Weapons of Mass Destruction What You Should Know: A Citizen's Guide to Biological, Chemical and Nuclear Agents & Weapons Gladson I. Nwanna, Ph.D., Editor Frontline Publishers Baltimore, MarylandAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including, photocopying, recording, taping or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior express written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in a review. This book is a creative work copyrighted by Gladson 1, Nwanna, and fully protected by all applicable copyright laws, as well as by misappropriation, trade secret, unfair competition, and other applicable laws. The editor of this work has added value to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the following: Unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classification of the information. Copyright © 2004 by Gladson 1, Nwanna Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ‘Weapons of mass destruction, what you should know : a citizen's guide to biological, chemical, and nuclear agents & weapons / Gladson I. Nwanna, editor pcm, Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-890605-14-X (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 1-890605-25-5 (hard cover) 1, Weapons of mass destruction. I. Nwanna, Gladson I 1U793.W433 2004 358". 3--de22 2003026531 ISBN, paperback ed 1-890605-14-X ISBN, hardcover ed : 1-890605-25-5 ISBN, PDF ed: 1-890605-34-4 ISBN, LIT ed 1-890605-35-2 Cover Design by David E, Ricardo Printed in the United States of America Visit Frontline Publishers Website at http://www. frontlinepublishers.com.Acknowledgement This book benefited from the encouragement and advice of a lot of people, all of whom I am indebted to. I would especially like to thank Mrs. Phyllis Desbordes for her editorial support and other valuable suggestions. My gratitude and indebtedness also goes to the agencies and departments of the government whose work I have reproduce in this book. These include: the Red Cross, Federal emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry (ATSDR). Preface The September 11, 2001, terrorist/catastrophic assault on America sets both the background and motivation for this book. The sad events not only ushered in a new awakening for Americans, it also cast an indelible mark on America’s consciousness and history. It was an awakening and reminder of its vulnerabilities, but as well as a challenge to its hegemony ‘The September 11 event has, for all practical purposes, changed the course of American history and the way of life of Americans. It has also substituted the national rallying point with vigilance as the new mantra. ‘The September 11 event, the ensuing discussion surrounding it and subsequent national policy shifts and changes have included the leaming of words and phrases such as “Weapons of Mass Destruction” (WMD), Smart Bomb, Bioterrorism, a lexicon of words and phrases rarely before used with such frequency to conjure impending and catastrophic danger which citizens must understand and embrace; words and phrases, hitherto, within the domain of use and technical understanding almost exclusively limited to scientists, top policy makers and specialized institutions. The September 11 event appears to have created need for an understanding of these terms with a goal to better appreciate the government's policy, the urgency of action, and the command to rally around the cause and the challenges as enunciated by the President of the United States. Like many fellow citizens, | felt persuaded and convinced. I felt I understood the case, the call, the subject matter and the urgency. I assumed the majority of the citizen's understood as much. Did the majority of my fellow citizens really understand many of the words, phrases and statements that filled the airwaves? I wondered if they really understood their responsibilities as called for by this sudden awakening in the national consciousness not only with the present threats, but also the potential threats which led to the new Department of Homeland Security emergency alert system. ‘As I pondered the threats, the warnings, the phrases and on what I believed I was required to do as a citizen in the event of an attack, I thought about the millions of other Americanswho are fully at alert status, but who possess very little knowledge about what this is all about. I pondered in particular, if they knew what to do in the event of another incident similar to the 9-11 event or a chemical or biological agent attack. | pondered even more about these types of attacks, the illnesses and havoc they may cause and I continue to wonder how many friends, relatives and fellow citizens know what they can do to prevent or minimize the effect of such attacks, thereby safeguarding their heath and the life. It was all of these concems and my conviction that may not be far from being correct in my thoughts that motivated me to write this book. It is my belief that personal security and well being is intimately tied to National Security. And if you are apt to agree with me, you will also agree that a book such as this will be invaluable for Americans and non Americans alike, in particular those who are not so imbued with relevant scientific and technical knowledge of the core material. Those who may not have the time to research these matters should personally find the book informative. In this book, I explore in a rather non-technical fashion the concept of Weapons of mass Destruction as used both narrowly and broadly, historically and contemporarily. I address in particular biological and chemical agents and diseases, as well as nuclear/radiological agents, agents that have had a history of being weaponized and those that have the potential. 1 also explore basic elements of these agents, how they are transmitted, their potential health effects on humans and ways of minimizing threats posed by these agents including the government’s role and our role as citizens. I must also point out determined, deliberate, and persistent efforts on the part of U.S. State and local governments and media outlets to alert and educate citizens on the issue of terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction and related subject matters. Unfortunately, this information is often widely scattered . It is scanty and very technical or in the case of radio/TV broadcast media, very transitory. There are millions of Americans who either do not have timely access to available mass media outlets to benefit, or do not know about the existence of this valuable information. This book is largely intended for that audience. 1 have made every effort to arrange the information in such a way as to be easily understood and available in a readily usable format. This book is essentially a collection of relevant information on the subject of Weapons of mass Destruction. The information came primarily from federal government sources and is believed to be reliable and authoritative. I have included in the book the sources of all information. It is my hope that this book will not by any means be considered the final words or a treaty ‘on Weapons of Mass Destruction or related topics covered, nor should it be considered a comprehensive treatment of the topic. Rather, I would prefer it to be considered simply a non-technical and basic introduction and overview of the subject. It is, my hope that information contained in this book will not only make the lay reader better informed on the subject matter, as indeed it has made me, but that it will make all of ivus better citizens, who collectively will be better capable of identifying managing furure threats, and protecting the country In the Appendix section of this book, I have provided valuable resources (addresses, phone numbers, institutions, agencies and other information) that should be of help to readers. I believe this book will generate wide appeal. The information should be useful to Americans as well as citizens of other countries that may be facing similar experiences. We hope that your expectations will be met and when they are, we would appreciate hearing from you. Should the contents of this book fall short in meeting your expectations, we would certainly like to hear from you so that an effort can be made to improve future editions. Suggestions and letters should be mailed to Public Relations Department, Frontline Publishers, P.O. Box 32674, Baltimore, Maryland 21282-2674. Editor's Not {1] In this book, an effort has been made to reproduce materials from several sources, including valuable advice and answers to questions of potential interest to readers. This book provides these sources by incorporating the advice of experts in the field. To these sources, I must say THANKS for facilitating the process of preparing this book. PR) The editor and publisher has made a determined effort to reproduce several of the borrowed materials verbatim and in their entirety. Only in a few instances was it necessary {0 make minor alterations in order to facilitate reading and to ensure consistency and uniformity. [BB] We live in changing times, including changing information on some of the topics addressed in this book, Whereas most of the information contained in this book will remain valid through the ages, some is bound to change. Therefore, I have provided you with relevant references, including addresses (mailing & web), phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of government and non-government agencies and organizations that will keep you up-to-date. For a book of this size, with all the diligence on the part of the publisher, errors, and omissions both typographical and in content are bound to occur. I urge you to inform us whenever you find such errors and omissions so that they may be corrected in the next edition. At the time this book went to press, every effort was made to ensure that all references were accurate, I must, however, make the following explicit disclaimer.