Post by COB on May 29, 2012 17:27:35 GMT -7
There are many different scenarios I could think of ranging from terrorist attacks to major Mother Nature attacks, but what would be a good destination?
Well, first question is what caused everyone to leave at the same time? Was it something everyone knew about for days & waited for further "proof" like in New Orleans?
This is a very good reason why Bugging in may be better then bugging out. The situation would have to be very bleak for me to leave...this is the reason why...so is everyone else. Even if a bomb blast was imminent, there is no way to get out of the blast zone in time due to, well....see the picture. We stay put.
The only Terrorist attack that would be an issue is Nuclear. Despite common misconception, Bio-terrorism is VERY unlikely. A bomb the size of a backpack only killed a dozen or so people in Japan in 1994. That is a dozen too many but it's really NOT the threat the media makes it out to be. It dissipates too quickly. If it were a bigger threat, it would be used more often. During Desert Storm the instruction was to "head up wind" if we heard a "pop" followed by the smell of fruit or cucumbers. The media exploited the crap out of that & caused a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
The biggest problem is the most dangerous invention ever created by man...The City. It is a death trap.
Lesson number one: In the mid 1990’s there were a series of nerve gas attacks on crowded Japanese subway stations. Given perfect conditions for an attack less than 10% of the people there were injured (the injured were better in a few hours) and only one percent of the injured died. 60-Minutes once had a fellow telling us that one-drop of nerve gas could kill a thousand people; well he did not tell you the thousand dead people per drop was theoretical. Drill Sergeants exaggerate how terrible this stuff was to keep the recruits awake in class.
Forget everything that you have ever seen on TV, in the movies, or read in a novel about this stuff, it was all a lie
(read this sentence again aloud!)
These weapons are about terror, if you remain calm, you will probably not die. This is far less scary than the media and their “Experts,” make it sound.
Nuclear Bombs
These are the only weapons of mass destruction on earth. The effects of a nuclear bomb are heat, blast, EMP, and radiation. If you see a bright flash of light like the sun, where the sun isn’t, fall to the ground!
The heat will be over a second. Then there will be two blast waves, one out going, and one on its way back. Don’t stand up to see what happened after the first wave; anything that’s going to happen will have happened in two full minutes.
These will be low yield devices and will not level whole cities. If you live through the heat, blast, and initial burst of radiation, you’ll probably live for a very long time. Radiation will not create fifty-foot tall women, or giant ants and grass hoppers the size of tanks. These will be at the most 1-kiloton bombs; that’s the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT.
Here’s the real deal, flying debris and radiation will kill a lot of exposed (not all!) people within a half mile of the blast. Under perfect conditions this is about a half-mile circle of death and destruction, but when it’s done it’s done. EMP stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse and it will fry every electronic device for a good distance, it’s impossible to say what and how far but probably not over a couple of miles from ground zero is a good guess. Cars, cell phones, computers, ATMs, you name it, all will be out of order.
There are lots of kinds of radiation, you only need to worry about three, the others you have lived with for years. You need to worry about ”Ionizing radiation,” these are little sub atomic particles that go whizzing along at the speed of light. They hit individual cells in your body, kill the nucleus and keep on going. That’s how you get radiation poisoning; you have so many dead cells in your body that the decaying cells poison you. It’s the same as people getting radiation treatments for cancer, only a bigger area gets radiated. The good news is you don’t have to just sit there and take it, and there are lots of things you can do rather than panic. First, your skin will stop alpha particles, a page of a newspaper or your clothing will stop beta particles, you just have to try to avoid inhaling dust that’s contaminated with atoms that are emitting these things and you will be generally safe from them.
Gamma rays are particles that travel like rays (quantum physics makes my brain hurt) and they create the same damage as alpha and beta particles only they keep going and kill lots of cells as they go all the way through your body. It takes a lot to stop these things, lots of dense material; on the other hand, it takes a lot of this to kill you.
