The Grim Do's and Deadly Don'ts Of Handling Chemical Attacks

MILITARY buffs know all about "Jane's Fighting Ships" and "Jane's All the World's Aircraft." Now how about "Jane's Fighting Germs"?

The folks who publish the Jane's military reference books don't actually use that title. But in a sign of the times, Jane's Information Group has just published "Jane's Chem-Bio Handbook," a $15 pocket guide for military, police and emergency personnel responding to suspected or real chemical or germ attacks. It comes on the heels of a more specialized tome, "Jane's U.S. Chemical-Biological Defense Guidebook" ($895).

(Jane, by the way, was Fred T. Jane, who began publishing naval reference books 100 years ago in Britain.)

The handbook describes chemical and biological agents and how they can be delivered (though it's not intended as a manual for terrorists). It even lists the sorts of decontamination supplies you can pick up at your local K-Mart.

Thanks to threats posed by the likes of Saddam Hussein and radicals in Japan, this military reference covers not only minutiae of materiel but the physiological particulars of gruesome death. Excerpts follow.

TOM KUNTZ

Chemical Weapons

DELIVERY METHODS: [In civilian settings] a commercial crop-dusting aircraft can serve as a very efficient delivery system for chemical agents.... A pesticide generator used to spray orchards from a pickup truck can be used successfully to contaminate large areas when loaded with the proper agent. It is known that suitcase generators have been used to contaminate individual rooms or buildings, and the classic umbrella gun has been used in assassinations.... Simple aerosol generators, such as underarm deodorant spray cans, can serve as quite effective dissemination systems.

NERVE AGENTS: Nerve agents [like the insecticide Sevin and the stronger military chemical sarin] act by disrupting the normal transmission of messages between nerves and their receiving organs. They do this by blocking the activity of an enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, that normally destroys and stops the activity of the chemical messenger or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter is released by a nerve to stimulate a muscle or gland, and when it is not destroyed it continues to stimulate the muscles or glands, causing hyperactivity....

Major effects from nerve agents occur in the skeletal muscles (those muscles in arms, legs and other parts of the body that can be voluntarily moved) and the smooth muscles (those within the body such as in the airways and in the gastrointestinal tract)....

Exposure to nerve agent vapor initially affects the eyes, nose, mouth and airways. The pupils become small (miosis), the eyes become red and the casualty may complain of dim vision, . . . pain in the eye or head, and nausea and vomiting. Exposure of the nose causes secretions (rhinorrhea). Exposure of the mouth causes excessive salivation. If the agent is inhaled, the airways become smaller or constricted and the casualty will have shortness of breath and coughing....

A few seconds after inhalation of a large amount ... there will be a sudden loss of consciousness followed by convulsions. If no care is given within a few minutes the casualty will stop breathing.

BLISTER AGENTS: There are three agents categorized as blister agents: mustard, Lewisite and phosgene oxime. Mustard produces no immediate effects, while Lewisite and phosgene oxime produce immediate pain on whatever part of the body comes in contact with their liquid or vapor. ... There is no such alert from mustard, and a person, having no warning, might remain in the area or might not decontaminate and will become severely exposed....

Some effects of the blister agent sulfur mustard, or mustard, are widely known from photographs of Iranian casualties in the Iran-Iraq war. These effects were skin burns and blisters.

PULMONARY AGENTS: A pulmonary agent, or lung agent, is a chemical that damages the membranes in the lung that separate the alveolus (air sac) from the capillary. As a result of the damaged membrane, the plasma from the blood leaks into the alveoli, filling them with fluid and preventing air from entering. A person with this type of poisoning does not get enough oxygen and dies from suffocation -- very similar to drowning.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE: One of the first tasks is to isolate the contaminated area.... The area that is believed to be contaminated with a toxic material, liquid and vapor, is commonly called the "hot zone." The initial responder in P.P.E. [Personal Protection Equipment] has several tasks. One of these is to start the egress of casualties out of the hot zone into a clean area, or "cold zone." Ideally, the first stage is for the responder to move the casualties to the "warm zone," where casualty decontamination takes place....

