---

Chemical and Biological Weapons

---

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

In case of a chemical or biological weapon attack on campus, the administration will instruct you on the best course of action.  This may be to evacuate the area immediately, to seek shelter at a designated location, or to take immediate shelter where you are and seal the premises.  The best way to protect you is to identify and practice emergency preparedness measures ahead of time and to get medical attention to you as soon as possible, if needed.

Chemical

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

There are five categories of chemical weapons:

• Choking agents - such as chlorine or phosgene which cause  the lungs to fill with fluids
   
• Blood agents - such as Cyanide which is absorbed into the bloodstream
   
• Blister agents - such as mustard  which require contact with the skin, inhalation or ingestion
   
• Nerve agents - such as Sarin which affect the central nervous system
   
• Riot-control agents - such as CS “tear gas” and capsicum “pepper spray” which are designed to incapacitate

Biological

Biological agents are organisms or toxins that can kill or incapacitate people, livestock and crops.  The three basic groups of biological agents that would likely be used as weapons are bacteria, viruses, and toxins.

• Bacteria - Bacteria are small free-living organisms that reproduce by simple division and are easy to grow.  The diseases they produce often respond to treatment with antibiotics.
   
• Viruses - Viruses are organisms that require living cells in which to reproduce and are intimately dependent upon the body they infect.  Viruses produce diseases that generally do not respond to antibiotics.  However, antiviral drugs are sometimes effective.
   
• Toxins - Toxins are poisonous substances found in, and extracted from, living plants, animals, or microorganisms; some toxins can be produced or altered by chemical means.  Some toxins can be treated with specific antitoxins and selected drugs.

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.  They can be dispersed by spraying them in the air, or infecting animals which carry the disease to humans as well as through food and water contamination.

• Aerosols - Biological agents are dispersed into the air, forming a fine mist that may drift to files.  Inhaling the agent may cause disease in people or animals.
   
• Animals - Some diseases area spread by insects and animals, such as fleas, mice, flies, and mosquitoes.  Deliberately spreading diseases through livestock is also referred to as agro terrorism.
   
• 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.  Anthrax spores formulated as a white powder were mailed to individuals in the government and media in the fall of 2001.  Postal sorting machines and opening of letters dispersed the spores as aerosols.  Several deaths resulted.  The effect was to disrupt mail service and to cause a widespread fear of handling delivered mail among the public.
   
• Person-to-person contamination - Spread of a few infectious agents is also possible with person-to-person contact.  Humans have been the source of infection for smallpox, plague, and Lassa viruses.

What to do to prepare for a biological or chemical attack

• Maintain disaster supplies
• Rehearse emergency procedures
• Keep a complete, spare set of clothing in your room/office in a tightly sealed container

What to do during a chemical attack

• Listen for instructions from the administration such as whether to shelter-in-place (remain inside) or to evacuate.
   
• If you are instructed to shelter-in-place (remain indoors):
• Turn off heating and air conditioning unit and any fans in the room/office
• Cover all ventilation vents to prevent air flow.
• Seal the room/office with duct tape.  Ten square feet of floor space per person will provide sufficient air to prevent carbon dioxide build-up for up to five hours.
• Keep students calm and quiet.  Try to get people to sleep, as you remain awake.
• Remain in room/office until you receive additional instructions
   
•  If you are caught in an unprotected area, you should:
• Attempt to get up-wind of the contaminated area
• Attempt to find shelter as quickly as possible
• Listen for instructions from the administration

What to do after a chemical attack

Immediate symptoms of exposure to chemical agents may include blurred vision, eye irritation, difficulty breathing and nausea.  A person affected by a chemical or biological agent requires immediate attention by professional medical personnel.  If medical help is not immediately available, decontaminate yourself and assist in decontaminating others.  Decontamination is needed within minutes of exposure to minimize health consequences.  (However, you should NOT leave the safety of a shelter to go outdoors to help others until a college official announces that it is safe.)

• 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. DO NOT PULL ANY CLOTHING OFF OVER THE HEAD.
• Put all removed clothing into a plastic bag
• Decontaminate hands using soap and water, if available
• Remove eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Decontaminate eyeglasses in a pan of household bleach
   
• Flush eyes with lots of water
   
• Gently wash face and hair with soap and water; then thoroughly rinse 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
   
• If possible, proceed to a medical facility for screening

What to do after a biological attack

In many biological attacks, people will not know they have been exposed to an agent.  In such situations, the first evidence of an attack may be when you notice symptoms of the disease caused by an agent exposure, and you should seek immediate medical attention for treatment.

In some situations, like the anthrax letters sent in 2001, people may be alerted to a 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.  Again, it will be important for you to pay attention to official instructions via radio, television, and emergency alert systems.

If your skin or clothing comes in contact with a visible, potentially infectious substance, you should remove and bag your clothes and personal items and wash yourself with warm soapy water immediately.  Put on clean clothes and seek medical assistance.

For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention www.bt.cdc.gov.