Your defense is as always to not panic. Basic hygiene and normal preparation are your friends. All canned or frozen food is safe to eat. The radiation poisoning will not affect plants so fruits and vegetables are OK if there’s no dust on them (rinse them off if there is water). If you don’t have running water and you need to collect rainwater or use water from wherever, just let it sit for thirty minutes and skim off the water gently from the top. The dust with the bad stuff in it will settle and the remaining water can be used for the toilet, which will still work if you have a bucket of water to pour in the tank.
Biological Warfare
There’s not much to cover here. Basic personal hygiene and sanitation will take you further than a million doctors. Wash your hands often. Don’t share drinks, food, sloppy kisses, etc. with strangers. Keep your garbage can with a tight lid on it, don’t have standing water (like old buckets, ditches, or kiddie pools) laying around to allow mosquitoes breeding room. This stuff is carried by vectors (bugs), rodents, and contaminated material. If biological warfare is so easy as the TV makes it sound, why has Saddam Hussein spent twenty years, millions, and millions of dollars trying to get it right? If you are clean of person and home you eat well and are active you’re going to live.
Overall preparation for any terrorist attack is the same as you’d take for a big storm. If you want a gas mask, fine, go get one. I know this stuff and I’m not getting one and I told my Mom not to bother with one either (how’s that for confidence). We have a week’s worth of cash, several days’ worth of canned goods and plenty of soap and water. We don’t leave stuff out to attract bugs or rodents so we don’t have them.
These people can’t conceive a nation this big with this many resources. These weapons are made to cause panic, terror, and to demoralize. If we don’t run around like sheep they won’t use this stuff after they find out it’s no fun. The government is going nuts over this stuff because they have to protect every inch of America. You’ve only have to protect yourself, and by doing that, you help the country.
Finally, there are millions of caveats to everything I wrote here and you can think up specific scenarios where my advice isn’t the best. This is supposed to help the greatest number of people under the greatest number of situations.
One definite danger I didn’t see if it got into a municipal water supply.
That is another media-exaggerated myth. (As with most things they say) They make it sound as if one drop would wipe out a city...again, not true. If it were, it would be done regularly. It would take many tankers-full dumped into the water supply, and the cost of that equals into the hundreds of millions if not over a billion to make that much "stuff".
It's just not the high-risk the media portrays it to be.
Chemical Weapons:
Chemical weapons are categorized as Nerve, Blood, Blister, and Incapacitating agents. Contrary to the hype of reporters and politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction they are “Area denial,” and terror weapons that don’t destroy anything. When you leave the area you almost always leave the risk. That’s the difference; you can leave the area and the risk; soldiers may have to stay put and sit through it and that’s why they need all that spiffy gear.
These are not gasses, they are vapors and/or air borne particles. The agent must be delivered in sufficient quantity to kill/injure, and that defines when/how it’s used. Every day we have a morning and evening inversion where “stuff,” suspended in the air gets pushed down. This inversion is why allergies (pollen) and air pollution are worst at these times of the day.
So, a chemical attack will have it’s best effect an hour of so either side of sunrise/sunset. Also, being vapors and airborne particles they are heavier than air so they will seek low places like ditches, basements and underground garages. This stuff won’t work when it’s freezing, it doesn’t last when it’s hot, and wind spreads it too thin too fast. They’ve got to get this stuff on you, or, get you to inhale it for it to work. They also have to get the concentration of chemicals high enough to kill or wound you. Too little and it’s nothing, too much and it’s wasted.
What I hope you’ve gathered by this point is that a chemical weapons attack that kills a lot of people is incredibly hard to do with military grade agents and equipment so you can imagine how hard it will be for terrorists.
The more you know about this stuff the more you realize how hard it is to use.
We’ll start by talking about nerve agents you have these in your house; plain old bug killer (like Raid) is a nerve agent. All nerve agents work the same way; they are cholinesterase inhibitors that mess up the signals your nervous system uses to make your body function. It can harm you if you get it on your skin but it works best if they can get you to inhale it. If you don’t die in the first minute and you can leave the area you’re probably going to live. The military’s antidote for all nerve agents is atropine and pralidoxime chloride. Neither one of these does anything to cure the nerve agent, they send your body into overdrive to keep you alive for five minutes, after that the agent is used up. Your best protection is fresh air and staying calm. Listed are the symptoms for nerve agent poisoning:
Sudden headache, Dimness of vision (someone you’re looking at will have pinpointed pupils), Runny nose, Excessive saliva or drooling, Difficulty breathing, Tightness in chest, Nausea, Stomach cramps, Twitching of exposed skin where a liquid just got on you.
