Chemical and Biological Uses of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Beginning in the early 1990’s, a series of governmental actions against biological warfare and bioterrorism were instituted, including the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control Act, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, and the Defense Authorization Act. These acts were meant to either dissuade bioterrorists or boost the government’s power in defensive biological warfare research (Lanthrop). In April of 2000, the CDC published a guide, Biological and Chemical Terrorism: Strategic Plan for Preparedness and Response, which covered “planning, detection and surveillance, laboratory analysis, emergency response, and communications” (“CDC”). The APIC and CDC have co-written a guide for hospitals who come into contact with biological agents to follow (“CDC”). To sum up these guidebooks, it is important to look out for the following incidences: an irregular rapid increase in disease occurrences, an epidemic curve, an unusual pattern or time for a disease to thrive, clusters of patients from the same area, large numbers of fatal cases, simultaneous reports of animal deaths (Lanthrop).

Chapter thirteen of the textbook, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, examines a wide range of techniques, set up, to help the United States, or U.S., in becoming prepared for a potential biological terrorist attack. A portion of the techniques mentioned throughout chapter thirteen were early warning detection systems. These systems are known as the Autonomous Detection system, and the Biohazard Detection System (Ryan, 327-329). Although both these detection systems have their benefits, the one that has conveyed more consideration over the years is the Biohazard Detection

“Bioterrorism remains a major threat for the United States despite more than $65 billion spent on protecting the country from myriad dangers, the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center said in its latest report Wednesday. The center's Bio-Response Report Card evaluated U.S. preparedness for countering threats from bioterrorism and found the country remains vulnerable to multiple threats and "largely unprepared for a large-scale bioterrorist attack."”(UPI.com, 2011). There have been over a dozen leading U.S. bio-defense experts that have taken part in figuring out where we are exactly as a county and what the effects of a terroristic attack

The chemical sector within the United States is a necessary element to the economy, security, and the well-being of personnel. The appeal of a chemical sector and the destruction it could create would be an ideal target for terrorists to strike. Facilities within the United States use, manufacture, store, transport, or deliver chemicals that encompass everything from petroleum, refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and hardware stores (Department of Homeland Security, 2010). Multiple facilities that utilize chemicals could be exposed to a treat, which leaves the facility vulnerable to attacks. The consequences of the attack could be detrimental to both public health and safety; therefore, the goals for the chemical sector are to (Department of Homeland Security, 2010,

In addition to conventional threats, chemical, biological and radiological weapons of mass destruction have far greater lethality and scope and pose a greater risk than they have in the past. The kkk terrorist attacks demonstrate the extremism and the uncivilized society of terrorist techniques and challenge the traditional approach to security. The Secret Service is challenged to identify and neutralize potential threats by individuals and groups in this increasingly sophisticated, mobile, and violence prone environment.

The Germans had the far most advanced chemical weapons during each war from WWI to WWII, the Germans were the first to use chemical weapons on the battlefield during World War I Phosgene, and Sulfur Mustard Gas on the allies. Furthermore, during WWII the Germans not only used these chemical poisonous weapons on the battlefield but used hydrogen cyanide on Jews who were under captivity killing millions during the war. Furthermore, Tabu was discovered by the Schrader at IG Farben who connected Phosphorous to cyanide gas and was way more effective than the chemical weapons from WWI, and could kill a victim within 20 minutes of inhaling it.

Chemical attacks conducted by Aum Shinrikyo in 1995 and the Iraqi government against the Kurdish people in the late 1980s have not had a significant impact on counterterrorism preparedness against chemical weapons in the United States. Even though Aum Shinrikyo had a level of expertise with chemical agents and the ability to produce them, it was proven that attacks of this nature are easy to carry out but difficult to gain the desired effect from. Initially, Aum thought their attack would kill thousands if not more however the generally poor quality of the sarin gas coupled with the inadequate dispersal devices degraded the attack’s effectiveness significantly (A case study on the Aum Shinrikyo, 1995, Sect 5, Para 3). Since this was the most effective chemical attack conducted by a non-state actor, one can readily see the difficulties involved in effectively dispersing gas, even in a relatively enclosed area. It is exactly these difficulties experienced by the Japanese terrorists that have led America into a relative calm over a threat of chemical terrorism as it would likely prove relatively ineffective in the absence of direct assistance from another nation.

