thedrifter
02-16-03, 09:09 AM
I'd feel better not having to read about this at all, but it is
> interesting and a helpful antidote to the CNN's, etc. of the world
for
> whom the message has to sizzle or they lose eyeballs...
>
> 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, Blood, Blister, and
> Incapacitating agents. Contrary to the hype of reporters and
> politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction. Instead, 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 of 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, basements 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 a 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 lick 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.
>
> Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood'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 rapid
> breathing. The military's antidote is amyl nitride and just like
nerve
> agent antidote it just keeps your body working for five minutes till
> the toxins are used up. Fresh air is the your best individual chance.
>
> Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to
> even handle it let alone use it. It's almost impossible to handle
> safely and may have delayed effect 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 herd 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 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.
continued.......
> interesting and a helpful antidote to the CNN's, etc. of the world
for
> whom the message has to sizzle or they lose eyeballs...
>
> 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, Blood, Blister, and
> Incapacitating agents. Contrary to the hype of reporters and
> politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction. Instead, 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 of 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, basements 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 a 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 lick 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.
>
> Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood'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 rapid
> breathing. The military's antidote is amyl nitride and just like
nerve
> agent antidote it just keeps your body working for five minutes till
> the toxins are used up. Fresh air is the your best individual chance.
>
> Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to
> even handle it let alone use it. It's almost impossible to handle
> safely and may have delayed effect 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 herd 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 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.
continued.......