Bioterrorism: Secrets for Surviving the Coming Terrorist Germ Warfare Attacks on U.S. Cities 097021670X, 9780970216700

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Bioterrorism:

Secrets for Surviving the Coming Terrorist Germ Warfare Attacks on U.S. Cities By Duncan Long (co-authored by S. Spencer Jones)

Bioterrorism: Secrets for Surviving the Coming Terrorist Germ Warfare Attacks on U.S. Cities by Duncan Long (co-authored by S. Spencer Jones) Copyright © 2000 by Duncan Long and Life & Health Research Group, 909 Armory Rd. #411PMB. Barstow, CA 92311

Direct inquiries to the above address. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

WARNING:

Technical data presented here, particularly technical data on gas masks, decontamination equipment, and other equipment and the use, adjustment, and alteration of these devices, as well as preventive procedures, medical treatments, and other emergency actions inevitably reflects the author’s individual beliefs and experience with particular equipment, procedures, and components under specific circumstances which the reader can not duplicate exactly. The information in this manual should therefore be used for general guidance and informational

purposes only, and approached with great caution. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this publication. Neither the authors nor the publisher advocates any violation of current medical or other laws, nor recommends the breaking of future laws. Furthermore, the contents of this manual are not intended as a substitute for professional, legal or medical guidance. No attempt to provide medical advice or practice medicine is being made, nor should any be construed. You should ALWAYS make ALL health care decisions — even in emergency conditions — under the guidance of a legitimate, knowledgeable and experienced health care practitioner, and never just because you read something in a report or book. The authors and publisher of this manual disclaims responsibility or liability for any loss or hardship that may be incurred as a result of the use, application or mis-use of any information included in BioTerrorism: Secrets for Surviving the Coming Germ Warfare Attacks on U.S. Cities. Information printed in this report is from sources believed to be reliable, but no guarantee, express or implied, can be made regarding the absolute accuracy of the same. Therefore you should do due diligence and double check all facts, figures, formulas etc., until you have satisfactorily determined for yourself their

accuracy and reliability.

About the Authors and Publisher Author Duncan Long is an internationally recognized security and survival expert with nearly fifty books in print. His books and manuals can be found in the libraries of the CIA, FBI, and other agencies as well as the private libraries of a number of foreign embassies. His articles on chemical and biological weapons survival techniques have appeared in The Journal of Civil Defense, American Survival Guide, and other magazines. Co-author S. Spencer Jones is a nationally-recognized health/science writer who specializes in researching and writing about alternative and natural health care products. He has written for numerous national publications since 1976, including Life & Health Magazine, Vegetarian Times, The Bio-Tech News, Silver Bullet Health Report, Health Science News, PI New Era Health Report, The American Sentinel, The Spotlight and many others. Life & Health Research Group is publisher of numerous books, manuals and periodical reports on health-related topics including, The Immune Manual: How to Survive Today's Era of Strange Disease With Your Health and Immune System Intact, The Colloidal Silver Manual: Introducing the Powerful Natural Antibiotic They Want to Take Away From You, The Beta-Glucan Manual: Unveiling the World’s Most Powerful Immune Booster, Bio-Terrorism: Secrets for Surviving the Coming Terrorist Germ Warfare Attacks on U.S. Cities, Life & Health Newsletter, The Silver Bullet Health Report, and more. (Watch for the following upcoming manuals: The Cancer Manual: Underground Cancer Cures That Really Work, and Brain Boosters: Specialized Drugs and Nutrients for Increasing Intelligence and Eliminating Age-Related Mental Decline.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1:

Biological Warfare Against U.S. Cities — the Genesis of Fes CPOIILN DSOTIS Seana reer nore alee Wey nce |, Mare tee tetas UE aetna pg. |

Chapter 2:

A Frightening Interview With Former CIA Microbiologist Larry WV OMI ELALTIS cour mnceminemn otter Saraituahatssiee tttcssieros tee e Meee

pg. 14

Chapter 3: :

The 120 US. Cities Likeliest to Be Hit By a Terrorist Biological (LTethIaW Altarce) A ACKseerc etree sane Act emree re ae ee pg. 20

Chapter 4:

Cheap, Effective Do-It-Yourself Protection Against Biological Pg ELE NY oe ae ee ere RC ore yee ee Moan Rt Nica dee rune pg. 23

Ghapterm>-aen

Gontamination-Prooins Y OUT OMCs

Chapter 6:

Savvy Decontamination Secrets You Need to Know.............::cccsce pg. 56

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Appendix A: Unconventional Protection — an Overview of Little-Known Yet Highly Effective Life-Saving Natural Substances..........0........ pg. 82 Appendix A1: Colloidal Silver — What You Need to Know About Nature’s Most Powerful and Effective Natural Antibiotic....................:csc0++s- pg. 83 Appendix A2: Beta-1,3/1,6-glucan: Introducing the World’s Most Powerful AINIMMNE: BOOSTET Vero ta cage cnevers scene tastectsvetes cosesasccdevegense deeseeteeOsceeseees eeeDea Appendix A3: Essential Oils: How the British Royal Family Survived the

Black Plague of the 17" Century (And How You Can Protect NOUPSEL TP OCAY) soe nctteraed boa recre ces esr cteaesarcenesteettmencrsreneenene, pg. 99

Appendix A4: Stabilized Oxygen: The All-Natural Microbe Killer Developed sssscsvent erat,cacecnest earns.pg. 104 POTNS ACA SIPOMAUS: fice ccccsssereeorereceteeteoeee Appendix B: Lifesaving Product Sources You Need to Know About................0+ pg. 108

Appendix C: Useful Publications That Could Help Save Your Life...

pg. 114

Appendix D Bonus Section: U.S. Defense Secretary Cohen Confirms 120 Cities Being Readied Against Imminent Bio-Terrorism Attacks; An Exclusive Interview With S. Spencer Jones on the Growing Bio-Terrorism Threat ; Moscow’s Secret Bio-weapon Threat Revealed; Recent News Stories on Terrorist Germ Warfare Threat to

Chapter 1: Biological Warfare Against U.S. Cities — the Genesis of the Coming Crisis “The consensus of people in the law enforcement and intelligence communities is that it’s not a matter of IF it’s going to happen, it’s WHEN. very, very concerned."

-- Robert Blitzer, head of the

We are

FBI’s Anti-Terrorism Division,

U.S. News & World Report, November 17, 1997.

Today American citizens are in grave danger. The danger comes from hi-tech terrorists who may soon claim the lives of not hundreds or even thousands but millions of innocent men, women and children in the US and elsewhere around the world. The first hints of such a danger surfaced on Monday, March 20, 1995, in the

Tokyo subway system. In restrooms and on subway trains, odd packages started spewing a mysterious gas that made those around the lethal boxes suddenly, violently ill. In the end Japan was held hostage for weeks until the terrorists that had planted the boxes filled with nerve gas were captured.

Few civilians actually died in the attacks; had the terrorists been truly skilled at what they were doing, the fatalities could easily have been thousands of times worse. The important point was that the attack marked a new age of terrorism, when something besides crude bombs and guns could be employed to “make a statement” to governments and the populations they controlled. As Kyle Olson of the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute in Alexandria, VA put it, “Terrorists have taken that step across the

threshold into the use of weapons of mass destruction.” The Tokyo attacks were hardly more than a dress rehearsal for what a professional terrorist group might easily accomplish.

Surprisingly this wasn’t the first such attack on civilians by weapons that once were called “unthinkable” because it was assumed they were too awful to ever be used. In fact, a successful biological weapons attack was mounted a little over ten years earlier. And it occurred in the US.

The attack took place in September 1984, in Oregon. As with the Japanese

subway attack, this one was mounted by a religious cult, the Rajneeshi, who were trying to take over the local political system of the town where they had set up their headquarters. To swing the election that they hoped would vote into office members of the sect, the group cultivated salmonella bacteria in an underground lab. They then filled small vials of water laced with the bacteria and spread out over town, surreptitiously pouring the deadly liquid over lettuce in salad bars, produce in grocery stores, and so forth. The goal of this reckless act was to make enough townspeople ill that they wouldn’t go to the voting booths, thereby allowing the Rajneeshi to swing the election in

their favor.’ The attack eventually made 751 people tenth of the town was laid low with the intense story is that the attack went undetected. No one illness that swept through the tiny town. It was

sick, including babies; in all, nearly a illness. One frightening aspect of this ever connected the cult to the strange only later, when a former member came

forward and told the authorities, that the attack was discovered.”

