ABSTRACT
I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 654 II. Current Climate .................................................................................................................. 655
A. National Response Plan.............................................................................................. 655 B. Strategic National Stockpile ....................................................................................... 657
III. Chemical Warfare Agents .................................................................................................. 657 A. Means of Intoxication................................................................................................. 658 B. Chemical Agent Effects .............................................................................................. 659
1. Nerve Agents........................................................................................................ 659 2. Blister Agents....................................................................................................... 659 3. Blood Agents ....................................................................................................... 659 4. Choking Agents ................................................................................................... 660 5. Toxic Industrial Chemicals .................................................................................. 660
C. Clues to the Presence of Chemical Warfare Agents .................................................. 660 IV. Programs to Protect Civilian Populations .......................................................................... 661
A. Civilian versus Military Response Considerations..................................................... 661 B. Other Countries........................................................................................................... 662
1. Israeli Model ........................................................................................................ 662 C. Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program............................................. 663
V. Resources for First-Responders.......................................................................................... 663 A. Programs to Improve the Response............................................................................ 664
1. Training ................................................................................................................ 664 2. National Response Center.................................................................................... 664 3. Chemical Weapons Improved Response Program............................................... 665
B. Exposure Guidelines ................................................................................................... 666 VI. Issues Related to Low-Dose Exposure to Chemical Agents.............................................. 667
A. Future Research Needs ............................................................................................... 668 VII. Summary............................................................................................................................. 669 References ..................................................................................................................................... 670
The bombings of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, and the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in 2001 have brought the reality of terrorism into Americans’ lives with startling clarity. Over the past 10 years there has been a concerted effort on the part of the international community to limit the quantity and proliferation of chemical warfare (CW) agents; however, the proliferation of CW agents within unstable sectors of the world is a cause for grave concern because of the potential for use of such agents by terrorists. The vivid images of Japanese commuters poisoned by sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, the pictures of Kurdish women and children killed by poison gas employed by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, and the public reactions to missile attacks by Iraq against targets in Saudi Arabia and Israel during the first Gulf War demonstrate the terror of these weapons. Access to chemical-manufacturing facilities and suppliers around the globe provides terrorists the availability of precursors and chemical reagents, while faltering economic conditions can pave the way for theft or sale of the chemical agents themselves. A particularly troubling phenomenon is the availability of accurate information about the chemical properties, uses, and effects of CW agents on the Internet. This medium makes highly sensitive information available to virtually every person on earth.
