Terrorism Awareness: Weapons Of Mass Destruction: Part I, Chemical Agents

摘要

This article written in 4 parts. It covers the fields of terrorism awareness and some of the weapons used by terrorists: chemical, biological, radiological and explosive weapons. The Threat At 2 PM, on any normal workday, your security office receives a phone call. The caller states that there is a bomb planted on you facility set to go off in one hour. What is your facilities procedure to handle this situation? Can you handle it alone? Is there a real bomb or is it just another fake call? These and many others are all questions that will be asked when this type of situation occurs at you facility.Terrorism, yes or no?That is another good question. To answer it and the many other questions that will be asked, we first must understand what terrorism is. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives.” In short, terrorism is an act or the threat of an act, by someone to further their cause, whatever it may be. For many years, we in the United States have seen terrorist acts all over the world. To a certain degree we have felt like we were untouchable. Well, as we all know, we are all touchable. Terrorists have the power, money, knowledge and / or ability to strike anyone, anywhere in the world. These types of incidents don’t just happen in the big cities of America. Any town or city can be hit. There are two categories of terrorism, domestic and international. Domestic terrorism involves groups or individuals whose activities, conducted in the US without foreign influence, are directed at elements of the United States Government or its population. International terrorism involves activity committed by foreign-based groups or individuals who are either directed by countries or groups outside the United States or whose activities transcend national boundaries. Don’t think you are not a target just because you’re not a political figurehead or your facility is not the largest kid on the block. These targets may have protective measures in place, reducing the chance of an attack; whereas you or your facility may have no protective measures. Past Terrorist Events The World Trade Center Bombing, 1993 The aim was to destroy the faith in the government’s ability to protect its citizens. The goal was to collapse one tower into the other, destroying them both. This would have pushed the number of victims to over 100,000. Tokyo, Japan, 1995 A low concentration of Sarin nerve agent was released in the subway. 13 dead; 5510 treated, including 165 first responders. Approximately 5,000 were psychological casualties. Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1995 168 dead with hundreds injured. Thomas Lewis Lavy, December 1995 Arrested and charged with the possession of a toxic substance, “Ricin”. Olympic Park Bombing, 1996 A backpack with small device explodes, just after a garbled bomb threat to 911. Atlanta, Georgia, Women’s Clinic, 1997 Device explodes outside the closed women’s clinic. One hour later, a second device explodes only a few yards from the Command Post and Media. Its intent was to kill and injure the responders. Birmingham, Alabama, Women’s Clinic, 1998 Bomb explodes killing an off duty police officer and critically injuring a nurse. Kenya and Tanzania, Africa, 1999 Two US Embassies were bombed. Together 257 dead and 5,000 injured. In the past, acts of terrorism were aimed at certain groups, with the intent of producing some type of political effect. Today, no one is immune. The targets are the citizens of the area and even worse, the Emergency Response Personnel (ERP) there to protect them.Other areas that fall into the list of possible targets include but are not limited to Public assemblies Public buildings Mass Transit Systems Telecommunication facilities Industrial facilities Place with high economic