Such attacks can be mounted with only rudimentary knowledge of laboratory methods, and such assaults may not only go undetected but may even remain a mystery. This makes biological weapons revolting to good people. And attractive to terrorists.

Which is why many experts on terrorism worry that the next attack against US citizens may be made with biological weapons. Virtually all are certain such an attack will occur sometime in the near future. It isn’t a question of whether it will happen, but rather when and where it will take place in the U.S., and how much death and devastation will be caused.

The Beginning of the Age of BioTerrorism Although the US government has created special teams to deal with the threat of biological and other terrorist weapons that may soon be unleashed on US citizens within the borders of America, many feel the government’s efforts are too little too late. This isn’t surprising. The US government has been behind the curve with biological weapons defense since the 1960s.

.\t that time the US had become bogged down in the Vietnam war and was looking for ways to look less militaristic. The solution appeared to be available in the form of the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention between the US and the USSR.

US intelligence thought America had little to lose in signing this agreement. In 1969 J. Edgar Hoover supplied President Nixon with information from two trusted spies '“Germ Warfare Weapons of Terror ,”PrimeTime, ABC News, February 25, 1998. * Tbid.

(known by the code names of “Fedora” and “Top Hat”); these spies claimed the Soviets were far behind the US in the development of chemical and biological weapons but were about to launch a crash development program to catch up. President Nixon reasoned that if he could get the Soviets to agree to a freeze on the production of biological weapons, the US could remain ahead in this arms race. Had the US been more on the ball, they might have suspected something when the Soviets were only too happy to agree to the Convention. Only after signing the treaty did US Intelligence discover that they were victims of Russian disinformation and that Top Hat and Fedora were double agents, feeding the FBI false information. In fact, the Soviets were far ahead of the US in the creation of such weapons and the treaty made certain they would keep their lead. Despite being hoodwinked, US leaders tried to reassure themselves that the right thing had been done. After all the Soviets were at least locked in place, unable to continue any programs. But this, too, was an erroneous assumption. The USSR didn’t live up to the treaty, despite the fact that US diplomats and liberals in Washington insisted time and again that the USSR would keep up its end of the bargain. Eventually it became apparent that at least 5 — and perhaps as many as 50 — plants were still producing chemical and biological weapons to place in the Soviet arsenals, and that the Russians had only dispersed their laboratories into more secretive locations, allowing them to continue their biological warfare research and development programs.

Little by little the US realized its mistake. Following the Yom Kippur War, Western intelligence was allowed to inspect the Soviet-supplied Arab tanks. What they found shocked them: the Soviet tanks were equipped to operate in heavily contaminated environments where biological or chemical weapons were in use. Not only that, the vehicles had decontamination equipment superior to that issued by the West.

This discovery was followed by the explosion of a Soviet biological warfare plant in Sverdlovsk in April of 1979. Downwind of the explosion there were from 200 to 1,000 cases of pulmonary anthrax, a disease that was rare naturally — but was one of the prime candidates for use as a biological weapon. (The supposition that these cases were caused by bacteria being developed for weapons was confirmed following the end of the Cold War.)

In 1979 Washington ordered the US Chemical Warfare Service School at Ft. McClellan reopened, after being closed in 1973 when the US discontinued its chemical warfare buildup. However the US appears never to have re-started its research

into biological weapons (or, if it did so, worked on a very small scale so the fact that the

treaty was broken would remain hidden). This has left the US far behind not only in the

production of such weapons but, more importantly, in discovering ways to protect soldiers and citizens from modern biological weapons.

3 Thid.

America: Last Place in the Race for Survival How far behind the US had become in the race to develop biological weapons became apparent in 1992 when Ken Alibek (also know as Dr. Kanatjan Alibekov) defected to the US.* This scientist had been the first deputy chief of research and production for the Soviet biological-weapons program, working in the Biopreparat. The size of the Biopreparat demonstrated how intent the Russians were in developing biological weapons. The unit oversaw thirty-two thousand scientists and staff with laboratories hidden across the USSR. Alibek told his American debriefers that the Biopreparat had been created in 1973, just a year after the Soviet Union signed the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention along with 140 nations, banning the development and stockpiling of biological weapons. So much for the “safety” offered by the treaty. During the waning years of the Soviet Union, researchers had developed a sophisticated ICBM delivery system for biological weapons, employing a cooling system to keep spores ready for release when the warheads from each missile re-entered the atmosphere. Inside a variety of biological agents could be used. Alibek claimed that most of the warheads would be a mixture of Smallpox, Plague and Anthrax, creating three plagues at once to overwhelm civilian medical facilities.

Each of these warheads was designed to parachute over a city, hanging in place while dispensing a hundred or more “bomblets” about 6 inches in diameter. These would release deadly spores that would drift downward to create their deadly havoc on the people below. But that wasn’t all. His story got worse.

Super Diseases Had these biological agents simply been the standard Smallpox, Plague and Anthrax, that would have been frightening enough. But Alibek, who has a Doctor of Sciences degree, claims that these were engineered for added lethality as well as resistance to all known antibiotics that might be employed to treat them.

According to Alibek, the Russians altered the Smallpox genome, introducing foreign genetic material to make it more virulent. Among the first changes were the splicing of portions of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (a brain virus) into Smallpox, to

* This information recently became known to the public through a series of interviews with Alibek conducted by several reporters. This information appeared in late February and early March, 1998, in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, the New York Times, and "Prime Time Live” on ABC.

4

create “Smallpox-VEE” or ““Veepox.”

Alibek also claimed that the Soviet researchers were working toward a variant of Smallpox that contained Ebola DNA. Whether this was perfected or not is uncertain; Alibek believes that the Russians probably succeeded in creating “Blackpox” or “Ebolapox” from their work. This would become a highly contagious disease that would create hemorrhaging and a very high mortality rate. While American experts remain skeptical about whether an Ebola/Smallpox chimera could be produced, most agree that an Encephalitis/Smallpox disease would be possible. Few doubt that the Russians have succeeded in creating such a weapon. And Alibek claimed the Veepox strains were perfected in 1989 before he defected. When Alibek first started telling his story to CIA debriefers, the intelligence community dismissed much of it as exaggerations or lies. However, that changed when Vladimir Pasechnik, another top Biopreparat scientist who had defected to the UK in 1989 started talking to British debriefers. When the two intelligence agencies compared their notes, they found both men were telling the same story.

And Pasechnik had one chilling addition.

The Marburg Virus Pasechnik revealed that late in the 1980s, Soviet scientists started working with the Marburg virus. One researcher in this work died from a pinprick from an instrument with this virus on it. Taking advantage of his misfortune, Russian scientists removed the liver, spleen, and blood from his corpse, employing the virus they contained to create the virulent “Variant U” (named after Ustinov, the scientist that had died from it). According to Pasechnik, the airborne Marburg proved to be 1,000 times as deadly as Anthrax spores. In 1991 when the Soviet Union was crumbling, Variant U was set to go into production as needed for possible use as a strategic weapon, to be manufactured in large quantities should the situation between the East and West deteriorate. Whether this new strain of disease was produced and stockpiled in the Russian inventory is unknown. But many believe it has been. Other confirmation that the stories coming from Russian defectors were most likely true has recently surfaced in the West. Early in 1998, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) revealed that it had learned of a “designer disease” the Soviet Union had created by manipulating Anthrax bacteria

through genetic engineering, basically using the same techniques Alibek had described shortly before the Soviet collapse. Oddly enough, the fact was made public by Russian scientists (perhaps

inadvertently) when they reported on some of their work with the British scientific journal Vaccine. The catch was that “the presented suggested that it could be resistant to our vaccine,” Friedlander, chief of USAMRIID’s bacteriology division later don’t alter diseases to be more resistant to antibiotics.

microbes and vaccines in evidence that they Colonel Arthur said.” Normally scientists

The altered Anthrax contained two added genes, making it resistant to some types of vaccines used to treat Anthrax — a modification that is insane for anyone intent on keeping such a disease in check. But it makes plenty of sense if it is being modified for use as a weapon. Friedlander said of the altered bacteria, “This is a Trojan horse. This is coming in as anthrax, but it’s got other bullets in it - different bullets.’””* Bullets that the US medical community might not be able to deal with and which the Anthrax shots now being given to American Gls might not protect against.

