Common Core 112
Chemical, Biological, and
Radiological Warfare Fundamentals
112.1 Explain the following:
-
Chemical warfare- Intentional use of lethal or
non-lethal chemical agents to
produce casualties; harass or temporarily incapacitate, and
demoralize personnel; or contaminate or destroy areas, equipment, and
supplies. An example would be mustard gas used during WWI.
- Biological warfare- Intentional
use of living organisms
to disable or destroy people or their domestic animals, to damage
their crops, and/or to deteriorate their supplies. An example would
be anthrax.
- Radiological warfare- Radiological
warfare is the deliberate use of radiological weapons
to produce injury and death in man.
112.2 Describe the purpose of
the following:
-
MCU-2/P protective mask- The mask, or gas mask,
is the most important piece of protective equipment against CBR
agents. It protects your face, eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Inhaling
CBR agents is much more dangerous than getting them on the outside of
the body. Without filtration, a large amount of contamination could
be inhaled in a short time. The mask filters the air, removing
particles of dust that may be radioactive or contaminated; and it
purifies the air of many poisonous gases. The mask does not provide
oxygen, protection against smoke or against toxic gases such as
carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and ammonia; however, it may be used
for emergency escape as a last resort.
- Chemical protective over-garment- The
over-garment is treated with chemicals that neutralize blister agent
vapors and sprays, but do not stop penetration by liquid agents. It
also gives limited protection against other types of CBR
contaminants. The suit consists of trousers, hip-length jumper with
attached hood, and associated gloves and foot coverings. Except in
unusual circumstances, you do not have to wear outer wet-weather
clothing over the CBR suit. The danger of heat prostration is
significantly reduced. Wear wet-weather clothing during heavy seas.
Wear the CBR suit for up to one hour in engineering spaces. Gloves
afford hand protection against nerve and blister agent liquids and
gases. Foot covers are worn over your own shoes. Boots come in 2
sizes and can be worn on either foot. They are made of black butyl
rubber, are impermeable, and have a non-slip rubber sole.
- Wet-weather clothing- Worn
over other types of clothing, wet-weather clothing protects
impregnated and ordinary clothing and skin from penetration by liquid
agents and radioactive particles. It also reduces the amount of vapor
that penetrates to the skin. Wet-weather gear, which includes a
parka, trousers, rubber boots, and gloves, is easily decontaminated.
- Atropine/2 Pan chloride (Oxime)
autoinjector- Used for specific therapy for nerve agent
casualties. Issued in automatic injectors for intramuscular injection
self-aid or first aid.
- IM-143 pocket dosimeter- The
self-reading pocket dosimeter is an instrument about the size and
shape of a fountain pen and comes in several ranges: 0 to 5, 0 to
200, and 0 to 600 roentgens; and 0 to 200 millroentgens. These
instruments measure exposure to radiation over a period of time, not
dose rates at any given time. By holding the dosimeter up to a light
source and looking through the eyepiece, the total radiation dose
received can be read directly on the scale. After each use, the
dosimeter must be recharged and the indicator line set to zero.
- DT-60 personnel dosimeter- Is
in the Nonself-reading category; the DT-60 is the high-range casualty
dosimeter, which must be placed in a special radiac
computer-indicator to determine the total amount of gamma radiation
to which the wearer has been exposed. Its range is 0 to 600 roentgens.
112.3 List the 4 types of
chemical casualty agents and their physical symptoms.
-
Choking agents- immediate
dryness of the throat, coughing, choking, tightness across the chest,
headache, nausea, and at times, smarting and watering of the eyes.
- Nerve agents-
a runny nose, tightness of chest with difficulty in breathing,
contraction of eye pupils, nausea, cramps, headache, coma, and convulsion.
- Blood agents-
HYDROGEN CYANIDE causes death rapidly. Breathing becomes more deeply
within a few seconds, has violent convulsions over 20 to 30 seconds,
stops breathing regularly after 1 minute, then gives occasional
shallow gasps, and finally the heart stops only a few minutes after
the onset of exposure.
- Blister agents-
redness of the skin follows in one-half to 36 hours after exposure
to MUSTART VAPOR/LIQUID MUSTARD. Intense itching, and blisters may
appear. Stiffness, throbbing pain, and swelling may also be observed.
112.4 Describe the following
types of nuclear explosions:
-
High altitude air burst- One in which the point
of detonation is at an altitude in excess of 100,000 feet. Above this
level, air density is so low that interaction of the weapon energy
with the surroundings is markedly different from that at lower
altitudes and varies with the altitude. High-altitude nuclear
explosions create spectacular visible effects that can be seen both
locally and at great distances. Detonation causes widespread
disturbances in the ionosphere, which effects the propagation of
radio waves and similar electromagnetic radiation of relatively long
wavelengths (EMP).
- Air burst- Immediately after
a nuclear explosion, a huge, intensely hot fireball is formed. An
airburst is one in which the fireball does not touch the earth's
surface. All materials within the fireball are vaporized. As the
fireball rises, it cools to the point where the vapor condenses to
form a highly radioactive cloud. At sufficiently low altitudes, the
rising fireball creates strong circulating winds that suck up dust
and other debris from the surface. This debris combines with the
condensed vapor to form the familiar mushroom-shaped cloud.
Detonation of the nuclear bomb creates a blast wave that travels out
in all directions at an initial speed greater than the speed of
sound. When the wave strikes the earth's surface, another wave is
formed by reflection. At some distance from ground zero, the primary
and reflected waves combine to form a reinforced blast wave. Pressure
at the wave front, called overpressure, is many times that of normal
atmospheric pressure and is what causes most of the physical damage.
