What Is Chemical And Radiological Terrorism?

“Bioterrorism remains a major threat for the United States despite more than $65 billion spent on protecting the country from myriad dangers, the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center said in its latest report Wednesday. The center's Bio-Response Report Card evaluated U.S. preparedness for countering threats from bioterrorism and found the country remains vulnerable to multiple threats and "largely unprepared for a large-scale bioterrorist attack."”(UPI.com, 2011). There have been over a dozen leading U.S. bio-defense experts that have taken part in figuring out where we are exactly as a county and what the effects of a terroristic attack

These biological agents could be viruses, toxins, bacteria, etc. Agents could be used in war or terrorist attacks. Also, they could be modified to cause extreme diseases and disorders, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It makes bioterrorism even more tempting to use as it is easy and inexpensive to produce, disseminate and can cause a more widespread panic than other acts of terrorism (1).

Bruce Ivins, other than his suicide when things homing on to him with the FBI, is the anthrax killer, exposing and estimated thirty thousand people to the deadly spores, killing five, leaving its illness with seventeen others. (Shactman) The problem with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism, also know as CBRN, is that, in threats where conventional explosives are not used, chemical, biological, and radiological threats are hard to detect and prevent, and after-the-fact, are, usually, impossible, expensive, or extensive in labor and use of high-tech, cutting-edge equipment, which is complicated and needs technical expertise, to make the clean-up take very long in chemical and radiological threats, and is nearly impossible to collect evidence for examination in a laboratory in chemical and biological threats if aerosolized or in a vapor form, which dissipates into the atmosphere, environment, and plants around it (Center For Excellence in Emergency

One of the world’s most dreaded plagues for centuries, smallpox is now eradicated. Vaccination programs were pushed worldwide by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the disease was eliminated from the world. This push resulted in the last naturally occurring case in the world being almost 40 years ago. Once eradicated the once routine or mandatory vaccinations were stopped for the general public and it was deemed no longer necessary to prevent the disease. Although currently eradicated worldwide, two medical laboratory stockpiles still remain in Russia and the United States. With these stockpiles in existence the possibility of bio terrorism emerges and fear of these stockpiles getting into the wrong hands and being weaponized for

The chemical sector within the United States is a necessary element to the economy, security, and the well-being of personnel. The appeal of a chemical sector and the destruction it could create would be an ideal target for terrorists to strike. Facilities within the United States use, manufacture, store, transport, or deliver chemicals that encompass everything from petroleum, refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and hardware stores (Department of Homeland Security, 2010). Multiple facilities that utilize chemicals could be exposed to a treat, which leaves the facility vulnerable to attacks. The consequences of the attack could be detrimental to both public health and safety; therefore, the goals for the chemical sector are to (Department of Homeland Security, 2010,

The fear of a Chemical or Biological attack has been a concern to many governments. These attacks, either by state agencies or individuals, have caused loss of life and the United States has not been spared in this forms of attacks.

Bioterrorism can easily target citizens by poisoning food and water supplies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration a.k.a. OSHA stated that there’s over 250 different foodborne diseases and illnesses, and are often mislabeled as food poisoning. These diseases can be potentially fatal to those inflicted. In the article “A Discussion of Findings and Their Possible Implications from a Workshop on Bioterrorism Threat Assessment and Risk Management”, Bruce Hope states that it’s possible to analyze the agricultural and food industries by making fake scenarios of potential threats. This analysis of America’s system can allow for professionals to better secure food supplies and ensure that bioterrorism is less likely of impacting the population. Defense measures can make these buildings invulnerable, or nearly so (Zilinskas, 906). Another method of defense against bioterrorism is vaccination. According to Rebecca Katz in “Public Health Preparedness: The Best Defense Against Biological Weapons” she argues that vaccination is a plausible method of defense against bioterrorism if necessary. She also states “[vaccines] are part of a preattack defense and a postattack containment” (Katz, 177). These vaccinations can aid people in case of smallpox and anthrax, both of which are viable threats to biosecurity. The article also states that while more research is necessary to improve the currently available vaccines, it’s a necessary component of preparing for bioterrorism. Katz states “In order to avoid chaos during an event, development and dissemination prior to an attack of vaccine priority and distribution plans is essential. These plans should incorporate the best methods for controlling the spread of disease, saving the most lives, and ensuring the utility of

Chemical terrorism presents a unique threat to the Homeland and response agencies due to the vast array of various chemical effects and availability. To illustrate this threat, an examination will be conducted into the historical development and a recent use of chlorine gas agent. Then, an investigation into chlorine’s chemical properties, its harmful effects, and required response protective/detection equipment will be conducted. Lastly, an analysis into the regulatory policy of chlorine and a current news article reference the use of chlorine will be conducted. Overall, by understanding the chemical properties and risks associated with chlorine gas, response agencies can be better equipped to respond and protect the public. First, let’s examine