The question was: If the Russians would admit to doing such things in international scientific journals, what else might they doing behind closed doors? And who else might be doing it as well? With the Russian government unable to pay workers, many were rumored to have taken to selling material and secrets to foreign governments. Had biological weapons and technology been sold? After seeing the article describing the Russian’s work, Paul Jackson, a molecular

biologist who has worked with Anthrax at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, said, “The Russians have demonstrated that they can do it. Clearly, any competent laboratory in the world could do this too.’” The question then is not can such biological weapons be created, but rather who might be fabricating such terror devices and how soon they might use them.

Transferring Germ Warfare Know-How to Terrorists With the downfall of the Soviet Union, it appears that much of this technology may have been “transferred” from the Russians to other nations, in part by scientists attempting to make a few bucks through selling what they had learned. While Yeltsin promised to terminate all offensive biological weapons research, in 1992, in fact he didn’t totally close the program down. Military biological programs still have 50 percent of the personnel they enjoyed during the height of the Cold War, and funding has only been reduced by 30 percent. Russia claims that this work is all defensive in nature. But some of these same

leaders claimed they were doing no work at all in the USSR, when in fact they were working full tilt to produce new and lethal biological weapons.

“Russian Lab Has Created New Anthrax Strain,” NandoTimes and Associated Press, February 13, 1998 Ibid. ,

” Ibid.

Even if no actual production of biological weapons is currently going on in Russia, the capacity to rapidly go into full-scale production remains. Kazakhstan, for example, is believed to have the capacity to produce 96 pounds of freeze-dried Plague spore per week should the Russians decide to commence such an operation. And should that happen, it would be very hard for the US to detect. Ditto for production in Pakistan, China, North Korea, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria, or

anywhere else Russian scientists have gone, lured by the promise of money. The technological know-how might easily have been transferred anywhere. Iraq, for example, has been under closer scrutiny than these other nations — and what has been going on there doesn’t bode well for the US as far as the possible use of biological agents by terrorist nations. Following the Gulf War in 1991, an Iraqi defector who worked as a microbiologist for the Iraqi government told reporters that in 1983 Iraqi scientists had launched a program to test and develop biological agents including many strains of botulism, salmonella, and anthrax. He claimed that the government workers

had discovered a way to make anthrax more toxic.* One can only speculate what progress toward such ends other countries as well as Iraq may have made since then.

This technology may be available for anyone wanting to pay for it. With many former military workers strapped for money in Russia, the temptation to make some quick cash to pay the bills might easily overcome moral qualms about what the technology might be used for. Scientists who worked in the most sensitive Soviet biological weapons programs might already have sold such technology to any number of rogue states. Even more alarming is the fact that such technology may be in the hands of the Russian “Mafia.” In March, 1998, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, the Defense Minister of the Russian Army, told reporters that funding was so poor that there was “a real danger of organized crime penetrating military units. ’? Should that happen, Sergetev said, they would easily gain access to a variety of weapons. Those could include not just rocket launchers and machine guns but nuclear and biological weapons as well. Since the Russian Mafia is concerned about making money any way it can, there would be few if any moral constraints of selling such weapons to fellow criminals or third-world countries. Biological weapons may soon appear as tools for blackmail or assassination, a way to “rub out” competitors, whether they be competing corporations or nations whose policies are getting in the way.

(In fairness, it should be noted that not all the “biological sins” of the world can be laid at the feet of third-world dictators and Russian scientists. From 1985 to 1989 the US government permitted American companies to export samples of anthrax, botulism,

1993, 8 Jonathan B. Tucker, “Lessons of Iraq’s Biological Warfare Programme,” Arms Control, December Di237: * Alan Philps, “Russian Army 'Falling Prey to Criminals’,” International News Electronic Telegraph, March 11, 1998.

typhoid, tetanus, and gas gangrene to Iraq.'° The reason: To help keep Iran in check. Experts now believe such folly is soon very likely to come back to haunt the American people.)

The Genie Has Escaped At one time, we might have hoped that the technology to create such deadly weapons as those described by Alibek and Pasechnik would be suppressed and discontinued, hidden away with the fall of the Soviet Empire. But this does not seem to be the case. Even if nationalists in Russia don’t revive the production of these weapons, rogue nations like Iraq, North Korea, and Libya will. In fact there is every indication that they already have plants producing these weapons. The terrifying truth is that it’s possible that terrorists from these or other countries have already brought such materials into our nation, biding their time until the time is right to strike. Many lawmakers and federal law enforcement officers in Washington, as well as terrorist and biological weapons experts, believe it is entirely possible that this has already happened; that small “cells” of fanatic foreign terrorist saboteurs are biding their time for a signal from the homeland. Once that signal is given, the terrorists will activate the sample spores smuggled into the US, grow large amounts of the pathogens in home-made labs, and then disperse the plagues throughout our country.

This idea isn’t farfetched. How hard would it be to smuggle a few pounds of anthrax spores into the US? We already fail to keep tons of illegal drugs from entering our borders. How many pounds — which dogs and equipment at airports aren’t trained to find — may have already been slipped in? All that is needed is a tiny quantity of spores to serve as the “stock” to breed more such material within US borders. The quantity need not be more than might be packed into a dummy radio — or even an ink pen.

Little wonder that so many terrorist experts are horrified about the growing potential for an attack against U.S. cities with biological weapons. As Army Colonel David Franz has told Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson on ABC’s PrimeTime, “The likelihood of a biological attack in the U.S. is fairly high, probably in the next few years.’ And Dr. Michael Osterholm, chief of disease epidemiology at the Minnesota Department of Public Health also told PrimeTime, “Jt is not a matter of if this will occur. It is a matter of when it occurs, and how much panic and death are we willing to accept at the time it occurs...Worse yet, there has not been a single government alert put out to the public health system in this country. No letters, no phone calls, no suggestions about how to coordinate this frightening situation.”

" Scotland on Sunday (Newspaper), Edin burgh, October 2, 1994. 8

The Terrorist Scenario The U.S. got its first warning of what the consequences of such an attack would be in March, 1998 from one of the men who had worked to eradicate Smallpox from the face of the earth. The warning, which was virtually ignored by the US press, was delivered by former World Health Organization (WHO) scientist D.A. Henderson who spoke to fellow scientists from around the world, many of whom are concerned about the imminent threat presented by biological weapons. As Henderson noted, an attack with biological agents would result in dasastrous consequences due to our total inability to contain it from spreading once unleashed. He warned, “4 chemical release or major explosion is far more manageable than a biological attack.’”"' The reason? Biological weapons are self replicating, and the delay between the time people become contagious and begin spreading the disease and the time health workers discover the fact could be weeks — enough time for millions of fatalities to result.

Henderson told listeners that if Smallpox or Anthrax were dispersed by terrorists, the number of victims would increase exponentially; today’s culture, unlike those of the recent past, have almost no immunity to these long-dormant diseases

The scientist also warned that the Soviet Vector base in Siberia, where Smallpox and other pathogens had been kept and carefully guarded during the Cold War, was now vulnerable to being raided by criminals. The pathogens stored there might easily be stolen by guerrilla groups and governments who were intent on producing biological weapons. The scientist told listeners that disease samples were “once protected by wellarmed guards and barbed wire fences, but the barbed wire is gone now and the guards, who haven ’t been paid in months, can be persuaded with a little vodka.”'* Even if it weren’t re-engineered for added lethality, a disease like Smallpox would be devastating in the US. “The only people vaccinated over the next eight years were workers in hospitals and laboratories, but by and large few people have been vaccinated since 1972 and I would suspect only 10 to 15 percent of the U.S. population has any antibodies to the disease,” Henderson said. The rest would easily succumb to the illness, with large numbers -- likely millions of innocent victims -- becoming fatalities. Henderson also noted that Anthrax was under development as a weapon by Iraq and that terrorist groups like the Aum Shinri Kyo which released nerve gas on Japan’s subway system in 1995, also had been working to mass-produce the bacteria. The scientist noted that, “Their particular interest is because anthrax is so easily acquired and so easily mass-produced.... There are nations and dissident groups that have both access to the biological agents and people intelligent enough to know the means of

deploying them... Even small groups can wreak considerable havoc, and they are

'! June Preston, “World vulnerable to biological weapons - expert,” Reuters, March 10, 1998.