If you are in public and you start experiencing these symptoms, first ask yourself, did anything out of the ordinary just happen, a loud pop, did someone spray something on the crowd? Are other people getting sick too?
Is there an odor of new mown hay, green corn, something fruity, or camphor where it shouldn’t be?
If the answer is yes, then calmly (if you panic you breathe faster and inhale more air/poison) leave the area and head up wind, or, outside. Fresh air is the best “right now antidote”. If you have a blob of liquid that looks like molasses or Kayro syrup on you; blot it or scrape it off and away from yourself with anything disposable. This stuff works based on your body weight, what a crop duster uses to kill bugs won’t hurt you unless you stand there and breathe it in real deep, then lick the residue off the ground for while. Remember they have to do all the work, they have to get the concentration up and keep it up for several minutes while all you have to do is quit getting it on you/quit breathing it by putting space between you and the attack.
Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood’s ability to provide oxygen to your tissue. The scenario for attack would be the same as nerve agent. Look for a pop or someone splashing/spraying something and folks around there getting woozy/falling down. The telltale smells are bitter almonds or garlic where it shouldn’t be. The symptoms are blue lips, blue under the fingernails, rapid breathing. The military’s antidote is amyl nitride and just like nerve agent antidote it just keeps your body working for five minutes till the toxins are used up. Fresh air is the your best individual chance. Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to even handle it let alone use it. It’s almost impossible to handle safely and may have delayed effect of up to 12 hours. The attack scenario is also limited to the things you’d see from other chemicals. If you do get large, painful blisters for no apparent reason, don’t pop them, if you must, don’t let the liquid from the blister get on any other area, the stuff just keeps on spreading. It’s just as likely to harm the user as the target. Soap, water, sunshine, and fresh air are this stuff’s enemy.
Bottom line on chemical weapons (it’s the same if they use industrial chemical spills); they are intended to make you panic, to terrorize you, to herd you like sheep to the wolves. If there is an attack, leave the area and go upwind, or to the sides of the wind stream. They have to get the stuff to you, and on you. You’re more likely to be hurt by a drunk driver on any given day than be hurt by one of these attacks. Your odds get better if you leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this stuff a knock-out-punch. Don’t let fear of an isolated attack rule your life. The odds are really on your side.
Physically, nerve agents are odorless, almost colorless liquids varying in viscosity and volatility. They are moderately soluble in water and fairly stable unless strong alkali or chlorinating compounds are added. They are very effective solvents readily penetrating cloth as either a liquid or vapor. Other materials, including leather and wood, are fairly well penetrated. Butyl rubber and synthetics, such as polyesters, are much more resistant.
Pharmacologically, the nerve agents are cholinesterase inhibitors. Their reaction with cholinesterase is irreversible; consequently, the effects of inhibition are prolonged until the body synthesizes more cholinesterase.
Signs and Symptoms of Exposure
Nerve agent intoxication can be readily identified by its characteristic signs and symptoms. If a vapor exposure has occurred, the pupils will constrict, usually to a pinpoint; if the exposure has been through the skin, characteristic local muscular twitching will occur.
Other symptoms will include rhinorrhea, dyspnea, diarrhea and vomiting, convulsions, hypersalivation, drowsiness, coma, and unconsciousness.
Treatment
Specific therapy for nerve agent casualties is atropine, and acetylcholine blocker. For immediate self-aid, each individual is issued three automatic injectors containing 2mg of atropine sulfate for intramuscular injection or two auto-injectors containing the Nerve Agent Antidote. These injectors are designed to be used by individuals on themselves when symptoms appear. After the first injection, if the symptoms have not disappeared within 10 to 15 minutes, another injection should be given. If the symptoms still persist after an additional 15 minutes, a third injection may be given by non-medical personnel.
