PREVENTING COMMON HUMAN

INDUCED DISASTERS

Ankit Yadav
IXA
08

Contents :

1. Weapons of Mass Destruction

A. NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS
B. CHEMICAL AND INDUSTRIAL
ACCIDENTS
2. Mitigation strategies
3. Biological Disasters

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are
weapons which bring a huge loss to life, property
and environment. The term covers several weapon
types, including nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC)
and, increasingly, radiological weapons. There is
controversy over when the term was first used,
either in 1937 (in reference to aerial bombardment
of Guernica, Spain) or in 1945(in reference to
nuclear weapons). The termweapons of mass
destructionhas been in currency since at least
1937, when it was used to describe massed
formations ofbomberaircraft.With the dropping of
theatomic bombonHiroshima, Japan, the fearsome
power of conventional bombs paled before the
spectacle of an entire city centre destroyed and
some 66,000 people instantly killed by the blast and

NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS
A nuclear weapon is a type of explosive
weapon that derives its destructive force from nuclear
reaction of fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
As a result, even a nuclear weapon with a small yield is
significantly more powerful than the largest conventional
explosives, and a single weapon is capable of destroying
an entire city. There are two basic types of nuclear
weapons:

1.

The first are weapons which produce their explosive

energy through nuclear fission reaction alone. These are
known colloquial as atomic bombs, A-bombs.

2.

The second type of nuclear weapon produces a large

amount its energy through nuclear fusion reactions, and
can be over a thousand times more powerful than fission
bombs as fusion reaction release much more energy per

ATOM BOMBS

Atomic bomb,also calledatom

bomb,weaponwith great explosive power that
results from the sudden release of energy upon
thesplitting, or fission, of the nuclei of such heavy
elements
asplutoniumoruranium.
When a neutron
strikes the nucleus of anatomof the
isotopesuranium 235orplutonium-239, it causes
that nucleus to split into two fragments, each of
which is a nucleus with about half the protons and
neutrons of the original nucleus. In the process of
splitting, a great amount ofthermal energy, as well
asgamma raysand two or more neutrons, is
released. Under certain conditions, the escaping
neutrons strike and thus fission more of the
surrounding uranium nuclei, which then emit more
neutrons that split still more nuclei. This series of
rapidly multiplying fissions culminates in a chain

HYDROGEN BOMBS
The hydrogen bomb is a nuclear
weapon in which light atomic nuclei of hydrogen
are joined together in an uncontrolled nuclear
fusion reaction to release huge amounts of
energy. The hydrogen bomb is about a thousand
time more powerful than the atomic bomb,
which produces a nuclear fission explosion
almost a million times more powerful than that
of a comparably sized bomb using conventional
high explosives such as TNT. The atomic bomb
was an essential first step towards the
development of the hydrogen bomb, before the
atomic bomb w2as developed by the United

How can we protect

ourselves from nuclear
radiation and attacks ?

Dont panic in the event of a nuclear attack or

accident. Common indicators of radioactivity are nausea
dizziness, vomiting and disorientation, with no odor but
a wave of heat.
Dont look at the fire blast as it can cause instant
blindness.

Close all doors and windows, and stay indoors till

further communication from the Government.
Radioactivity does not penetrate solid structures, though
fire may cause damage to buildings.
Cover all food and water. Dont consume water, milk,
food obtained following a nuclear blast.
Await government instructions/communications if you

CHEMICAL AND INDUSTRIAL

ACCIDENTS
Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are normally easy
to manufacture using simple chemicals. Further they are difficult
to detect as most of the Chemical WMD are colorless and
odorless.
You and your community are at risk if a chemical is used without
following safety precautions or released in harmful amounts into
the environment where you live, work or play. One of the
significant events in India includes the Bhopal Disasters of 1984,
where a highly toxic gas was released into the air at a Union
Carbide
pesticides
facility and
more
than 3,000
people.
Manufacturing
of chemicals
arekilled
a major
source
of
contamination through hazardous materials, but
there are many others, including service stations,
hospitals, and hazardous materials wastey sites.
Hazardous materials come in the form of
explosives, flammable and combustible
substances, poisons, and radioactive material.
These substances are most often released as a
result of transportation accidents, lack of proper

BHOPAL GAS
TRAGEDY

Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India,

considered one of the worlds worst industrial catastrophes. It
occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984 at the Union Carbide
Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. A leak
of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant
insulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. The
toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns
located near the plant. Estimates vary on the death toll. The
official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of
Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to
the gas released. Others estimate 3,000 died within weeks and
another 8,000 have since died from gas-related diseases. A
government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125
injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately
3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.

MITIGATION
Although the risk of chemical accident is
slight, knowingSTRATEGIES
how to handle these products and how
to react during an emergency can reduce the risk of
injury. Some of the possible risk reduction measures are
as follows:

1. Hazard Mapping Inventors and maps of

storage locations of toxins or hazardous substances
along with the possible characteristics should be
displayed and known to all. The community staying in
the immediate vicinity should be aware of this hazard
and its possible effects in case of an accident. The
nature of the accident can be different. It can be fire,
explosion, spillage.

2. Land use planning Densely populated

residential areas should be located at a distance from
industrial areas. A buffer zone should separate the

3. Community preparedness The community

should be aware of the hazardous installations and know
how to combat the situation. The local community has to
be informed about the response steps to be taken in
case of an accident. Community members should
monitor the pollution levels of the industry and
participate in mock drills of evacuation.

4. Other possible risk reduction measures

include:
- Improve fire resistance and warning systems
- Improve fire fighting and pollution dispersion
capabilities
- Develop energy relief and evacuation planning for
employees and
nearby settlements.
- Incident response training should be provided to the
employees of the industry

Biological
Biological weapons are referred to as a
Disasters
mans nuclear bomb because they are

poor
easy to manufacture, can be deployed without
sophisticated delivery systems, and have the
ability to kill or injure hundreds of thousands of
people. Simple devices such as crop dusting
airplanes or small perfumes atomizers are
effective delivery systems for biological agents. In
contrast to chemical, conventional and nuclear
weapons that generate immediate effects,
biological agents are generally associated with a
delay in the onset of illness. Moreover, illness
from biological weapons are not likely to be
recognized in their initial stages. With highly