? Ibid.

prepared to do so.” Worse yet, former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris, who has been working feverishly for several years now to warn the American public how quickly and easily such an attack could take place, and how devastating it will be, claims that religious fanaticism of some terrorist groups virtually guarantees a concerted biological warfare attack against U.S. cities. In his latest interviews (see brief interview in Chapter 2 of this manual) he has carefully explained the frightening facts the federal government is afraid to tell you. He warns that radical militant terrorist splinter groups from Iraq, Iran, Libya and other countries are now operating under the frightening religious notion that it is their sacred moral duty to destroy the “Great Satan” -- their name for the United States -- during Islamic holy days between now and the year 2002. And as silly as this may sound to you and me, Harris warns that it is an ABSOLUTE REALITY to these terrorists! They even believe they will obtain a special place in heaven if they annihilate enough American citizens in time! No wonder the federal government is afraid to go public with this horrifying information!

For his hard work and service in warning the American people of the germ warfare plagues to come, the Clinton administration had Harris arrested on trumped up charges and thrown into prison in February of 1998. He was then released under a federal gag order, no longer allowed to speak publicly on the subject of bioterrorism! Why? Many experts speculate that the core of Larry’s message is what angered government officials the most: he was letting the American public know that the federal government had absolutely no intention of warning them of the biological attacks to come, nor have they made any efforts to teach the American public how to protect themselves — and survive — a biological warfare attack on U.S. cities. Harris’ message was “Virtually every civilized government on the face of the earth has provided it citizens with solid information on how to survive biological terrorism -- with the sad exception of the United States government. Ifyou’re going to survive, don’t count on the federal government to help you.” It was a message that landed him in jail. But research conducted for this manual showed Larry Harris to be right on target, as you’ll discover in the next section...

Non-Existent Protection for U.S. Citizens Since the US is a prime target for bioterrorism, one might think that like Israel and much of Europe, our government would be intent on protecting its people. In many countries citizens have their own gas masks and other protective equipment, as well as instructions on how to use them in the event of such an attack -- all issued by the government. Such equipment acts as a deterrent to attack since it would reduce casualties, thereby thwarting the hopes of terrorists to make a “statement” that would demonstrate their powers.

Ibid.

Shamefully, our government leaders stand in sharp contrast to those of such countries. Our leaders have taken steps to protect some of us — those in office, for the most part. Clinton’s secret presidential directive, PDD 39, apparently directed government agencies to take steps to deal with a biological attack. And the 1998 State of the Union address was the very first that had Army personnel trained at dealing with a biological attack standing by in case they were needed -- a sure sign the federal government is taking terrorist biological warfare threats against U.S. cities seriously. Under the same directive, the FBI, US Marines, and others have created rapid response

teams for dealing with the deadly aftermath of biological terrorism." In March, 1998, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced that these teams

would be augmented by ten teams each comprised of 22 full-time members from the US Army who would be backed up by 22 members from National Guard units. While the $49 million dollars spent to create these teams may seem like a lot of money (and it is), the measure is stop-gap at best since the added teams were only to be trained to assess

dangers, not actually deal with them.'* In fact exactly who would deal with a large-scale terrorist biological warfare attack on U.S. cities, and where the resources would come from, remain murky under current national plans. At best the US plans tend to be of a “clean up the mess after an attack” sort, rather than plans that would actually protect individuals during an attack. That could make a big difference to those who were the target of terrorism. The difference is one of life and death.

There is some question how well US teams would perform, even in their limited roll. And even if they performed perfectly, experts quietly warn there is little doubt they would be overwhelmed by the magnitude of casualties produced by a concerted attack in several cities -- or even a successful attack in just one. The US Army’s team, for example, is set up to treat a total of four people who were highly contagious bioterrorism victims.'° Considering that tens of thousands of victims might be exposed to a pathogen during a single bioterrorism incident, and tens or even hundreds of thousands more in the ensuing weeks, the current preparation levels are woefully inadequate -- the equivalent of expecting a surgeon to reattach a limb by using a Band-Aid. Furthermore, these federal teams aren’t going to be the ones first on the scene. Rather the people who respond first will be inexperienced police units or fire departments. These are the people that are called when a “strange package” or other suspicious device is found. While many departments train police and fire department workers, such training is superficial at best. And might be forgotten or ignored during an actual emergency involving biological agents.

This lack of proper response by those first on the scene of a potential attack was demonstrated in our nation’s capital in 1997. Just a few blocks from the White House, at

the headquarters of the B’nai B’rith, a package was delivered. It was oozing red liquid; 4 “Germ Warfare Weapons of Terror ,”PrimeTime, ABC News, February 25, 1998. 15 “National Guard to Counter Terrorism,” Associated Press, March 18, 1998.

'6 “Germ Warfare Weapons of Terror ,”PrimeTime, ABC News, February 25, 1998. 11

workers at B’nai B’rith called the police. The emergency response team arrived and — rather than isolating the package and workers who had been exposed to the liquid, proceeded to open the package. Inside they discovered an open container that was simply labeled “Anthrax.”"” Fortunately for all involved, it was a hoax. Had it been real, the improper response of the team would have easily caused hundreds of deaths. And had it been real and a terrorist had rigged spores with a small charge of explosives, a deadly cloud would have been released into the area. Thousands of lives might have been lost with a plague possibly gaining a foothold in our nation’s capital, thereby creating thousands or perhaps millions of additional casualties depending upon how effectively the contagion spread. The federal government gives city and state police and firemen a brief course on how to deal with suspicious packages and materials that might be biological weapons. But as the Washington, DC responders proved, such training isn’t currently adequate. But it gets worse. Medical personnel in US cities have no training in dealing with victims of biological weapons. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. In fact, they might not even recognize that people coming into emergency rooms have been infected with a highly contagious but seldom seen disease that has been employed as a weapon. By the time they realize what they are dealing with, medical workers could easily be exposed to the deadly pathogenic microorganisms and fall victim to them — along with other hospital patients who would be exposed to the unrecognized contagion as it spread.

Except for the minor actions of forming a handful of response teams and giving superficial training to state and local workers, the US federal government has actually done little to protect its citizens. There is no protective equipment being issued to citizens, there have been no instructions to citizens as to what to do in the event of an attack, and the medical workers that would be our last line of defense have not been

warned or taught how to deal with such a disaster. There are no stockpiles of antibiotics, no special facilities, no real plans on how to control an outbreak so it can be contained. (In May 1998 President Clinton unveiled a new plan that would direct major U.S. cities to stockpile antibiotics in anticipation of a terrorist biological attack. Unfortunately, as former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris has pointed out, a single terrorist germ warfare attack in a single large U.S. city would cause enough infection to require the use of all known antibiotic stocks in the entire U.S. And most of the unfortunate individuals caught in such an attack would likely still die — even if they received antibiotics — because in most cases the antibiotics would not be given soon enough to halt the spread of the deadly microorganisms as they multiplied throughout the bloodstream and tissues. In other words, the new Clinton plan, which has yet to be implemented at this writing, is nothing more than window dressing. It is abundantly clear the U.S. government needs to develop a realistic and comprehensive plan for American citizens that includes a massive public awareness campaign to teach the public simple, effective contamination-proofing and decontamination secrets such as those revealed in this manual. Every Israeli citizen is given detailed instructions for surviving a terrorist germ warfare attack. Yet in

’ “Anthrax Incident Heightens Terrorism Fears, Wake-Up Call for Defense,” Reuters, March 5, 1998.

12

America, even under direct threat of terrorist attack, there still no protective measures disseminated to the general public.) In essence, all our government has done is create a few rapid response teams and clean-up crew which would only go into action after a bioterrorism act has been committed. By then thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people could be infected with an agent that has almost 100 percent lethality. Our government might catch the perpetrators, but would fail to protect the populace from the initial danger. The truth of the matter is that our government has left US citizens in the position of being sitting ducks in a pond. We’re surrounded by hunters armed with cannons filled with deadly pathogens. These terrorist hunters are in it for a quick and massive kill, and could care less about the rules of engagement.

Chapter 2: A Frightening Interview With Former CIA Microbiologist Larry Harris “In the very near future we can almost certainly expect biological weapons to be used by various terrorist organizations. This makes it imperative that the citizens of North America obtain the necessary knowledge and skills to protect themselves against this emerging threat.” — Former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris Former CIA microbiologist has probably done more than any one man to alert American citizens to the growing likelihood of a terrorist biological attack against U.S. cities. His reward? Ridicule by the controlled U.S. press, and an arrest on trumped up charges by his own government. Yet today, the U.S. government is preparing for the

very terrorist attacks Harris has been warning about since 1996. Here is his frightening story... Question: Larry, great to have you with us. I want to ask you right out the gate, between January 1985 to August of 1991, what were you doing?