For medical personnel, the required therapy is to continue to administer atropine at 15-minute intervals until a mild atropinization occurs. This can be noted by tachycardia and a dry mouth. Atropine alone will not relieve any respiratory muscle failure. Prolonged artificial respiration may be necessary to sustain life.
Oxime therapy, using pralidoxime chloride, or 2-PAM Cl, may also be used for regeneration of the blocked cholinesterase. For individuals treated initially with the new auto-injector, additional oxime therapy is generally not medically indicated; it is already included in the auto-injector.
Vesicants
Blister agents or vesicants exert their primary action on the skin, producing large and painful blisters that are incapacitating. Although vesicants are classified as non-lethal, high doses can cause death.
Common blister agents include Mustard (HD), Nitrogen Mustard (HN), and Lewisite (L). Although each is chemically different and will cause significant specific symptoms, they are all sufficiently similar in their physical characteristics and toxicology to be considered as a group. Mustards are particularly insidious because they do not manifest their symptoms for several hours after exposure. They attack the eyes and respiratory tract as well as the skin. Further, there is no effective therapy for mustard once its effects become visible. Treatment is largely supportive, to relieve itching and pain and to prevent infection.
Mustard (HD) and Nitrogen Mustard (HN)
HD and HN are oily, colorless or pale yellow liquids, sparingly soluble in water. HN is less volatile and more persistent than HD and has the same blistering qualities.
Symptoms
The part of the body most vulnerable to mustard gas is the eyes. Contamination insufficient to cause injury elsewhere may produce eye inflammation. Vapor or liquid may burn any area of the skin, but the burns will be most severe in the warm, sweaty areas of the body; that is, the armpits, groin, and on the face and the neck. Blistering begins in about 12 hours but may be delayed for up to 48 hours. Inhalation of the gas is followed in a few hours by irritation of the throat, hoarseness, and a cough. Fever, moist rales (abnormal sounds in the lungs, usually heard with a stethoscope), and dyspnea (labored, difficult breathing) may develop. Bronchopneumonia is a frequent complication; the primary cause of death is massive edema or mechanical pulmonary obstruction.
Because the eye is the most sensitive part of the body, the first notable symptoms of mustard exposure will be pain and a gritty feeling in the eye, accompanied by spastic blinking of the eyes and photophobia.
Treatment
There is no specific antidotal treatment for mustard poisoning. Physically removing as much of the mustard as possible, as soon as possible, is the only effective method for mitigating symptoms before they appear. All other treatment is symptomatic; that is, relief of pain and itching, and control of infection.
Lewisite (L)
Lewisite is an arsenical. This blistering compound is a light to dark brown liquid that vaporizes slowly.
Symptoms
The vapors of arsenicals are so irritating that conscious persons are immediately warned by discomfort to put on the mask. No severe respiratory injuries are likely to occur, except in the wounded who are incapable of donning a mask. The respiratory symptoms are similar to those produced by mustard gas. While the distilled mustard and nitrogen mustard cause no pain on the skin during absorption, Lewisite cause intense pain upon contact.
Treatment
Immediately decontaminate the eyes by flushing with copious amounts of water to remove liquid agents and to prevent severe burns. Sodium sulfacetamide, 30% solution, may be used to combat eye infection after the first 24 hours. In severe cases, morphine may be given to relieve pain.
British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), dimercaprol, is available in a peanut oil suspension for injection in cases of systemic involvement. BAL is a specific anti-arsenical, which combines with the heavy metal to form a water-soluble, non-toxic complex that is excreted. However, BAL is somewhat toxic and an injection of more than 3mg/kg will cause severe symptoms.
Aside from the use of dimercaprol for systemic effects of arsenic, treatment is the same as for mustard lesions.
Blood Agents
Hydrocyanic acid (AC) and cyanogen chloride (CK) are cyanide-containing compounds commonly referred to as Blood Agents. These blood agents are chemicals that are in a gaseous state at normal temperatures and pressures. They are systemic poisons and casualty-producing agents that interfere with vital enzyme systems of the body. They can cause death in a very short time after exposure by interfering with oxygen transfer in the blood. Although very deadly, they are nonpersistent agents
Symptoms
These vary with the concentration and duration of exposure. Typically, either death or recovery takes place rapidly. After exposure to high concentrations of the gas, there is a forceful increase in the depth of the respiration for a few seconds, violent convulsions after 20 to 30 seconds, and respiratory failure and cessation of heart action within a few minutes.
