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***FYI*** JUST SOME UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT NUCLEAR WAR COULD MEAN
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Posted on 10/05/2001 5:28:17 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK

***FYI*** JUST SOME UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT NUCLEAR WAR COULD MEAN
NUCLEAR SITES < /p>

TOP SCIENTISTS WARNS OF BIOLOGICLE WAR THREAT

What are the signs that a poison gas attack (or a chemical accident) might be taking place?

One of the many unsettling characteristics of chemical agents is that some of them cannot be seen or smelled. Citizens can protect themselves by observing the following rule of thumb: If a single person is on the ground, choking or seizing, it is likely this individual is having a heart attack or some sort of seizure. However, if several people are down, coughing, vomiting, or seizing, they could be reacting to the presence of a toxic substance. Evacuate the area immediately and dial 911, making sure to tell the dispatcher that a hazardous gas may be present.

Indoors: If indoors, exit the building as rapidly as possible. Once outside, if you believe that you may have been exposed to the toxic substance, discarding your modesty and shedding your clothes could save your life. Taking off your outer clothing can remove roughly 80 percent of the contamination hazard. Look for a nearby fountain, pool, or other source of water so that you can quickly and thoroughly rinse any skin that may have been exposed (e.g., jump in the pool). Studies show that water alone is an effective decontaminant. Rescuers will arrive within minutes, and firefighters will hook up hoses and spray everyone to decontaminate them. Try to remain calm. Rescuers will triage everyone so that they can give medical attention to the most seriously affected individuals first. Even if you are showing no symptoms of exposure (e.g., eye problems), paramedics and physicians on scene will want to give you a check-up and advise you about follow-up care. Police officers will also want to speak with you about what you may have observed that could help them catch the individual(s) responsible.

Outdoors: Birds and other small animals would very quickly be overcome by a poison gas, so if birds are dropping from the sky, that is another warning sign of toxic trouble. The most important thing to do is to get a physical barrier between you and the toxic cloud. Get indoors quickly--preferably into a building but even being inside a car will help. Shut all windows and doors and turn off the air conditioner. Try to plug any air drafts (e.g., under doors). This technique is known as sheltering in place. Call 911 and notify authorities that a hazardous gas may be present. If that is indeed the case, the wind will carry the toxic hazard away within a relatively short period of time. Stay indoors, and turn on the television and/or radio for news and announcements. Authorities will notify you when it is safe to go outside. If you are at home, put your clothes in a plastic bag and take a shower, which will help remove any contamination that might have occurred before you were able to get indoors.

Should citizens buy gas masks?

The chances that terrorists will turn to poisonous substances instead of conventional bombs are very, very remote. However, if it makes you feel better to purchase a gas mask, by all means, go ahead. Please make sure that you are properly fitted---a loose gas mask defeats the purpose. Also, please ensure that you are properly instructed in the use of the mask.

Personally, I do not carry a gas mask with me. I take the subway to and from work daily, and I continue to go to meetings and other events in large buildings.

Note also that the only nation that has ever issued gas masks to all of its citizens is the state of Israel.

What are the signs of a biological attack?

By now, the media has repeatedly broadcast that biological agents can be dispersed from commercial sprayers, such as crop dusters. Often omitted from these reports is the fact that, among other complications, commercial equipment would have to be modified for such an attack strategy to have a chance of success.

Still, crop dusters are out of place over cities, and the FBI has already placed restrictions about where they can fly. Were I to see one over a metropolitan area, I would immediately go indoors, shut all windows and doors, turn off the air conditioner, and notify authorities. The same would hold true for any other unusual spraying activities. For instance, a person tending a rooftop garden would not raise my suspicions, but an individual deliberately spraying a substance from a rooftop, or a truck dispersing a misty substance through side vents, would.

Keep in mind that occasionally local authorities employ helicopters and other means to spray approved pesticides to control mosquitoes and other pests. Officially sanctioned spraying activities are announced well in advance, repeatedly. A call to local authorities can confirm whether any spraying that you might observe would fall into that category.

