by already know much of this, as I did. But I was always curious about what
would actually happen if there was a nuclear blast.....the chemical stuff
doesn't really worry me that much.
...Quote:> THE "REAL" DEAL ABOUT NUCLEAR, BIO, AND CHEM ATTACKS
> =====================================================
> This is another one of those "not inspirational" but hopefully
> educational issues. You should not live in fear. I am a chemist
> by educational training, so I understand much of the technical
> aspects of this. You don't have to be an expert to understand it.
> Potential terrorism is reported with increasing frequency.
> Anthrax and potentially smallpox and other attacks have scared
> the nation. People hope their symptoms are the flu, not anthrax.
> Sure anthrax is deadlier, just as a bazooka is deadlier than a
> .38 pistol.
> You are far more likely however to be killed by a pistol than a
> bazooka. Eigh*** people so far have died from anthrax. That
> is a tragedy and I am not belittling the hurt those families are
> going through. 20,000 will die this year from the flu.
> Truth will help dispel fear and allow you to concentrate on the
> real danger and the things that you can control, read on...
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> "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.
> 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, ***,
> 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 or 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, ba***ts 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*** 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.
> *** agents are cyanide or arsine which affect your ***'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 and rapid
> breathing. The military's antidote is amyl nitride and just
> like nerve agent antidote, it just keeps your body working
> for five minutes until the toxins are used up.
> Fresh air is your best individual chance.
> Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so *** that nobody
> wants to even handle it let alone use it. It's almost
> impossible to handle safely and may have delayed effects 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 heard 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 in 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
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