BLOCK 3: TERRORISM RESPONSE Flashcards
what are the CBRNE agents
chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear, explosive
international vs. domestic terrorism
international: aka cross-border terrorism, foreign agents
domestic: operation originating within borders of target country
what is the motivation behind state terrorists
established government using terror to control all or part of its populace
motivation behind religious extremists
see other religions or “nonbelievers” as worthy targets for death
right-wing extremists motivation
formed as militias or gangs and motivated by conspiracy theories
left-wing extremists motivation
want to overturn traditional establishment and corporations
issue-oriented groups motivation
seek to effect change through legal/socially acceptable means
smaller group may break off and look toward violence
separatists motivation
seek political, economic, social freedom
seek to kill or evict foreigners
nacroterrorists motivation
use of terror to take control of region, politics, government for drug trafficking
pathologic terrorists motivation
none besides desire to terrorize others
small groups or lone wolves
National Terrorism Advisory System
Dept of Homeland Security issues alerts through this in response to threats to US
elevated vs imminent terrorist threats
elevated: no specific info about time or location
imminent: believed to be impending or occurring soon
the most senior paramedic act as _____ on terrorism scene until relieved by ______
medical branch director
supervisor or EMS physician
what is the patient generator
source that is causing people to become sick or injured
what toxin laces mailed letters
ricin (chemical agent)
biotoxins and examples
poisons derived from plants or animals
examples: ricin
blister agents and examples
aka vesicants, cause blisters
example: gas or lewisite
blood agents and examples
poisons absorbed by and affecting function of blood
examples: CO, cyanide
caustic agents and examples
chemicals that burn or corrode human tissue
examples: hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen chloride
chocking/pulmonary agents and examples
chemicals that cause severe irritation and swelling of respiratory tissues
examples: ammonia, chlorine, bromine, phosgene
incapacitating agents and examples
cause sedation and altered consciousness
examples: fentanyl, opioids
long-acting anticoagulants and examples
poisons that prevent blood clotting
example: superwarfarin
poisonous metals and examples
metals inherently poisonous to living creatures
examples: arsenic, mercury
nerve agents and examples
chemicals that disrupt nervous system and function of acetylcholine
examples: sarin, soman, VX, novichok
organic solvents and examples
chemicals that damage living tissues by dissolving fats and oils
example: benzene
riot control agents and examples
highly irritating by nonlethal
examples: mace or tear gas
toxic alcohols and examples
alcohols inherently poisoning by targeting heart, kidneys, nervous system
example: ethylene glycol
vomiting agents and example
chemicals that induce uncontrollable nausea and vomiting
example: adamsite
chemical persistence and volatility
how long the agent will stay on surface before evaporating
what two agents kill within seconds to minutes
nerve and metabolic agents
antidote for blood agents
cyanokit
antidote for incapacitating agents
naloxone
G agents
developed by German scientists in WW2
include sarin, soman, tabun, and VX nerge agent
symptoms of nerve agent exposure
DUMBELS - diarrhea, urination, miosis, muscle weakness, bradycardia, bronchospasm, bronchorrhea, emesis, lacrimation, seizures, salivation, sweating
dissemination
means by which terrorist spreads the agent
disease vector
animal that spreads disease
communicability
how easily disease is able to spread
contagious
how communicability is high, the person is considered this
incubation
period between the person’s exposure to the agent and the onset of symptoms
virus
germ that requires living host to multiply and survive
can be fought with antivirals
smallpox symptoms
temp of 101-104
all lesions are identical in their development
start on face/extremities and move toward chest and abdomen
smallpox incubation period and duration of illness
incubation period: 10-12 days
duration: 4 weeks
viral hemorrhagic fever examples and symptoms
symptoms: blood in body seeps out of tissues and blood vessels
examples: ebola, rift valley, yellow fever
bacteria
self-sufficient (don’t need a host)
more complex and larger than viruses
treated with antibiotics
anthrax
deadly bacterium that lies dormant in a spore until exposed to optimal temp and moisture
bubonic plague
natural vectors of rodents and fleas
infects lymphatic system and enlarges lymph nodes
NOT contagious
pneumonic plague
lung infection from inhaling plague bacteria
contagious
botulinum
most powerful known toxin
paralyzes body and patient goes into respiratory arrest
ricin
mash left over from castor bean after making castor oil
causes pulmonary edema, resp and circulatory failure
worried well
healthy people seeking medical treatment because they are exhibiting symptoms associated with particular illness or incident they learned about
syndromic surveillance
monitoring by health departments of patients to detect unusual influx of patients with symptoms to discover outbreaks early
“push packs”
medications delivered in large containers to points of distribution
ionizing radiation
energy emitted in form of rays or particles from radioactive material that is unstable and attempting to stabilize itself in process of decay
alpha rays
least harmful
can be stopped by skin or piece of paper
beta radiation
requires layer of clothing to stop
gamma rays
x-rays
require several inches of lead or concrete to stop
neutron energy radiation
most powerful radiation form
penetrates lead, requires several feet of concrete to be stopped
how is nuclear energy artificially released
splitting radioactive atoms which results in immense amount of energy in form of heat
what is a special atomic demolition munition
“suitcase nuke”
3 levels of radiation exposure
radioactive exposure: exposure occurred, body is not contaminated
external contamination: skin was contaminated by not inside of body
internal contamination: inside of body is contaminated
what is the inverse square law
describes how radiation travels from its source
if you double distance from radiation source, you decrease your amount of exposure by factor of 4
3 protective measures for radiation
time, distance, shielding
what are IEDs
homemade bombs
3 types of IEDs
package, vehicle-borne, suicide bombs
what are package IEDs usually packed with
“enhancements” like nuts, bolts, other projectiles
what is commonly used for vehicle-borne IEDs
ANFO (ammonium nitrate and fuel oil)
two most common blast injuries
tympanic membrane rupture and barotrauma
most common fatal blast injury
“blast lung” barotrauma characterized by triad of apnea, bradycardia, hypotension
military abbreviation for sarin
GB
military abbreviation for soman
GD
military abbreviation for tabun
GA