Treatment
There are two suggested antidotes in the treatment of cyanides. Amyl nitrate in crush capsules is provided as first aid. Follow-up therapy with intravenous sodium thiosulfate solution is required.
In an attack, if you notice sudden stimulation of breathing or an almond-like odor, hold your breath and don your mask immediately. In treating a victim, if no blood agents remain present in the atmosphere, crush 2 ampules of amyl nitrate in the hollow of your hand and hold it close to the victim’s nose. This may be repeated every few minutes until 8 ampules have been used. If the atmosphere is contaminated and the victim must remain masked, insert the crushed ampules into the mask under the faceplate.
Whether amyl nitrate is used or not, sodium thiosulfate therapy is required after the initial lifesaving measures. The required dose is 100 to 200 mg/kg given intravenously over a 10 minute period.
The key to successful cyanide therapy is speed; cyanide acts rapidly on an essential enzyme system. The antidotes act rapidly to reverse this action. If the specific antidote and artificial respiration is given soon enough, the chance of survival is greatly enhanced.
Choking or Lung Agents
The toxicity of lung agents is due to their effect on lung tissues. They cause extensive damage to alveolar tissue, resulting in severe pulmonary edema. This group includes phosgene (CG) and chlorine (CI) as well as chloropicrin and diphosgene. However, CG is most likely to be encountered and its toxic action is representative of the group
Phosgene is a colorless gas with a distinctive odor similar to that of new-mown hay or freshly cut grass; unfortunately, the minimal concentration in the air that can cause damage to the eyes and throat is below the threshold of olfactory perception. Generally speaking, CG does not represent a hazard of long duration, so that if an individual were to be exposed to a casualty-producing amount, he/she should be able to smell it.
Symptoms
There may be watering of the eyes, coughing, and a feeling of tightness in the chest. More often, however, there will be no symptoms for 2 to 6 hours after exposure. Latent symptoms are rapid, shallow, and labored breathing; painful cough; cyanosis; frothy sputum; leadened, clammy skin; rapid, feeble pulse; and low blood pressure. Shock may develop, followed by death.
Treatment
Once the symptoms appear, complete bed rest is mandatory. Keep victims with lung edema only moderately warm and treat the resulting anoxia with oxygen. Because no specific treatment for CG poisoning is known, treatment has to be symptomatic.
Psychochemical Agents
Psychochemical agents, often referred to as incapacitating agents, temporarily prevent an individual from carrying out assigned actions. These agents may be administered covertly by contaminating food or water, or they may be released as aerosols. The characteristics of the incapacitants:
High Potency (i.e. and extremely low dose is effective) and logistic feasibility.
Effects produced mainly by altering or disrupting the higher regulatory activity of the central nervous system.
Duration of action is hours or days, rather than a momentary or transient action.
No permanent injury is produced.
Symptoms
The first symptoms appear in 30 minutes to several hours and may persist for several days. Abnormal, inappropriate behavior may be the only sign of intoxication. Those affected may make irrational statements and have delusions or hallucinations. In some instances, the victim may complain of dizziness, muscular incoordination, dry mouth, and difficulty in swallowing.
The standard incapacitant in the U.S. is 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ), a cholinergic blocking agent, which is effective in producing delirium that may last several days. In small doses it will cause an increase in heart rate, pupil size, and skin temperature, as well as drowsiness, dry skin, and a decrease in alertness. As the dose is increased to higher levels, there is a progressive deterioration of mental capability, ending in stupor.
Treatment
The principal requirement for first aid is to prevent victims from injuring themselves and others during the toxic psychosis. Generally, there is no specific therapy for intoxication. However, with BZ and other agents in the class of compounds known as glycolates, physostigmine is the treatment of choice. It is not effective during the first four hours following exposure; after that, it is very effective as long as the treatment is continued. However, treatment does not shorten the duration of BZ intoxication, and premature discontinuation of therapy will result in relapse.