Overpressure decreases as distance from the blast increases. Initial
radiation occurs within the first minute after an explosion; residual
radiation occurs thereafter. The greatest danger from residual
radiation is fallout or the return to earth of radioactive particles
of the cloud. In an airburst, most of the particles are carried high
into the air where they are scattered by the winds and returned to
the earth slowly. Fallout from low-altitude airburst presents a
greater hazard because the heavy particles of debris picked up from
the surface settle rapidly and are highly radioactive, but the hazard
is not so great as that from surface and subsurface bursts.
- Surface burst- Produces the
worst fallout. The fireball touches the ground. Vast amounts of
surface material is vaporized and taken into the fireball. As the
fireball rises, the debris is sucked up by the strong afterwinds.
Much of this debris returns to earth as radioactive fallout. The area
endangered by fallout is much larger than the area affected by heat
and shock.
- Shallow underwater burst- A
fireball is formed, but is smaller than an airburst and normally is
not visible. The explosion creates a large bubble or cavity which,
upon rising to the surface, expels steam, gases, and debris into the
air with great force. Water rushing into the cavity is thrown upward
in the form of a hollow column that may reach a height of several
thousand feet. When the column collapses, a circular cloud of mist,
called the base surge, is formed around the base of the column.
Practically all thermal radiation is absorbed by the surrounding
water, but a highly destructive shock wave is formed and is many
times greater than the blast wave from an airburst. large water waves
are created, some reaching heights of 90 feet within a few hundred
feet of the blast.
- Deep underwater burst - Produce
the same effects as the shallow underwater burst, but with more of
the impact absorbed by the deep ocean currents. The visual effects
will be less, but the amount of contaminated water will be greater.
112.5 Describe the following
effects of nuclear explosions:
-
Blast- Injuries caused by blast can be divided
into primary injuries and secondary injuries. Primary blast injuries
result from the direct action of the air shock wave on the body. The
greater the weapon's size, the greater the blast wave's effective
range will be, with an increase in casualties. Secondary blast
injuries are caused by collapsing buildings and by timber and other
debris flung about by the blast. Personnel may be hurled against
objects or thrown to the ground. At sea, the shock wave produced by
an underwater burst, can produce various secondary injuries.
- Flash burn/blindness- Burns
caused by a nuclear explosion are primary and secondary. Primary
burns are a direct result of the thermal radiation from the bomb.
Secondary burns are the result of fires caused by the explosion.
Flash burns are likely to occur on a large scale as a result of an
air or surface burst of a nuclear weapon. Thermal radiation travels
in straight lines, so it burns primarily on the side facing the
explosion. Under hazy atmospheric conditions a large proportion of
the thermal radiation may be scattered, resulting in burns received
from all directions. Depending on the size of the weapon,
second-degree burns may be received at distances of 25 miles or more.
The intense flash of light that accompanies a nuclear blast may
produce flash blindness at a range of several miles. Flash blindness
is normally of a temporary nature, though, as the eye can recover in
about 15 minutes in the daytime and 45 minutes at night. A greater
danger lies in receiving permanent damage to the eyes caused by burns
from thermal radiation, which may occur 40 miles or more from the
nuclear weapon.
- Radiation- Radiation hazards
are alpha and beta particles, gamma and neutron radiation. Alpha
particles have little skin penetrating power and must be taken into
the body through ingestion or cuts. Beta particles can present a
hazard to personnel if the emitters of these particles, such as dust
or dirt, come in contact with the skin or inside the body. Beta
particles with enough intensity will cause skin burns. Gamma rays,
which are pure energy, are not easily stopped. They can penetrate
every region of the body. Gamma rays can pass right through a body
without ever touching it. Gamma rays that do strike atoms in the body
cause ionization of these atoms, which may result in any number of
possible chemical reactions that damage the cells of the body.
Neutrons, which have the greatest penetrating power of the nuclear
radiation hazards, create hazards to personnel when the neutron is
captured in atoms of various elements in the body, atmosphere, water
or soil. As a result of this neutron capture, the elements become
radioactive and release high-energy gamma rays and beta particles.
Initial radiation contains both gamma and neutron radiation. Residual
radiation, our greatest concern, contains both gamma and neutron radiation.
- Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)- Produced
by high altitude, air and surface bursts. The initial nuclear
ionizing radiation will ionize the atmosphere around the burst point
and produce the EMP, which will contain frequency components in the
range from a few to several hundreds of kilocycles per second. The
EMP has magnetic and electric field components which exist for only
fractions of a second. The magnetic field component is significant
inside the radius of the ionized atmosphere and can induce large
currents in cables and long-lead wires. These large transient
currents may burn out electronic or electrical equipment. The
electric field component may also produce transient signal overloads
and spurious signals on communication nets and in computer-driven
systems. At ranges where ships suffer minor damage from other weapon
effects, the major effect of the EMP is expected to be the tripping
of circuit breakers and blowing of fuses in protective circuits. At
close ranges, there is a good probability of permanent damage to
electronic and electrical equipment. EMP can totally destroy entire
phone and communication systems, radios, vehicle ignition systems,
etc. Conventional aircraft exposed to it can lose all navigation,
communication, and electronic flight control systems.
- Blackout-The loss of lights
or electrical power failure during a nuclear attack.
112.6 Define/discuss Mission
Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP).
Defines the amount of protective CBR gear to wear or
have readily available. There are 4 levels of protection. Level 1
having the gear readily available, to level 4 where all protective
gear is being worn. The levels are set to protect against overheating
from wearing protective gear for long periods of time.