After events such as 9/11, terrorism still instills fear into America’s population. Why? Simply because it is the one danger the American people cannot control. Biological terrorism is not always feared or worried about, but it is a genuine possibility and a lethal surprise that causes devastation. If not prepared, these deadly pathogens could easily kill large amounts of people. With tensions on the rise, what will the government or citizens do to defend themselves? If something happens, how will Americans be able to care for themselves and families? Bioterrorism is becoming a serious threat that needs to be eradicated to gain biosecurity and to ensure the safety of Americans.

During World War I, chemical warfare was utilized as a Weapon of Mass Destruction to commit large scale attacks against oncoming forces. Wartime scientists used chemicals such as chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas to cause blindness, asphyxiation, and death (Fitzgerald, G 2008). During these attacks, over 1.3 million people suffered chemically induced injuries and more than 90,000 killed by chemical weapons. The devastation caused by chemical warfare led to the gathering of 160 nations to sign treaties banning the use of lethal chemical armaments. On both a national and local level, emergency managers work to evaluate the potential of terrorist attacks of all magnitudes and means.

I was Interested reading about the variety of new weapons that were utilized during WWI. It is horrifying to think about chemical warfare and the vast and indiscriminate damage and death that it can cause. The use of animals during the war caught my attention. Pigeons were used to carry messages to and from headquarters and to the front lines. Dogs were also used as messengers and to lay down telegraph wires. However, I did read that German Shepherd dogs were killed due to the fact of being “German.” It makes a person realize how far our communications have come since WWI and how we take things for granted.

America’s paranoia is misplaced. Since the onset of the Cold War, Americans have feared and prepared for a nuclear attack. However, less attention has been paid to relatively more feasible threats: biological and chemical weapons. It is without a doubt nuclear weapons, if ever used could inflict an unparalleled level of damage. However, the likelihood of a biological or chemical attack on US citizens is greater. The mutual deterrence of the United State’s second-strike capability makes a nuclear attack against Americans unlikely. Meanwhile Chemical and biological are widespread and accessible to sub national actors who are not deterred from attacking by American nuclear and conventional forces. Both chemical and biological weapons present are

Experts believe that terrorist use of chemical agents is an event with low probability, but potentially high consequences. While terrorist groups may or may not have an increased interest in chemical agent acquisition and use, the domestic vulnerability of the United States to chemical attack remains an issue. Both the United States and Russia have signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and are reducing, and eventually eliminating, their chemical weapon stockpiles.1 The possibility that terrorist groups might obtain insecure chemical weapons led to increased scrutiny of declared Libyan chemical weapon stockpiles following the fall of the Qadhafi regime. Experts have expressed similar concerns regarding the

Chemical weapons had been used for centuries by various peoples around the world, but toxic gasses gained major popularity amongst the European nations at the start of World War I. The Germans, while they were not the first European power to use poisonous gasses as weapons, are credited with being the main developers and assailants of chemical weapons throughout the early 20th century. Poisonous gasses had many rapid changes and modifications during the time of World War I, were ominous forces on the battlefield, and affected the world for decades after their debut on April 22, 1915.

Throughout history different terrorist groups have used a variety of methods to attack innocent civilians and infrastructures. Groups such as Aum Shinirikyo, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and other domestic terrorists have been known to attack innocent communities by using IEDs, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Attacks, such as the Sarin Attack in Tokyo in 1995, is a prime example in which a terrorist group, Aum Shinirikyo, used a chemical nerve agent to attack citizens in Japanese subway. These chemical attacks as well as other WMDs pose unique threats for first responders. It is important to consider these threats as well as the time, location, number of anticipated causalities, and the type of chemical agent used when responding to a chemical attack. It is the responsibility of officials on a local, state, and federal level to facilitate not only the initial response in a chemical attack but also the recovery and cleanup efforts weeks after.

For starters, according to the DHS website, after the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, (U.S.) the DHS has developed four specific elements that help the United States Biodefense. These programs are under the four categories of Threat Awareness, Prevention and Protection, Surveillance and Detection, and finally, Response and Recovery (Department of Homeland Security, 2015). Thus, there is still so much people do not know about biological terrorism. Thankfully, the DHS has over the years assigned intelligence analysts, as well as biological specialists to conduct laboratory research and experiments so that they may gain a better understanding of how these biological agents work (Department of Homeland Security, 2015). Even though the DHS helps protect the nation by providing an early warning system of bioterrorist attacks, bioterrorism is still extremely difficult to detect and more measurers need to be taken by agencies, such as the DHS to help prevent future