What can citizens do to protect themselves from a possible biological disaster?

Frankly, it may not be apparent that a biological agent has been dispersed until people begin falling ill several days later . For most biological agents, the initial symptoms would resemble a flu-like malaise. Across the nation, local, state, and federal authorities are putting capabilities in place to improve the ability to detect abnormal public health problems rapidly---to distinguish between multiple cases of the flu or a possible biological agent attack.

As the normal cold and flu season rolls around in the next few months, please do not jump to the conclusion that you have been infected with a biowarfare agent if you begin to feel achy or have the sniffles. In fact, people catch colds throughout the year. You are more likely to get hit by lightning than to be the victim of a bioterrorist attack.

If, however, you hear reports that a biological agent may have just been released, stay indoors or get indoors right away, shut all windows and doors, and turn off the air conditioning system. The most worrisome method of biological agent dissemination is aerosol dispersal. For a biowarfare aerosol to make you ill, microscopic particles must find their way into your lungs. Therefore, putting a physical barrier in between you and a possible aerosol cloud is a key self-protection step.

Of course, a gas mask can provide excellent respiratory protection. Alternately, a surgical mask or one of the respiratory protection masks recommended for various construction and laboratory tasks would help to screen out particulate matter that might be in the air. To protect your airway, masks need to be fitted snugly over the mouth and nose.

The Army Handbook on Medical Management of Biological Casualties recommends that medical personnel attending patients infected with most biowarfare agents employ what is known as "standard precautions." This term essentially means wearing a surgical mask and gloves. Standard precautions are effective against anthrax, brucellosis, Q fever, tularemia, viral encephalitis, botulinum toxin, and Staphylococcal enterotoxin b.

Should citizens stockpile antibiotics?

NO. Keeping a stockpile of antibiotics is, in short, a bad idea. While antibiotics would be used to treat individuals who might fall ill during a disease outbreak, the use of these medications should always be done at the direction of a physician. People who self-medicate themselves or their children could very well do more harm than good. Overuse of antibiotics, as well as their misuse (to treat illnesses such as colds), is harmful as it reduces the ability of these drugs to work in serious health emergencies.

The US government keeps a cache of antibiotics and other medical supplies that can arrive in an area in which an outbreak has occurred within 12 hours.

What precautions can citizens take with their water supply?

Poisoning of a city's water supply is much more easily said than done. However, citizens can protect themselves by boiling their drinking water, which will kill any microorganisms that may have survived the municipal filtration systems. Another option is to use a personal water filtration system.

Where should citizens turn for instructions in the event of a chemical or biological disaster?

The electronic and print media can be very useful sources of information, especially when events are developing at a rapid pace. However, reporters can occasionally pass along faulty or inaccurate information. Local, state, and national public health, public safety, and emergency management officials would be the most reliable sources of information. As soon as the circumstances are understood, these officials will call press conferences to convey accurate information and instructions to the public. Subsequent press conferences will be called as frequently as possible to update the public about the steps that local, state, and federal government organizations are taking to address the situation and what individuals can do to help themselves and their fellow citizens. In a genuine disaster, the Emergency Broadcast System would also probably be employed to give instructions to citizens.



TOPICS: Editorial; Miscellaneous
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1 posted on 10/05/2001 5:28:17 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Your title has nothing to do with the text of your post.
2 posted on 10/05/2001 5:31:19 PM PDT by denydenydeny
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
OOPS

DOCTORS WARN OF BIOLOGICLE TERROR WITHIN TEN YEARS [1999]

there thats better

3 posted on 10/05/2001 5:31:30 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Understand God's mercy : Milosevic and nuclear holocaust ...
4 posted on 10/05/2001 5:31:48 PM PDT by Milosevic2
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
"It's Christmas at ground zero, there's music in the air
The sleigh bells are ringin' and the carolers a singin' while the air raid sirens blare...
"
5 posted on 10/05/2001 5:32:39 PM PDT by StoneColdGOP
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
How is this breaking news? BTW, nothing in the text says anything about nuclear war.
6 posted on 10/05/2001 5:33:16 PM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: denydenydeny
It has everything to do with it if you dont understand what it is you will never understand what it means !!
7 posted on 10/05/2001 5:33:48 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
If BL had nukes he would have used them on 911. We have nukes, and we will use them if needed.

