420 likes | 738 Views
Objectives. Students should gain an understanding of:Different types of chemical warfare agentsPoint detection technologiesStandoff detectorsNuclear weaponsBiological weapons. Introduction. Weapons of mass destruction inflict massive casualties by means of chemical, biological, and radiological
E N D
1. Chapter 16 Detecting Weapons of Mass Destruction
2. Objectives Students should gain an understanding of:
Different types of chemical warfare agents
Point detection technologies
Standoff detectors
Nuclear weapons
Biological weapons
3. Introduction Weapons of mass destruction inflict massive casualties by means of chemical, biological, and radiological or nuclear devices.
Such an attack would overwhelm local and state emergency responses.
Emergency personnel need to determine which weapon of mass destruction was used to bring appropriate emergency aid to victims.
4. Chemical Warfare Agents (1 of 8) Have the greatest potential for terrorist use
Are easy to obtain and make
Might be used in only small amounts to immobilize an entire city
5. Chemical Warfare Agents (2 of 8) Six types of CWA
Choking
Blister
Blood
Irritating
Incapacitating
Nerve
6. Chemical Warfare Agents (3 of 8) Choking agents
Stress the respiratory tract
Lead to a buildup of fluid in the lungs
May lead to asphyxiation (essentially drowning from your own bodily fluids)
Include chlorine gas, the first chemical agent used in modern warfare
7. Chemical Warfare Agents (4 of 8) Blister agents
Burn and blister the skin or any other part of the body
Lead to cell damage that begins immediately and becomes manifest 224 hours after exposure
Two major groups:
Sulfur mustard and nitrogen mustard
Arsenical vesicants
8. Chemical Warfare Agents (5 of 8) Blood agents
Interfere with the ability of the blood to transfer oxygen, resulting in asphyxiation
Can be fatal even in small doses
Must be treated with antidotes (if available) immediately after the poison is ingested
9. Chemical Warfare Agents (6 of 8) Irritating agents
Include tear gas, Mace, pepper spray
Riot-control agents
10. Chemical Warfare Agents (7 of 8) Incapacitating agents
Include LSD, 3-quinucildinyl benzilate, Agent 15
Designed to cause hallucinations, confusion, and motor coordination problems
11. Chemical Warfare Agents (8 of 8) Nerve agents
Include tabun, sarin, Soman, and Soviet nerve agent
Disrupt nerve-impulse transmission or cause peripheral nervous system effects
Victims lose muscle control and die within minutes from suffocation
Nerve impulses are transmitted in quick succession, and nerves, muscles, and other organs become overstimulated
12. Toxic Industrial Chemicals and Materials (1 of 2) Include gases, liquids, and solids
Are used throughout the world for legitimate purposes
May also be used by terrorists
13. Toxic Industrial Chemicals and Materials (2 of 2) The more toxic a chemical, the smaller the amount required to cause harm.
Some TIMs are only slightly less toxic than CWA and pose a serious threat to human health and surroundings.
14. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (1 of 7) Point detection technologies
Rely on a sensor that samples the environment around it
Used to warn individuals about the presence of a chemical agent or to map the boundaries of a contaminated area
Might potentially be used to indicate who has been contaminated and who has not
Currently being used in subways of major cities
15. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (2 of 7) Photo-ionization detector
Uses an UV light as a source of energy to dislodge electrons from any molecules entering the detector
Does not result in permanent change in the sample
Offers high sensitivity (low ppm or even ppb levels)
Cannot differentiate between chemicals
16. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (3 of 7) Surface acoustic wave detectors
Have superior selectivity for detecting specific chemical vapors
Detect only certain kinds of molecules and hence identify the class to which a chemical agent belongs
May include a chemical concentrator, which can more readily detect any chemical agents present in the sample
17. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (4 of 7) Colorimetric tubes
End of tube is broken off and air is sucked through the tube
Material in tube changes color as the reaction proceeds
More than 100 tubes are available
18. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (5 of 7) Disadvantages of colorimetric tubes
Responders must guess which agent was used so they can pick which tube to use for the test
First responders have to be in the hot zone to sample the air
19. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (6 of 7) Analytical instruments
Instruments can confirm the presence of specific CWA or TIC at the ppm or ppb level
Interpretation of data requires training in chemistry
20. Detection of Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Materials (7 of 7) Standoff detectors
React to distant events or hazards
Can warn of approaching clouds of CWA or TIM
Measure infrared radiation emitted or absorbed from the atmosphere
Are less dependable and more difficult to operate than point detectors
21. Nuclear Weapons (1 of 5) Threat is that nuclear weapons may fall into the hands of terrorists through theft or purchase
Dirty bombs use conventional explosives to spread nuclear contamination
Nuclear material and warheads from Russia were poorly protected following the Cold War
22. Nuclear Weapons (2 of 5) Types of nuclear radiation
Alpha particle: mass of 4 mass units, 2+ charge, identical to helium nucleus
Beta particle: identical to electron, negligible mass, 1- charge
Gamma ray: not made up of particles, no mass
All have sufficient energy to break chemical bonds and disrupt living and nonliving materials upon contact
23. Nuclear Weapons (3 of 5) Alpha, beta, and gamma rays are emitted from radioactive nuclei at different speeds and have different penetrating powers
Alpha particles: slowest, travel at 1/10 the speed of light
Beta particles: travel at almost the speed of light
Gamma rays: travel at the speed of light, are more penetrating than X-rays
24. Nuclear Weapons (4 of 5) Nuclear reactions
Nuclear reactions occur when a radioactive isotope of an element emits an alpha or beta particle.