Riot Control Agents
“Riot Control Agents” is the collective term used to describe a divergent collection of chemical compounds, all having similar characteristics. They are relatively nontoxic compounds, which produce an immediate but temporary effect in very low concentrations. Generally, no therapy is required; removal from their environment is sufficient to effect recovery in a short time.
These agents are either lachrymators or vomiting agents
Lachrymators
Lachrymators or tear gases are essentially local irritants that act primarily on the eyes. In high concentrations, they irritate the respiratory tract and the skin. These agents are used to harass enemy personnel or to discourage riot action. The principal agents used are chloracetophenone (CN) and orthochlorobenzilidine malinonitrile (CS). Although CS is basically a lachrymator, it is considerably more potent than CN and causes more severe respiratory symptoms. CN is the standard training agent and is the tear gas most commonly encountered. CS is more widely used by the military as a riot control agent. Protection against all tear agents is provided by protective masks and ordinary field clothing secured at the neck, wrists, and ankles. Personnel handling CS should wear rubber gloves for additional protection.
Symptoms
Lachrymators produce intense pain in the eyes with excessive tearing. The symptoms following the most severe exposure to vapors seldom last over 2 hours. After moderate exposure, they last only a few minutes.
Treatment
First aid for lachrymators generally is not necessary. Exposure to fresh air and letting the wind blow into wide-open eyes, held open if necessary, is sufficient for recovery in a short time. Any chest discomfort after CS exposing can be relieved by talking.
An important point to remember is that this material adheres to clothing tenaciously, and a change of clothing may be necessary. Do not forget the hair, both head and facial, as a potential source of recontamination.
Vomiting Agents
The second class of agents in the riot control category is the vomiting agents. The principal agents of this group are diphenylaminochloroarsine (Adamsite {DM}), diphenychloroarsine (DA), and diphenylcyanoarsine (DC). They are used as training and riot control agents. They are dispersed as aerosols and produce their effects by inhalation or by direct action on the eyes. All of these agents have similar properties and pathology.
Symptoms
Vomiting agents produce a strong pepper-like irritation in the upper respiratory tract with irritation of the eyes and lachrymation. They cause violent uncontrollable sneezing, coughing, nausea, vomiting, and a general feeling of malaise. Inhalation causes a burning sensation in the nose and throat, hyper-salivation, rhinorrhea (runny nose). The sinuses fill rapidly and cause a violent frontal headache.
Treatment
It is of the utmost importance that the mask be worn in spite of coughing, sneezing, salivation, and nausea. If the mask is put on following exposure, symptoms will increase for several minutes in spite of adequate protection. Consequently, victims may believe the mask is ineffective and remove it, further exposing themselves. While the mask must be worn, it may be lifted from the face briefly, if necessary, to permit vomiting or to drain saliva from the face piece. Carry on duties as vigorously as possible. This will help to lessen and shorten the symptoms. Combat duties usually can be performed in spite of the effects of vomiting agents if an individual is motivated.
First aid consists of washing the skin and rinsing the eyes and mouth with water. A mild analgesic may be given to relieve headache. Usually there is a spontaneous recovery, which is complete in 1 to 3 hours.
Back to Higgys post:
Here's the problem with a BOB.
Where will we go? O.K. for argument’s sake in a true poop hits the fan situation we run to the hills...so will everyone else. If tens of thousands of people become refugees the wilderness will be stripped bare within days & mass stealing & crimes will begin. Chaos will follow.
So where do we go? Stay home! That's you're Bug-out-Shelter. Unless the threat will level your home --- stay there! That's where all our water, food & gear is! Why leave it? One can defend his own home if need be better than playing a real game of hide-&-go-seek in the woods with thousands of refugees! --- & guess what --- our fancy-pants BOB will be eye candy for that mob & I don't care who you are, no one can fight off 80,000 hungry people. We become a HUGE target because WE were prepared & they were not.
Bottom line --- Stay home as long as it exists even if it got messed up. If it's still livable that is. Bugging out is largely a pipe dream unless a Hurricane or some other disaster wiped out your home.