There is one decontamination area for those unable to walk (litter casualties) and another for ambulatory casualties....

The litter casualty station usually consists of several little stands onto which the casualty is moved sequentially. On the first, clothing is removed -- often by cutting if the casualty cannot assist.... The next step is skin decontamination. ... Copious amounts of water may be used to remove the agent physically. Soap and water with a plain water rinse is also good.... A more popular solution is hypochlorite, or household bleach....

In the ambulatory casualty decontamination area the casualty is instructed to remove his clothing and enter the shower area....

[Next] the casualty is provided with clothing or a covering and taken to the clean area, or "cold zone." . . . In the cold zone, more definitive triage is done, first aid is administered and casualties who need further care are sent to hospitals.

Biological Weapons

ANTHRAX: Anthrax is an acute bacterial infection of infection can be caused by direct contact with contaminated wool, hides or [livestock] tissues. ... As a biological weapon, it is expected that anthrax spores would be released at a strategic location to be inhaled. Inhalational anthrax results from deposition of the bacterial spores in the lungs and causes fever, shock and eventually death.... Iraqi and Soviet B.W. [biological warfare] programs worked to develop an anthrax weapon.

RICIN: Ricin is a toxin made from the mash left over after processing castor beans for oil. Castor bean processing is a worldwide activity; therefore, the raw materials for making ricin are easily available. Ricin is easy to produce and is stable.

Ricin was used in 1978 by Bulgarian intelligence operatives in the "umbrella murder" of Gregori Markov, a Bulgarian dissident. A ricin-tipped bullet was discharged into the victim, and he died a day after the attack.... In a B.W. scenario, it is expected that ricin would be released as a toxic cloud.

TRICHOTHECENE MYCOTOXINS: Trichothecene mycotoxins ... allegedly were used in aerosol form ("yellow rain") to produce lethal and nonlethal casualties in Laos (1975-81), Kampuchea (19791981) and Afghanistan (1979-1981). It has been alleged that there were more than 6,300 deaths in Laos, 1,000 in Kampuchea [Cambodia] and 3,000 in Afghanistan....

The tricothecene toxins are not particularly toxic by the respiratory route and appear to be more effective by the fallout of large particles from primary aerosols that land on the skin. Early symptoms begin within minutes of exposure and include burning skin, redness, blistering and progressions to skin necrosis with leather blackening and sloughing of large areas of skin in lethal cases. Nasal contact is manifested by nasal itching and pain, sneezing, epistaxis (nosebleeds) and rhinorrhea (watery discharge from the nose).... Mouth and throat exposure is characterized by pain and blood tinged with saliva and sputum.... Systemic toxicity is manifested by weakness, prostration, dizziness, ataxia (incoordination of the gait) and an overall loss of coordination. Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), hypothermia (low body temperature), and hypotension (low blood pressure) follow in fatal cases. Death may occur in minutes, hours or days.

EBOLA: Ebola virus is one of the most pathogenic viruses known to science, causing death in 50-90 percent of all clinically ill cases.... The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or semen of infected persons. Transmission of the virus has also occurred by handling ill or infected chimpanzees. The virus has an incubation period of 2 to 21 days, and is characterized by sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, limited kidney and liver functions and both internal and external bleeding....

Ebola viruses must be considered to have a high priority as a candidate for biological warfare.... This virus was assigned high priority in the former offensive program of the Soviet Union.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE: Self-protection is the first priority.... The rescuer or the medical attendant must have adequate protection before entering a contaminated area. This may involve the use of a mask or respirator and could involve prophylactic treatment with antibiotics or other drugs.... Gloves and overgarments would be necessary to protect the individual, at least in the early stages, until the biological agent could be identified. Casualties from biological warfare will require the same type of treatment as those who have acquired the disease by natural means.... The biggest problem will be providing medical care to such a large number of cases within a short period of time....

[End]

See also, "The Bioweaponeers": http://jya.com/bioweap.htm