Uranium has several radioactive isotopes that spontaneously emit alpha particles.
Spontaneous emission of an alpha particle from a uranium atom results in a different element (transmutation).
25. Nuclear Weapons (5 of 5) Radioisotope half-life
The more unstable an isotope, the more rapidly it will emit alpha or beta particles.
The rate of decay is expressed in terms of half-life: the time required for one-half of any quantity of the isotope to decay.
Many radioisotopes of radioactive wastes have long half-lives.
26. The Harmful Effects of Radiation on Humans (1 of 5) Why is radiation harmful?
The energy can knock electrons from atoms, forming positively charged ions.
By disrupting the normal workings of cells in living tissues, these ions can produce abnormalities in the genetic material DNA and increase a persons risk of cancer.
Cells that undergo rapid replication are readily damaged by radiation, which disrupts the mechanism by which they are reproduced.
27. The Harmful Effects of Radiation on Humans (2 of 5) Factors influencing radiation damage
Type and penetrating power of the radiation
Location of the radiation (inside or outside of the body)
Type of tissue exposed to the radiation
Amount and frequency of exposure
28. The Harmful Effects of Radiation on Humans (3 of 5) Ability to enter the body from the outside environment:
alpha < beta < X-rays < gamma
Amount of damage produced internally by radiation:
gamma < X-rays < beta < alpha
29. The Harmful Effects of Radiation on Humans (4 of 5) Damage caused by radiation depends on three characteristics of the radiation:
The number of disintegrations per second
The radiations energy
The radiations penetrating power
30. The Harmful Effects of Radiation on Humans (5 of 5) Units of radiation
Curie: measures nuclear disintegrations; represents a very high dose of radiation
Rad (radiation absorbed dose): measures the amount of energy released in tissue when it is struck by radiation
Rem: takes into account the potential damage to living tissues caused by ionizing radiation
31. Detection of Radiation Geiger counter
Modified cathode-ray tube
Gamma spectrometer
Detects radioisotopes that are gamma emitters
Quantifies the amount of gamma radiation present
Identifies which radioisotopes are present
32. Biological Weapons (1 of 10) Biological weapons were banned in 1975
Biological terrorism: dispersal of disease-producing biological agents within the civilian population
Bioterrorism: intentional or threatened use of viruses, bacteria, fungi, or toxins from living organisms to produce death or disease in humans, animals, or plants
33. Biological Weapons (2 of 10) Challenges for law enforcement
BWs are odorless, colorless, and tasteless.
They are readily acquired.
They are easily transported.
Small amounts produce major damage.
BWs can be released in a variety of ways.
34. Biological Weapons (3 of 10) Challenges for terrorists
It is difficult to control the direction of dispersal.
BWs could infect the terrorists themselves.
Massive quantities may be needed depending on the target (e.g., a water supply).
It might be difficult to avoid detection.
Particles transmitted through the air must be small enough to be absorbed into the respiratory system.
35. Biological Weapons (4 of 10) Government efforts to thwart bioterrorism
CDC has fine-tuned its reporting system for suspicious events
DOD has placed a high priority on research and development to detect credible threats
Credible threat: the presence of a biowarfare agent in sufficient quantity to kill people who come in contact with it
Airborne pulsed laser system can scan lower altitudes upwind from a target area
Military is developing a detection unit to be mounted on a vehicle
36. Biological Weapons (5 of 10) Detection of biological agents
Finding the agent in the environment
Making a medical diagnosis of the agents effects on victims
37. Biological Weapons (6 of 10) Challenges in BW detection
Current BW-detection systems are not as reliable as CWA-detection systems
BW detectors are slow to recognize the presence of a pathogen
Detectors have difficulty discriminating between pathogenic and nonpathogenic organisms
Detectors lack adequate sensitivity
38. Biological Weapons (7 of 10) Immunoassays
Antibodies can be used to detect the organism of interest.
When a person comes in contact with an antigen or a certain biological agent, the body reacts by developing antibodies.
39. Biological Weapons (8 of 10) Anthrax Quick ELISA test
Was first point test approved for detecting antibodies to anthrax
Gives quick, easy-to-interpret results
40. Biological Weapons (9 of 10) DNA PCR-based technologies
Can be used to amplify a biological agents DNA
Includes the Ruggedized Advanced Pathogen Identification Device (RAPID
41. Biological Weapons (10 of 10) RAPID components
Thermal cycler to amplify DNA probes
Highly sensitive fluorescence detector to determine whether the sample contains a BW
RAPID capabilities
Uses hydrolysis with fluorescent dyes attached to test for the presence of specific organisms
Includes a carousel that can take 32 samples
Offers probe kits for 10 different BWs, though all 10 tests cannot be carried out simultaneously