Individual and Group Behavior in Toxic and Contained Environments

摘要

In the present world climate, chemical and biological warfare (CBW) is a realistic threat to the U.S. fighting force and to the U.S. Air Force in particular which must operate from fixed bases performing highly technical tasks. CBW stirs terror in individuals, both because of particular psychological fears and because of the tremendous difficulties presented by the need to continue to operate after a CBW attack. Through a series of presentations and discussions among world experts, this conference attempts to identify what is known and what is not known about individual and group behavior in toxic environments. The historical aspects of CBW are presented as well as the stress and behaviors seen in acute and chronic disasters. The particular terror of CBW and the perception of risk is another somewhat unique aspect of CBW explored in the discussions. Related contained environments--submarines, human habitats under the ocean, the Antarctic, and the space lab-- offer some analogues from which to make hypotheses about life in the Survivable Collective Protection System-Medical (SCPS-M). Keywords: Death, Disaster, Contained environment, Trauma, Nerve agents, Vietnam, Casualty, Risk perception, Psychiatry, Social psychology. (SDW)