Answer: | am a certified microbiologist, and at that time I was working in a covert CIA laboratory. My specialty field is defense — how to defend against biological warfare. But often I worked in conjunction with offensive teams, and I was many times working on mycoplasma fermentens incognitus, which is a simple soil bacteria that is normally harmless — until the genetic engineers working in those laboratories took it and spliced in part of the AIDS capsule, the DNA that codes for the AIDS capsule. And this turned a harmless soil microorganism into an absolute ravaging killer. Question: Why would they do it.

Answer: Basically money. This microorganism was then sold to foreign governments for huge amounts of money. Mariam Arif, a young Iraqi woman I knew for some time, told me fifty million dollars worth ofthis material was sold to Saddam Hussein. Question:

Tell us a little about Mariam Arif.

Answer: In September of 1991 I left the CIA and went back to Ohio State University to take some more advanced courses in microbiology. I was 40 years old then. I very soon got into a clique of non-traditional students, and in that clique was a very delightful young lady named Mariam Arif. She had an unusual background. One of her close relatives was the President of Iraq back in the 1960's. He was killed in a helicopter crash in 1966. Then there was a long series of coups until finally Saddam Hussein and the Republican Guard came into power. Mariam said her family had not fared very well during all of this — some of them had even been hanged. She felt she would be safer here in the U.S., so she came here from Iraq as a student to study microbiology. Mariam further said she would stay here in the U.S. until she could do something that would allow her to return to her beloved Iraq without the stigma of her family’s past political beliefs. She told me she would one day do something that would make her very famous in her home country, and then she could return. She and IJand the clique of microbiology students we were in all became very close friends. We studied together, laughed together, etc. But the Monday after the World Trade Center had been blown up, I got to the college a little early to get a good parking spot, and down in the Med Tech building where the microbiology courses were taught was small vending area, and Mariam was there by herself when I arrived. She was all glassy-eyed, looking as if she had not had any sleep, very disturbed and nervous, and claimed to be worried that she could be arrested at any moment. Her speech was rambling and incoherent at first. Then she became very silent for a few minutes before speaking again. When she did speak, she said to me, “Larry, you are a dear and trusted friend. What I am about to tell you, you can use to protect yourself and a few friends. When it is my time to act, I do not want your death to be on my conscience.” She said, “You obviously do not know the danger your country is facing from Iraq in terms of emerging biological warfare as a major threat against North America. A few hours ago a band of fanatics blew up the World Trade Center. I am sure my beloved Iraq did not do this

thing. For when payback comes, I am sure we will demand at least one American life for every one of my countrymen that you butchered during Desert Storm. We would not settle for some silly old building.” She then went on to state that nearly all of the emerging countries, Libya, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, etc., were actively pursuing a Germ Warfare program and scrapping their nuclear program. She said there were two primary reasons for this shift. The first is that the acquisition cost of a sufficiently large nuclear stockpile to be effective is excessively high. The second reason is that germ warfare is antipersonnel warfare, not anti-material warfare. Housing, buildings, factories, and machinery remain intact and can be made useful in a short time.

At that point I asked her had she ever seen Saddam Hussein’s germ warfare program, and she said yes, that she had actually worked in the germ warfare program before coming to the U.S. to study advanced microbiology. So I asked her how Iraq’s biological warfare program worked, and she said that basically, Iraq uses a ‘plain Jane’ approach. They have two separate areas of operation, one being continental (meaning in 15

the Middle East) and one being foreign (meaning inside the United States). Mariam said that trained Iraqi agents used a product called a chemostat, which is purchased from Germany. This is a large tank that can be sterilized that has a mixer in the bottom of the tank that very efficiently mixes solutions. What you do is you put in the nutrient media that the bacteria grow on along with sterile water and sterile air, and to that you add your “starter culture,” a microbe such as anthrax.

This microbe is so small — about one

twenty five thousandths of an inch long — which means you have to have a microscope to see it. And each one of them produces spores, which are like seed. They are difficult to destroy, very, very resistant to everything, having a shelf life of up to 5,000 years. Anyway, what they do in a chemostat, they put the starter culture in there and basically it will start growing. After a few days this culture will reach what we call critical density, and then you add fresh nutrient media as you steadily draw off the top layer of the growing bacteria. So it’s a continuous process, you keep putting in food, and you keep getting bacteria out. The bacteria then are basically chilled, and are transferred either freeze-dried into a powder, or, as in the case of a terrorist attack against an enemy target, they are transferred into a specially designed aircraft — single engine turbo props that have spraying apparatuses under each wing. It’s basically a spray plane. Question: You’ve said in the past that Mariam Arif told you the Iraqi’s have smuggled hundreds of vials of these deadly pathogens back into this country to be unleashed at a predetermined signal.

Answer: That’s right. Mariam confirmed that Iraqi cell teams have brought in many hundreds of these vials. Mariam herself told me she had brought in three or four of these vials. Every time a female Iraqi agent posing as a student comes into this country, they smuggle these vials in, full of the deadly pathogens that have been grown in chemostats in Iraq. These women smuggle these vials into the U.S. in their body cavities, in their vaginas. Question: How many of these Iraqi agents are in the United States?

Answer: Mariam told me that she knew of over 100 Iraqi cell teams, with 11 members to each team, positioned strategically across the United States in various major cities. There is usually one female in each team — she is the carrier or smuggler. The other 10 are men, who will carry out the operations once the deadly pathogens have been re-hydrated, and sufficient amounts grown to mount an attack.

Question: Did you ever ask Mariam what the most likely targets in the U.S. would be?

Answer: Yes. I asked her what the most likely targets would be here in the U.S., and what she told me was very disturbing. She said, “For one thing, it will not be a single target, but rather many hundreds of targets simultaneously across the country. For example, subway systems in major cities. Air ducts of large office buildings. Large gatherings of people at stadiums. Crowded streets during rush hour traffic. Also, our cell groups stationed in over 100 major U.S. cities will be using aircraft venturies, like the ones that are used to drive the vacuum instruments on airplanes. These will be mounted underneath cars and trucks. The spray tank goes inside with tubing going to the 16

venturi. When the vehicle is going 60 miles per hour one simply opens the valve and a fog of death will be coming out behind the car. Other cell teams across the U.S. will simultaneously be using these same venturies mounted on light aircraft, from which they will be able to spray whole cities at a time. They will also spray the major farmlands of this country. Anyone eating the crops will come down with gastrointestinal anthrax, which is 100% fatal.” Question: place?

How deadly are these microbes if they are breathed in and an infection takes

Answer: They are extremely deadly. In fact, once the symptoms show you are pretty much dead. Even if I pumped you full of antibiotics and killed every single microbe in you, the poisons that those microbes release as they burst inside you are still going to kill you. They are going to cause every blood vessel in your body to lyse, and you’re going to die from massive hemorrhagic shock. Just about every blood vessel through your body will lyse -- that is, they will dissolve. Question:

How effective are these spraying devices used by the Iraqi terrorists?

Answer: We’ve done the math, and it turns out that one single container of these biological agents sprayed from a venturi over a major city like New York City, at the very lowest body count there will be a minimum of 400,000 dead almost immediately. If they spray over a larger area and are effective at their spraying technique, we are talking as much as 25 to 26 million dead. Question: Did you ask Mariam if there is a schedule for these attacks? Answer: Indeed. She told me, “The attacks will begin sometime in the next few years. The attacks are centered on Muslim holy days that occur in the next few years, between now and the end of the year 2001. One thing is certain, before advent of the year 2002 the population of the United States will be reduced to less than 50 million.”

Question: What’s stopping the Iraqi’s from unleashing their terrorist germ warfare attacks in the U.S. right now?

Answer: The Muslim holy days I just mentioned. You see, the great Muslim sufis, that is, the Muslim holy men, have for 20 some years predicted that “the Great Satan” — their term for the U.S. — would strike “the heel of Allah” sometime in 1991, and that would

set off a timetable based upon the Koran. The “heel of Allah” by the way, is Kuwait. And we struck Kuwait in 1991, thus fulfilling the prophesy. That started a timetable ticking down toward those Muslim holy days sometime between now and the end of the

year 2001 during which time the revolt against “the Great Satan” is to begin. The Muslim holy men predict that by the end of 2001 the Muslims will rule the world. Question: Have you ever been debriefed on all of this by the government?