I think this argument that we don't want to upset the terrorists because then, they'll really want to hurt us is insane (not you, the argument).

8 posted on 10/05/2001 5:33:55 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
so... war isn't pleasant? Hmph. I never would've guessed.
9 posted on 10/05/2001 5:34:25 PM PDT by Teacher317
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Poisoning of a city's water supply is much more easily said than done

This might be true for poisons dumped in reservoirs or municipal wells, but how well are water mains protected from something being pumped into them from a house or business?

10 posted on 10/05/2001 5:35:33 PM PDT by drlevy88
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
bttt
11 posted on 10/05/2001 5:39:58 PM PDT by Don Myers
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
just a note to the author:

A gas mask would not help you if there was a biological attack. Have you ever seen the suits the haz-mat people wear when training with the actual bio-agents ? A gas mask might be good for mustard gas or other dangerous gases, but as for other chems you're SOL.

12 posted on 10/05/2001 5:40:51 PM PDT by Mr. Snrub
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To: StoneColdGOP
It's Christmas at Ground Zero,
The Button has been pressed,
The radio just let us know
That this is not a test!
13 posted on 10/05/2001 5:41:47 PM PDT by Poohbah
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To: SamAdams76
Its not in breaking news

you were expecting maybe BLOOD AND GUTS AND TERROR? well sorry this is for referance why dont people read the posts instead of trying to be critics? do people think of war as just killing ? going to die ? what of those who survive ? what will they do depend on the government ? your state? your family? what? some of this information is useful some of it is dated but could still be very useful

Besides its better than watching bin ladin dance and calling him on his cell phone what the hell kinds of posts are those ?

14 posted on 10/05/2001 5:43:03 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
< covered ears > NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA! I'm not listening.

What you're supplying here is what to do in the event of a Global Nuclear situation.
Ain't never gonna to happen.....IF we properly scare the living sh*t out of the entire Middle East and China.

I hope President Bush listens to "the other guy", and not Secretary of State Powell.

We're going to show the world we're willing to feed the ones that got away. We're going to kill all the rest. And, every other country that ever F*CKS with the United States again!

Yep, I'd definitely vote for him again in 2004. (I can dream, can't I?)

15 posted on 10/05/2001 5:43:36 PM PDT by DCPatriot
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To: StoneColdGOP
"let 'em fly, let 'em fly, good bye...."
16 posted on 10/05/2001 5:44:02 PM PDT by Nuke'm Glowing
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To: Mr. Snrub
The coal miners had it right. Hang your canary and his cage out in the tree. When he passes out, head for the nearest hazmat crew.
17 posted on 10/05/2001 5:46:32 PM PDT by meenie
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
BIOLOGICLE WARFARE SITES

Looks like a bad link. And maybe you're under attack already.

18 posted on 10/05/2001 5:46:51 PM PDT by TKEman
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Being raised in the 50s when nuclear war was a primary concern, and Sputnik was 44 years ago yesterday [ICBMs] and having read On the Shore, and many other novels dealing with the aftermath, I would be beyond worrying. if we get a general nuclear war, it's going to be bad beyond understanding. There may be survivors, but it's going to be a long, long time until earth is a pleasant place again. The danger is great right now, which pleases the OBLs, no doubt.
19 posted on 10/05/2001 5:51:00 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: ATOMIC_PUNK
Wrong about the gas masks A-PUNK. Thr British issued gas masks to their population during the Battle of Britain. (Thats in 1940 to those of you educated in California)
20 posted on 10/05/2001 5:51:12 PM PDT by elbucko
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