>Subject: The "REAL" deal about NBC Attacks
>Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 10:46:18 EST
>
>Thought this was interesting ...
>http://www.patriotsherald.com/content/attacks.php
>
>The "Real" Deal about Nuclear, Bio, and Chem
Attacks
>by SFC Red Thomas (Ret)
>Armor Master Gunner
>Mesa, AZ
>Since the media has decided to report (and scare
everyone with predictions
>of)
>all the 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 affect 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.
>