Answer: Yes. The military, DOD, Department of Defense, finally took me in for debriefing. They knew I had talked with Mariam. And they and the NSC took me in for debriefing. When they take you in, they use a voice stress analyzer to see if you are 17.

lying. And they asked me a long series of questions, and had me go into great detail as to everything Mariam Arif told me down to the finest detail. This went on for six hours. But about the fifth hour the secretary who was watching the voice stress analyzer got up and had to go puke.

And literally, after the debriefing, we took the information I gave them and fed it into a computerized simulation model they use. It showed that if we do not know the exact date of the coming attacks, we are going to lose approximately 230 million people. And if we knew the exact day, hour and minute of the attacks, and they are successful, we would still lose 180 million people. By hitting a single major city like New York City first, they would strip the nation of its entire antibiotic supply. There would be none left for anyone else, anywhere else in the United States. Furthermore, that one attack alone

would fill up every known hospital bed in the continental United States.

Question:

What ever happened to Mariam Arif? Do you know?

Answer: Yes. Actually, CNN came in to interview me just before the Atlanta Olympics in April 1997, and again they were using voice stress analysis too, and they found out I was telling the truth. And they got me to give an extremely accurate description of Mariam, very detailed. By this time, the government had over 12,000 U.S. agents looking for her. She was finally apprehended on May the 16" in Atlanta. The cell she was with were in preparation for carrying out a germ warfare attack on the Olympic games. If that attack had taken place, we probably would have lost anywhere from 20 to 25 million people, and there would have been a zone of death about 80 miles wide, from Atlanta, depending upon how the wind was blowing, all the way to the sea. So they did apprehend her. I didn’t see it, but I am told CNN showed a brief piece on her arrest with the 10 other members of her cell team, but then nothing else has been said of the arrest since. Question: How can people protect themselves? Answer: It is best to have a good supply of antibiotics on hand. Tetracycline or oxytetracycline is very effective against anthrax, if you are able to start using it before you contract a serious infection from these biological agents. This means to start using it the moment you know of a germ warfare attack against your area. This antibiotic is available at dirt cheap prices from your local farmers exchange. You can get a pouch of it under the name of Teramycin soluble powder, which has 102 grams in it. It says on the bag “Not for human consumption.” But I called Pfizer themselves, and they told me it is identical to the stuff they sell to the drug stores. And where you would pay about $14 at your local farmers exchange, the same amount would cost you as much as $1,400 from a local pharmacy, with a doctor’s prescription.

Question:

What about natural substances? Are there any that can help protect you?

Answer: The only natural substance I know of that is effective against these microbes is colloidal silver. I tested that myself when I was with the CIA, and found it effective against both anthrax and the bubonic plague pathogen.

Question: You realize, of course, how frightening everything you have been telling us 18

i

is?

Answer: This is the world of biologicals. It is a frightening world. And it is a world I have worked in for 20 some years. I have seen this disaster coming. And I have seen every person I have ever talked to in key positions of power who have tried to get a decent civil defense organization into operation get fired from their jobs, or worse. This is for real folks. It is not a game. It is not Sunday school. It is not the Twilight Zone. It is real.

Chapter 3: The 120 Cities Likeliest to Be Hit By a Terrorist Biological (Germ Warfare) Attack “The United States is ripe for a terrorist attack using biological weapons and is nowhere near ready for it, health experts said Tuesday...‘There is a growing number of millenium cults who believe the advent of the year 2000 signalled the beginning of the end of the earth, and they are actively pursuing ways to bring that about,’ says Michael Osterholm, state epidemiologist at Minnesota’s Department of Health.” — Reuters News Service, April 14, 1998

Here is a list of the 120 U.S. cities the federal government has apparently determined are the likeliest targets of terrorist biological (germ warfare) attacks. These are the specific 120 cities where training and drills are planned to help city governments cope with such a crisis. Please keep in mind that the residents of these cities are not being given instructions as to how to survive such an horrifying assault. They are not even being told what’s going on. Instead, the city government agencies and federal rapid response teams are being trained in how to better handle the inevitable panic during such an attack, and how to clean up the deadly aftermath! What’s more, at the time of this writing federal government sources tell us that actual training has only taken place in 20 or so cities, leaving the city governments of at least 100 of these cities with no training whatsoever. If you live in or near any one of these cities, you should strongly consider taking maximum advantage of the specific “how to” protective information you will learn in the remaining sections of this manual. You should also make purchases of the necessary survival equipment and supplies as soon as possible, and begin practicing with equipment such as gas masks so you won’t have to “learn by doing” in the midst of a deadly crisis. Better still, you should also strongly consider making advance arrangements with friends or family members living well outside of these cities to take you and your family into their homes for a few weeks or months should such an attack take place in your city, or a city near yours. Getting out of a contaminated area before you’re

infected with biological agents should be your #1 survival strategy. Other sections of this manual will deal with protecting yourself and your family as you work to leave a contaminated area. Having a pre-arranged destination to go to, far from major contamination areas, is something you’ll need to take care of now, while there’s still time. 20

4

Finally, if you do NOT live in or near one of these cities, please don’t make the potentially fatal mistake of assuming you are completely safe from the devastating effects of a biological attack. No matter where you live in the U.S., you need to take advantage of the specific “how to survive” precautions spelled out in the remaining sections of this manual. Former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris warns (and government officials quietly confirm) that the initial release of the biological agents anthrax and bubonic plague in just one major U.S. city could result in over 400,000 deaths within the first few days, with hundreds of thousands more deaths coming in the following days as unprotected and infected individuals fleeing the attack zones unwittingly spread the deadly organisms across the population belts.

With that said, here is the list of cities the federal government has chosen for federal “rapid response to a biological warfare attack” training, apparently being the cities most likely to sustain terrorist biological attacks: Wichita, KS

New York, NY Sacramento, CA Lincoln, NE

(Amarillo, TX V Long Beach, CA

Norfolk, VA Worchester, MA Cleveland, OH

Aurora, CO

Las Vegas, NV Knoxville, TN

Baton Rouge, LA

New Orleans, LA

Corpus Christi, TX

Springfield, MA Tucson, AZ

Cirving, TX) x St. Louis, MO

Raleigh, NC

Colorado Springs, CO Spokane, WA

Modesto, CA

Chattanooga, TN

Nashville, TN

Jacksonville, FL Tampa, FL

St. Petersburg, FL Orlando, FL

Charlotte, NC Stockton, CA

Tacoma, WA Columbus, GA Newark, NJ Little Rock, AR Milwaukee, WI St. Paul, MN Bakersfield, CA

Denver, CO Rochester, NY San Bernardino, CA

Memphis, TN Louisville, KY Freemont, CA

(Austin, Xe Jersey City, NJ Syracuse, NY

(Fort Worth, TX * Riverside, CA Providence, RI

Chesapeake, VA Atlanta, GA Richmond, VA

Kansas City, KS Virginia Beach, VA Shreveport, LA Metaire, LA

Albuquerque, NM Jackson, MS Fort Lauderdale, FL Oakland, CA

Phoenix, AZ

Anaheim, CA

Oklahoma City, OK Anchorage, AK Salt Lake City, UT

Toledo, OH

Fort Wayne, IN

Portland, OR

Pittsburgh, PA

Dayton, OH

Boston, MA

Lexington, KY

Des Moines, IA

San Antonio, TX

Birmingham, AL Newport News, VA

Huntsville, AL

Warren, MI

Kansas City, MO

Omaha, NE Greensboro, NC

Buffalo, NY Huntington Bch, CA San Jose, CA

Washington, D.C.

Seattle, WA

Akron, OH

Arlington, TX_7 x

21

Mobile, AL Glendale, AZ

Don’t Despair...There /s Hope Although the facts in the preceding sections of this manual paint a gloomy picture, there is good news, because there’s much you can do on your own, even while government workers and politicians sit on their thumbs. Even though our government is not prepared to protect you and your loved ones from such a horrifying event, there are a number of very effective ways you can protect yourself and your family, and do it without spending much time, effort or money in the process. Your advance preparations could make the difference between being the morgue photo for Exhibit A in the federal government’s case against terrorists, or surviving a bioterrorism attack so that you and your loved ones can continue to enjoy life. As we’ll see, such preparations are simple and not all that expensive. Provided you know what materials, supplies, and equipment to buy, protection is both affordable and readily available. Coupled with the information in the remaining sections of this manual, you’ll be able to save the lives of your family and maybe even your neighbors should the worst happen. The key thing is that you act now. Currently the equipment and materials you'll need are available at bargain basement prices, but only because right now

most of the public is unaware of the danger they’re in. That will change the moment there’s the first hint of an attack. At that moment the equipment you can buy today for ten bucks will cost you hundreds or perhaps thousands of dollars — if you can even get it. And by the time you get it, it may be too late. You might already be a victim of that terrorist attack or attacks that spurred the panic. So once you’ve read the remaining sections of this manual, don’t put off taking the steps needed to round up the needed equipment and simple materials that could so easily help save your life in the very near future. Buy it now and it will be cheap. Buy it later and you’ll pay dearly for it -- if you can even find it. Now let’s see what those first steps are.