On October 20th, 2001, Joseph Curseen, a postal worker in Washington D.C., went to work like any other day. Mr. Curseen was a hard worker who had never missed work, even for a sick day, since joining the postal service fifteen years earlier. Sadly, that was about to change. By that night, Mr. Curseen was in the hospital and two days later he was pronounced dead. The cause: anthrax. While this quick turn of events came as a shock to the people in his life, Mr. Curseen’s story was not unheard of. In fact, cases like his were appearing almost every day, and it was soon discovered that anthrax had been placed in letters sent via the postal service in a direct attempt to harm people. This act of terrorism alarmed the world. While government officials and the media discussed bombings, shootings, and hijackings, biological agents were not a focus of attention. The 2001 anthrax attacks were the first successful attempt by a person or a group of people to use weaponized anthrax in a terrorist attack, rather than in warfare. People suddenly became aware of another horrible form of terrorism, bioterrorism, that now posed a serious threat to our society. The 2001 anthrax attacks particularly highlighted the dangers of anthrax and the toxins it releases into a host’s cells, demonstrating the widespread effects that anthrax and other bioterrorist weapons could have on a country.

Throughout history different terrorist groups have used a variety of methods to attack innocent civilians and infrastructures. Groups such as Aum Shinirikyo, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other domestic terrorists have been known to attack innocent communities by using IEDs, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Attacks, such as the Sarin Attack in Tokyo in 1995, is a prime example in which a terrorist group, Aum Shinirikyo, used a chemical nerve agent to attack citizens in Japanese subway. These chemical attacks as well as other WMDs pose unique threats for first responders. It is important to consider these threats as well as the time, location, number of anticipated causalities, and the type of chemical agent used when responding to a chemical attack. It is the responsibility of officials on a local, state, and federal level to facilitate not only the initial response in a chemical attack but also the recovery and cleanup efforts weeks after.

During World War I, chemical warfare was utilized as a Weapon of Mass Destruction to commit large scale attacks against oncoming forces. Wartime scientists used chemicals such as chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas to cause blindness, asphyxiation, and death (Fitzgerald, G 2008). During these attacks, over 1.3 million people suffered chemically induced injuries and more than 90,000 killed by chemical weapons. The devastation caused by chemical warfare led to the gathering of 160 nations to sign treaties banning the use of lethal chemical armaments. On both a national and local level, emergency managers work to evaluate the potential of terrorist attacks of all magnitudes and means.

Biological threats to the homeland are one of six strategic challenges outlined in The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. Biological threats are sometimes viewed as underrated threat to homeland security compared to the threat of terrorism and nuclear weapons. The following will explain the nature the threat of biological weapons pose on the homeland and the ongoing steps the federal government is implementing to meet this challenge.

Before the 20th century, the use of biological agents took three major forms, Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material using of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a weapon system, using of biologically inoculated fabrics and persons. Now a day sophisticated bacteriological and virological techniques allowed the production of significant stockpiles of weaponized bio-agents such as; Anthrax, Brucella, Tularemia, Smallpox, Viral hemorrhagic fevers, Botulinum, Ricin, (Legvold, 2012).The most likely route of dissemination is an aerosolized release of 1-5mm particles. Other methods of dissemination include oral, intentional contamination of food/water supply, percutaneous,

For example, in the book, ¨Biological Warfare,¨ the author, Don Nardo, states that if “... airborne anthrax spores are inhaled...One billionth of a gram can kill a one person,” (Nardo 16). So if even one person inhaled a couple spores, it could spread across the world. Some argue a nuke could quickly destroy a city, But a Biochem could quickly destroy a civilization. Additionally, in the article, ¨Pharma Firms aim to Reduce Bio-Warfare Threat,¨ the author states that “...if anthrax spores are processed to form an aerosol...it typically becomes fatal in 50-90% of untreated cases,” (Eldridge and Hollis 1). So essentially a person that’s infected, if not addressed early will spread it and later on die. The U.S. also needs to teach people in the public what symptoms there are and what to do about the person. If people don’t know what most of the chems look like, they will spread a lot

A key issue in Homeland Security and Emergency Management today is the country 's vulnerability to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism. The increasing proliferation of CBRN weapons all over the world is a primary security challenge due to their indiscriminate and destructive nature. CBRN weapons inflict physical damage, provoke panic, and result in societal, as well as economic disruption. As such, this form of terrorism is a major source of concern for emergency response organizations and departments in the United States. Despite the relatively low rates of utilization by state and non-state actors today, the risk posed by CBRN weapons is too high for security organs to simply ignore. A principal incentive for CBRN terrorism across the world is its ability to disrupt entire state sectors and cause widespread contamination. As a result, it is important to study a nation 's vulnerability to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism.