Ch. 6 Terrorism Flashcards
The unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives
CFR definition of Terrorism
NFPA 472 Operational philosophy:
Responders cannot safely and effectively respond to a terrorism or criminal scenario if they do not ______________.
First understand basic hazardous material response
What is different during an incident with criminal intent? (2)
Landscape upon which that incident is handled AND
Interagency cooperation that must occur
Terrorists are motivated by ______ and choose their targets they believe will _________ or ____________.
A cause
Help them advance.
Hi-light their political/social agenda
Terrorists choose a method of attack they think will _________ or __________.
Make the desired statement.
Achieve the maximum results
Even if no specific threats have been made, certain types of _________, __________ or ___________ should be viewed as potential targets.
Occupancies.
Landmarks.
Critical infrastructure
POTENTIAL targets for terrorists can be classified into three broad categories:
Infrastructure (bridges, tunnels, subways, hospitals).
Symbolic (monuments, embassies, institutions, religious).
Civilian (large # of people, malls, schools, sports stadiums)
Disruption of _______ would have a direct impact on emergency response agencies.
Community’s 911 system OR
Public safety radio network
infrastructure
Terrorism can ALSO be classified according to the TYPE of target:
Ecoterrorism (environmental causes, animals).
Agroterrorism (chem/bio attacks agricultural or food supply).
Cyberterrorism (govt, industrial, or private computer systems)
Move to cloud-based and software as a service (SaaS) has concentrated risk
To HIGHER levels than ever before
Most frequent terrorist ACTS
Bombings
Each year, _______ of explosives are stolen from construction sites, mines and military facilities.
Thousands of pounds
________ are the most common and prevalent WEAPON used to cause intentional harm.
Explosives
________ is any explosive device that is fabricated from readily available materials.
IED
Most common IED
Pipe bomb
Most pipe bombs are ________ that contain _________ or _________ and are ignited by a hobby fuse.
Simple devices.
Black powder.
Smokeless powder
A ______ or ________ or ________ could be added to a pipe bomb to create a much more complicated and dangerous incident.
Chemical.
Biological agent.
Radiological material
Secondary devices are intended to kill or injure ________, _______, ________, ______ or _________.
Emergency responders. Law enforcement personnel. Spectators. Bystanders. News reporters
Secondary
Terrorists have used this tactic to _______ or simply to _______.
Attack investigators and/or emergency responders.
Increase the levels of fear and chaos
Incident with potential explosive device - steps (4)
Remove all civilians and establish perimeter (safe distance).
Establish command post and staging area (according to SOP).
Emergency action plan (accidental detonation by bomb squad).
Forward staging area
Type of command for potential explosive device
“Joint command structure” (commonly referred to as a unified command)
Actions following an explosion
As a first responder, your first priority should be to ensure ___________, followed by __________
Your own safety.
Ensuring safety of the SCENE
In any incident following an explosion, follow ________.
Departmental procedures
Greatest THREAT posed by terrorists is _________
The use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) agents
Take care and be extra observant when responding to incidents __________________ or ________________.
Where large numbers of victims are found.
Where an explosion or shooting has occurred at a mass-gathering event
__________ have the potential to kill or injure large numbers of people.
CHEMICAL agents
Mitigating an accidental release of chlorine gas, however, requires the same safety precautions as mitigating ___________.
An intentional release of chlorine gas
_____, _____, and ______ were used in WWI.
Phosgene, chlorine and mustard agents
Despite its legitimate uses, _________ is classified as a pulmonary agent (choking agent).
Chlorine
The extent of dissemination of a toxic gas or suspended liquid particles depends on ______, _______, _______, and ________.
Because these factors can change quickly, it is ________ to predict the exact direction that might be taken by a chemical release cloud.
Wind direction, wind speed, air temp, humidity at time of release.
Difficult
Are toxic chemical agents that attack the central nervous system
Nerve agents
Nerve agents are similar to some pesticides (organophosphates) but much more toxic-in some cases ____ to ______ times more toxic than similar pesticides.
100 to 1000
death in MINUTES
Effectiveness of (nerve) agent (2)
How long in the air.
How widely dispersed
When a person is exposed to nerve agent, symptoms of that exposure will become evident within __________.
MINUTES
Nerve agent exposure: sympathetic or parasympathetic?
BOTH
Duodote amounts
Atropine - 2.1 mg (peak levels 5 minutes).
2 Pam - 600 mg (peak 15-20 minutes)
Age range for duodote
18-55 yoa.
Not expect to administer for SERIOUS signs/symptoms and have patient recover right away.
Atropine and 2-Pam reverse/treat
Atropine - muscarinic/SLUDGE.
2-Pam - muscle and breathing
Aging time?
for soman and sarin?
Certain period of time where Duodote becomes ineffective. Soman - 2 minutes
Sarin - 3-4 hours
_____ chemical agents are classified as blister agents (also known as vesicants)
Sulfur mustard (s/s may not appear for "several hours"). Lewisite (pain immediately)
Chlorine and phosgene s/s (5)
High concentration.
Eyes, nose, upper airway, begin to develop pulmonary edema.
Not absorbed through skin but will cause burns.
Low concentration.
May not exhibit initial symptoms but still respiratory damage
Cyanide can be:
Route of exposure
Inhaled or INGESTED. Most common-hydrogen cyanide (AC) and cyanogen chloride (CK)
Indicators of possible criminal/terrorist activity involving chemical agents
May vary depending on nature of lab or production process -PPE -chemical containers -Glass containers (heaters) THERE IS NO "TYPICAL" PROFILE FOR A LAB
Most common and effective dispersal method for chemical agents is:
Releasing into air
If any unusual odor is noted at an emergency scene, emergency responders must: (3)
Leave area immediately.
Don PPE, including SCBA.
Activation of hazmat team (detection/identification)
Effects of biological agent depend on (3)
Specific organism.
Dose.
Route of entry
Biological weapons spread by device capable of:
Widespread dispersion
Biological weapons incubation period
2-17 days which equals = 2-6 for anthrax and plague, 4-17 for smallpox
Single cell microscopic with nucleus and cell wall
May form a spore
Ex: anthrax, plague, tularemia
Bacteria
Submicroscopic agent: protein coated with DNA
Requires a host to live and reproduce
Ex: smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF)
Virus
Bacteria must be cultured to develop spores.
8,000-10,000 spores required to cause infection.
Cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and inhalational.
2-6 days incubation.
Presumptive field tests available; gold standard in cultured in lab (Laboratory Response Network)
Anthrax
Yersinia pestis. Rodents. Bubonic and pneumonic. Fleas-bubonic-lymph nodes. Inhalation-pneumonic. 2-6 days incubation
Plague
Kills 30% who become infected.
Red spots/rash mouth (first presentation).
All lesions appear at same stage at same time.
Spread by droplet, direct contact, and airborne.
4-17 days incubation (avg = 12 days)
Smallpox
Unlikely firefighters would immediately recognize biological weapon released in their community because:
Incubation period
-lag time infection and symptoms.
CDC/local hospitals would typically be first to recognize
Biological universal precautions - biological
Gloves, full/half face respirators (N100/P100 filters).
Eye protection, surgical gowns
The most probable scenarios involve the use of a _____________ to disperse radiological agents.
Variety of approaches
Do not enter place that may contain radiation unless:
Trained in measuring rad.
Have a working rad detector.
Properly protected
3 types of radiation
Alpha.
Beta.
Gamma.
Quickly lose energy.
Can travel 1-2 inches.
Clothing or sheet of paper will stop.
Ingested or inhaled, damage internal organs
Alpha
Travels 10-15 feet.
Metal, plastic and glass can stop it.
Harmful to skin and eyes AND ingestion or inhalation will damage internal organs.
Beta
Travel significant distances.
Penetrates most materials.
Most destructive to human body.
Concrete, earth and dense metals such as lead will stop
Gamma
Exposure to radiation and symptoms
Low level?
High level?
Low - nausea and vomiting.
High - vomiting, digestive system damage, bone marrow destruction, CNS damage, radioactive skin burns.
Extreme - death, leukemia and carcinoma
If radioactive contamination or radiation source is suspected, everyone who enters should be equipped with: (3)
PPE.
Radiation detection device.
Personal dosimeter.
Personnel working around the radiological agents may exhibit exposure symptoms such as:
Burns.
Experience difficulty breathing
“Dirty bomb”
Any device that causes the purposeful dissemination of radioactive material across an area WITHOUT a nuclear detonation.
Radiation dispersal device “RDD”
NOT CONSIDERED A WMD
Weapon fabricated from fissile material (highly enriched uranium or plutonium) capable of producing a nuclear explosion.
10-20 kiloton range, equivalent to 10,000-20,000 tons of dynamite.
Very lethal device
Improvised Nuclear Device (IND)
Radioactive material in sealed container located where persons nearby would receive a direct exposure. NOT considered a device that would cause widespread death or sickness.
Radiation EXPOSURE Device (RED)
Emergency responders will not usually know that a terrorist incident has occurred until:
Personnel on scene begin to piece together information gained from their own observations and from interviews with witnesses.
Steps for potential terrorism incident
Uphill/upwind/PPE.
First units establish outer perimeter - deny access and prevent contaminated individuals from leaving.
IC in safe location, could be as far as 3000 ft away.
ICP outside area of possible contamination, beyond distance for secondary device.
Possible terrorist incident.
The initial task should be to determine:
Nature of situation.
Types of hazards that could be encountered.
Magnitude of the problems that must be faced
A ___________ may be required to determine the nature of the situation
Process of elimination
Indicators of possible chemical agent exposure
Large number of casualties with no outward signs of trauma.
Visible vapor cloud.
Presence of dead or dying animals, insects, or plant life
Emergency responders must realize terrorists may have placed a SECONDARY DEVICE in the area where an initial event has occurred. These devices are intended to explode __________________.
Sometime after the initial device detonates
If terrorism is suspected, the IC _______________________, should consult immediately with law enforcement.
If he’s or she is NOT already a member of law enforcement.
__________ should be notified as soon as possible.
State emergency management officials
______ can help to coordinate the actions of all involved agencies in a large scale incident.
EOC
Where possible, law enforcement personnel should be consulted _____________ and ______________.
Prior to overhaul.
Before the removal of any material from the scene
___________ to chemical, biological or radiological agents must be decontaminated to remove or neutralize any chemicals or substances on their bodies or clothing.
Everyone who is exposed p. 151
Because of the chemical reaction that occurs during __________, this may not be the preferred method of decontamination.
Neutralization
A terrorist or WMD incident may result in a large number of casualties - _________________ of injuries in some scenarios.
Hundreds or thousands
Terrorist incident - possibility of contamination by chemical, biological or radiological agents. If contamination is suspected, the plan must ensure that _______________.
It doesn’t not spread beyond a defined perimeter
Decon.
In some cases, patients may need to be decontaminated ______________. In other cases, the triage and treatment areas may be considered ________.
As they are moved to triage and treatment areas.
Contaminated zones.
During early stages of incident, it may be difficult to determine which agent, and corresponding treatment and decon. It may be necessary to _______.
Quarantine exposed individuals until further analysis done
Do not withhold decontamination when ______________. Default to _________________ decontamination so medical can be rendered promptly.
Life safety is paramount.
Water or soap-and-water
Decon
The specific actions to be taken will always be dictated by __________ and the _____________ based on _______ and ___________.
Your size-up of the situation.
Most prudent course of action.
Nature of the contaminant.
Circumstances under which it was released