Paps

Chapter 4: Cheap, Effective Do-It-Yourself Protection Against Biological Agents “Whereas bombings of airplanes or buildings with conventional explosives have occasionally resulted in a few hundred deaths, each act of Biological Warfare Terrorism could result in hundreds of thousands or even millions of casualties.” — Dr. Jeffory D. Simon, The Terrorist Trap, America’s Experience with Terrorism, August 6, 1992

It is important to realize several things that make biological weapons more dangerous than most other types. First, they can be delivered stealthily, causing their damage without the victim even being aware that he has been attacked until well after he has succumbed to the disease. A spray from a car or aircraft, a mist fed into a ventilation system, spores thrown into the wind from a high building might all expose huge numbers of people to deadly pathogenic microorganisms and resulting disease without the attacker even being noticed. During the 1950s, the US government conducted several secret experiments on the US populations including those in Seattle and New York. These experiments were designed to determine how effective biological weapons might be if used against civilian populations. Spores of diseases that were uncommon but relatively benign to human beings were introduced into the air vents of the subway in New York and then samples collected afterward to see how the spores were transmitted. The tests showed that with just one release, large numbers of people could be exposed to an infectious dose.'® These people would then carry that infection to thousands of others. A similar test in 1950 showed an even greater danger. When researchers released

an aerosol cloud of spores from a ship off the coast of San Francisco, nearly 100 percent of the population inhaled what would have been lethal doses had the agent been lethal to gp 9 human beings.’

18 Sheldon H. Harris, Factories of Death, Japanese Biological Warfare 1932-45 and the American Cover. . up, Routledge, NY, 1994. Arnett, 19 Jonathan B. Tucker, “The Future of Biological Warfare,” quoted in Thomas Wander and Eric H. 1993. D.C., , Washington AAAS, Weaponry, Advanced of eds., The Proliferation

23

The effectiveness of such attacks, and the time delay between when they were launched until the disease would have broken out, would make it possible to mount an attack that might go unnoticed until its effects had nearly run their course. It might even make it possible to damage a country without fear of retaliation because there would be no hard evidence of who made the attack or even if it was an attack. This makes biological weapons ideal for terrorism.

The second danger is that biological weapons, unlike others, are alive. A pathogenic agent replicates and attempts to continue to spread, making it deadly long after the original attack. As stated earlier, this ability to spread can create fatalities and injuries among people who were no where near the point of release. Due to mass transit and the millions of Americans who commute to work each day from one city to another, the deadly diseases caused by biowarfare agents such as anthrax and bubonic plague can unwittingly be spread from city to city across the U.S. in a matter of days or weeks -- and there is nothing the government can do to stop it. Given the ability of today’s citizens to travel across country in automobiles in the course of only a few days, and airplanes in a few hours, the potential spread of an initial release of deadly pathogenic microorganisms such as anthrax or bubonic plague is absolutely horrifying. In the past “vectors” were proposed as a delivery system for biological weapons. Vectors are living organisms like mosquitoes, flies, or rodents that carry the actual disease used as a biological agent and transfer it to human beings (or, more rarely, to crops, farm animals, or other targets).

The catch with vectors is that they are hard to raise, difficult to infect with the disease they are to carry, and tough to deliver on site. Most are much more difficult to keep alive than the disease they carry and are considerably larger and harder to hide as well as deliver. This makes them especially unsuitable for use in terrorist attacks where stealth, speed, and ease of use is essential. For this reason no further discussion in this manual will be given to the use of vectors as a biological delivery system. They might be employed by governments battling each other or even by terrorists; but given the difficulty of creating and delivering vectors, the chances of terrorists employing vectors appears doubtful at best. (Natural disease-causing vectors -- such as mosquitos carrying yellow fever or other serious illnesses -- are a different matter, and will be covered briefly later in this manual.)

Getting the

Jump on Terrorism

Because biological weapons are at their most dangerous when potential victims are unaware they are being exposed to a deadly disease, attacks mounted in stealth are the name of the game. Furthermore, the US government may try to “avoid a panic” (as well as avoid getting blamed for taking so few actions to protect US citizens) by downplaying such an attack, or attempting to mask it, for example, as a natural outbreak of a more virulent than usual strain of flu.

But you don’t have to be in the dark. There are some warning signs that you 24

should be aware of and keep in mind.

The first point is that when tensions grow between the US and a country like Iran or Iraq, the chances of a terrorist attack grow. Terrorists aren’t going to kill large numbers of people if doing so would result in retaliation or a change in policy against them. On the other hand, if the US were about to take actions that might topple a government or place economic hardships on a nation, the temptation to “punish” us with a terrorist attack would be great. Danger signs of such an attack include: °

Outbreaks of unusual diseases in distant parts of the nation at the same time.

°

Sudden government efforts to limit travel from city to city or state to state, or efforts to quarantine a large section of a city, county or state.

°

A sudden, unexpected vaccination program initiated by the government to avoid “new strains” of the flu or other diseases. (If the government instigates a nationwide vaccination program during a time of crisis between the U.S. and Iraq or another foreign nation known for terrorist activities, chances are good it is doing so in a clandestine effort to head off a biological attack. While you will need to weigh the risks of “side effects” that might accompany such inoculations, chances are the vaccine being administered might save you life. In such a case having your family get the shots might be the best thing you ever had them do.)

Any of these are tip offs that a terrorist attack may be starting or imminent. At that point you should limit your travel and exposure to areas that might be targets or where you would be easily exposed to a disease spread by those already infected. During such a time you should especially be wary of spending much time in crowded public places and avoid travel into large urban areas if possible. Steer clear of primary targets: Large cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and the 118

others named earlier in this manual. Additionally, steer clear of areas of mass public gatherings in your city or state, such as sports arenas or stadiums, high visibility “fun parks,” large conventions, and other mass gatherings that could easily be targeted by terrorists. Even stores, supermarkets, and other public gathering places can be extremely risky in the days immediately following the release of biological agents. Keep in mind that most people will not know they are infected right away -- it can take anywhere from two to four days after being exposed to biological agents before real serious symptoms begin to show. These people will continue on with their daily lives until they become too sick to function publicly. Meanwhile, they are going out to restaurants, theaters, supermarkets, office buildings, sporting events, PTA meetings, etc.

It is during this time that they can be unwittingly spreading the deadly microorganisms they are harboring. The human body literally acts as a living incubator for many of these deadly pathogenic agents. As the levels of pathogens growing in their bodies increases over a period of days, powerful cold or flu-like symptoms begin to set it, causing. coughing and sneezing that can spread the virulent microorganisms through the air and 25

into the public. University towns with large numbers of foreign students also are dangerous. The persistent rumor in the intelligence community is that some foreign workers and students are actually “sleepers,” saboteurs going about their daily life until an order is given from the homeland to mount a behind-the-lines terrorist attack in the city they are visiting.

Former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris tells of debriefing one female Iraqi student (see Harris interview in previous chapter) who told him Saddam Hussein now has over 100 highly trained terrorist “cell teams” stationed strategically throughout U.S. cities, each armed with deadly anthrax and bubonic plague. According to this Iraqi “student,” other female Iraqis coming into the U.S. on student visas, ostensibly to “attend college,” were smuggling in the deadly biological agents that are to be used against the targeted U.S. cities. Since these Iraqi agents are in the U.S. on student visas, it is highly likely that at least some of the towns they have chosen for attack are towns with large college campuses where they are living and attending college. You may also wish to take a gas mask and protective equipment to work, perhaps in the trunk of your car. This can be done without attracting embarrassing attention. And having such equipment with you might enable you to avoid exposure should you be forced to flee from an area to reach safety. If you suspect, based upon the signs spelled out above, that there is a strong likelihood of an attack, you may also wish to wear a surgical-style dust mask (more on these later) on the street. These are common in Japan and some other countries where people are concerned about not catching — or spreading — colds and other infections. Occasionally such masks are worn in the U.S. by asthmatics and hay-fever sufferers. You might be well advised to join these groups and wear a mask when you’re in a high risk area during a time when any of the danger signs spelled out previously are taking place. Chances are good that as more people become aware of the potential threat facing the US, more and more “asthmatics” will be seen on American streets. (See Appendix B for good sources of these masks.)

