that have toxic effects on people, animals or plants. They can be released by bombs or sprayed from aircraft, boats and vehicles. They can be used as a liquid to create a hazard to people and the environment. Some chemical agents may be odorless and tasteless. They can have an immediate effect (a few seconds to a few minutes) or a delayed effect (2 to 48 hours). While potentially lethal, chemical agents are difficult to deliver in lethal concentrations. Outdoors, the agents often dissipate rapidly.Chemical agents also are difficult to produce.

A chemical attack could come without warning. Signs of a chemical release include people having difficulty breathing; experiencing eye irritation; losing coordination; becoming nauseated; or having a burning sensation in the nose,throat and lungs. Also, the presence of many dead insects or birds may indicate a chemical agent release.

[izzyscout21]

Quickly try to define the impacted area or where the chemical is coming from, if possible.

Take immediate action to get away.

If the chemical is inside a building where you are, get out of the building without passing through the contaminated area, if possible.

If you can't get out of the building or find clean air without passing through the area where you see signs of a chemical attack, it may be better to move as far away as possible and shelter-in-place.
If you are instructed to remain in your home or office building, you should:

Close doors and windows and turn off all ventilation, including furnaces, air conditioners, vents, and fans.

Seek shelter in an internal room and take your disaster supplies kit.

Seal the room with duct tape and plastic sheeting.

Listen to your radio for instructions from authorities.


If you are caught in or near a contaminated area, you should:

Move away immediately in a direction upwind of the source.

Find shelter as quickly as possible

If you are outside, quickly decide what is the fastest way to find clean air. Consider if you can get out of the area or if you should go inside the closest building and shelter-in-place

[izzyscout21]

Decontamination is needed within minutes of exposure to minimize health consequences. Do not leave the safety of a shelter to go outdoors to help others until authorities announce it is safe to do so.

A person affected by a chemical agent requires immediate medical attention from a professional. If medical help is not immediately available, decontaminate yourself and assist in decontaminating others.


Decontamination guidelines are as follows:

Use extreme caution when helping others who have been exposed to chemical agents.

Remove all clothing and other items in contact with the body. Contaminated clothing normally removed over the head should be cut off to avoid contact with the eyes, nose and mouth. Put contaminated clothing and items into a plastic bag and seal it. Decontaminate hands using soap and water. Remove eyeglasses or contact lenses. Put glasses in a pan of household bleach to decontaminate them and then rinse and dry.

Flush eyes with water.

Gently wash face and hair with soap and water before thoroughly rinsing with water.

Decontaminate other body areas likely to have been contaminated. Blot (do not swab or scrape) with a cloth soaked in soapy water and rinse with clear water.

Change into uncontaminated clothes. Clothing stored in drawers or closets is likely to be uncontaminated.

Proceed to a medical facility for screening and professional treatment.

[The Stig]

I don't want to distract from the flow of this but I did want to say THIS IS AWESOME. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[izzyscout21]

Thanks!

Thread is open for comments and questions.

[realist]

That was a nice write up, good information

The problem with a biological, for the terrorists, is they take time to incubate and thus making it hard for them to claim credit. Some viruses may or may not be transmitted to humans. However they are always mutating this is why every year new vaccines are made to deal with the flu viruses. Toxins are out there and some are in the news now. We may come into contact with both virus and the toxins in some form during our lives. Obviously for viruses it would be the flu. For toxins it could be something such as salmonella, causing gastrointestinal upset, to coming in contact with botulism toxin from poorly prepared canned foods. When you look at weaponized biologicals, anthrax did just what it was designed to do, terrorize. The anthrax attack, which killed five people, a phenomenal amount of resources was expended. People were terrified of coming in contact with it. Yet when you look at history up until the 1950s it was not uncommon for at least one person in the United States to die from anthrax. All this was stopped when animals started to be inoculated.

The Aum Shinrikyo cult had over a billion dollars in assets and was unable to properly deliver their chemical and biological weapons. They went all over trying for find new agents. They even went so far as to go to Africa to see if they could get Ebola but it was too fragile.
For those who do not believe something like this cannot happen where they live should research the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult. They wanted to influence the local population of Dalles Oregon and gain control of the ballots boxes. The decided to put salmonella in the salad bars of the local restaurants. Over 700 people were affected. The health department shut down several establishments and wrote it off as poor sanitation. It wasn’t until a year later when one of their members brought it to the authorities’ attention an investigation started.