Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Thought you might find this worth reading:
> "Real" Deal about Nuclear, Bio, and Chem Attacks
>
> 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.
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.
>
> 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.
>
.
>
> 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, 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. 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. 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. Soap, water, sunshine, and fresh air are this stuff's enemy.
>
> Bottom line on chemical weapons;
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. Your odds get better
>if you leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this
>stuff a knock_out_punch.
>
> 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. 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.
>
> 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).
>
> 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.
>
>
>
>
> 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.
> "Real" Deal about Nuclear, Bio, and Chem Attacks
>
> 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.
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.
>
> 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.
>
.
>
> 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, 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. 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. 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. Soap, water, sunshine, and fresh air are this stuff's enemy.
>
> Bottom line on chemical weapons;
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. Your odds get better
>if you leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this
>stuff a knock_out_punch.
>
> 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. 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.
>
> 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).
>
> 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.
>
>
>
>
> 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.