Such precautionary tactics also become essential should an “unusual” case of the flu or other unknown disease suddenly start spreading across the country. Again, it is highly likely the federal government might try to make a biological attack on U.S. cities appear to be a natural outbreak of disease (to avoid panicking citizens, as well as to mute the effectiveness of the terrorist act, and to help shield politicians from liability at the voting booths for failing to protect the public). In such a situation being able to “read between the lines” and see that a deadly disease is spreading across the country or throughout your city in the aftermath of an attack could enable you to effectively protect yourself and your family by avoiding exposure. For example, in such a situation staying home from work, school or other public places where large amounts of people gather and contagious disease could be easily spread just might save your lives.

26

The Ideal Bioterrorism Weapon The desirable features necessary for successful terrorist use of a deadly pathogenic agent on a large population group dictate that not just any disease is suitable. In order to work well for a sneak attack, it must be:

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Airborne, for easy delivery.

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Hardy, so it can survive being transported to a target.

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Highly lethal for maximum effect.

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Contagious, for maximum casualties among the people exposed to it.

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Capable of being checked with an inexpensive vaccine or antibiotic. This keeps it from being equally deadly to those employing it as a weapon. Should the users be exposed to the disease through accident or through contact with the enemy, they can treat their illness to avoid falling victim to their own weapon.

This “essential factors” list rules out a number of diseases that might be used by terrorists. Thankfully, this simplifies what you need to know and what you need to prepare for in order to survive such an attack. More importantly, it gives you some key ways that can be employed to avoid or overcome the dangers presented by these weapons. In effect, their pluses for use as weapons becomes their disadvantages that can be exploited by knowledgeable individuals when developing defensive tactics.

Achilles Heel The features that make a disease-causing microorganism ideal for use as a biological weapon also form its Achilles Heel, because these features make it possible for you to recognize possible dangers and take actions to protect yourself. For example, while the fact that these diseases are contracted and spread through the air makes them highly contagious, it also gives you a very straightforward way to keep your initial exposure to these weapons from affecting you. The key thing to remember: Most pathogens that might be employed as bioterrorist weapons are airborne, keeping them out of your nose, mouth, and eyes, as well as any cuts you might have on your skin, will keep you from contracting them. The remainder of this manual will focus on showing you how to do just that.

First step: If you can avoid getting the biological agents in your lungs, you have an excellent chance for survival of any bioterrorist attack. That is why the gas mask is your first line of defence in any terrorist biological attack. 2

The Gas Mask: Your First Line of Defense Although most people think of military gas masks as being designed to protect the wearer from chemical weapons, in fact these masks do more than that. Each also has a filter that removes bacteria and viruses from the air coming into the mask. That means getting a working military gas mask will enable you to create your “first line” of protection. In fact with many biological agents, a working mask will be all you need, provided you know how to carefully clean yourself off after getting out of an infected area (more on this subject later). A mask gives the most protection of any of the “gear” a person needs to survive in a contaminated environment and therefore should be one of the first purchases you make. If you have only a mask by itself, it’s certainly better than nothing; many biological agents won’t attack you quickly through the skin and some attack only through the lungs. So even if other gear is not available, sometimes a mask can still buy you enough time to allow you to move to a safe area. You can easily obtain highly effective gas masks from military surplus outlets, many of which will allow you to purchase your mask through the mail. We will reveal some of the best masks, and best sources for them, in this manual. Other big pluses of military surplus masks: .

Currently they’re relatively inexpensive; you can get a high-quality mask for $30 or less. (But they will NOT be inexpensive in the advent of a biological attack, or even a major scare. In fact, in those instances it is likely they will no longer be available at all, as supplies are thin, and millions will be demanding them. Be sure to order your masks as soon as you have finished reading the sections of this manual on the types of gas masks to obtain, and where to obtain them.)

°

Military masks are rugged; they’ll last a long time if you follow the directions for caring for them (given later in this manual).

°

Military masks are compact. You can easily carry masks for your entire family in the trunk of the family car (with plenty of room to spare), store one at the office, or even carry one in your brief case when things are “tense” on the international scene and a terrorist attack might be imminent.

Again, do not mistake it: When the public realizes that a bioterrorism exists and could occur, there will be a run on military surplus masks. At that will become hard to buy -- if available at all. One alternative is to purchase an mask that would also work for this purpose. In such a case you’ll spend about

threat point they industrial ten times as much money, but the overall quality will be better. However this source will also dry up quickly during an actual attack, or even upon the threat of an attack. If masks are still available when you’re reading this manual, you should buy one 28

as soon as possible for each member of your family. Again, don’t put off buying these masks because the plentiful supplies now available will likely vanish overnight if a threat suddenly becomes apparent.

Military Surplus Masks Military surplus masks offer the best buy in terms of protection versus money spent. These masks aren’t as flexible as modern industrial masks; that means their seals aren’t quite as tight as the more expensive masks. But their low price tags and ready availability, as well as the number of replacement filters available for them, makes them a good buy, especially if you’re on a limited budget. Not all masks are ideal, since filters are hard to replace on some models. Unless you're into building do-it-yourself filters or can adapt commercial filters for use in them, certain masks are only good as collector’s items. Among the masks to avoid are old British civil defense masks, WWII-vintage masks, etc.

The old M17/M17A1/M17A2 masks may fall into this category in the near future as the US switches to its newer M40 masks. However these masks are currently a viable alternative. I’1l be covering them in this manual, but be aware that in the next few years the situation (particularly for spare parts) may change on these.

Checking a Mask Whether newly purchased or coming out of storage, a mask should be checked to be sure the rubber or other material it is constructed from hasn’t started to rot. The test is simple; just pull on the rubber strap and observe how it stretches. The rubber material is worthless if you can pull on it lightly and see small cracks in it.

If you see tiny cracks, the mask is unsafe to use. Don’t buy a mask in this condition and discard any masks you have if they display cracks when stretched — or save them for “last ditch” use when masks are no longer available, or for visitors or neighbors who don’t have a mask in the event of an attack -- at least they would have some protection. But if you use such a mask, don’t get a false sense of security. It could easily fail when an adjustment strap is pulled and may even develop cracks large enough to create dangerous leaks.

Filters Military masks are often sold with training filters in them or filters that have been "deactivated" because they have absorbed material from the air. Don’t just purchase a PBS)

surplus mask and expect to use the filters that come with it.

A good mask will outlast many filters. That means purchasing one mask and one filter is not wise from an economic standpoint. You’re always better off buying four or five filters for each mask you purchase. Because when you need those filters, you'll need them very, very badly.

The Best Masks to Buy (While You Still Can) Currently one of the best US military masks on the surplus market is the M17, M17A1, or M17A2 family of masks. They are well designed and large supplies of filters are currently available for them. The original mask, the M17, is better than later models of the mask in many ways. The later models — the M17A1 and M17A2 — are nearly identical to the M17 except that they have a drinking tube and a resuscitation tube connector in their nose pieces. Unfortunately, the resuscitation tube is a doubtful asset since anyone needing resuscitation must have his mask removed before the tube can be fitted over his face; in

such a case, either the rescuer wouldn’t need a mask or the person being revived will be in bad shape because his mask is off! Either way, the resuscitation procedure isn’t going to work too well. The drinking tube assumes that you're going to be living in the area where the dangerous biological contaminants are. Soldiers may be forced to do this. But you don’t want to stay in a contaminated area long enough that you have to do this; survival chances diminish with time. You need to get out of an unsafe area and into a safe one — whether a shelter or a place far from the attack zone. The only exception to this might be if you are in a very hot area. In such a case the need for a drink might be overwhelming, especially if you are “suited up” in a hot protective outfit, which we will cover later in this manual. Important point: On the M17A1, some masks have resuscitation tubes and drinking tubes that leak. If you decide to purchase one of these masks, go with the M17A2 as this problem is less apt to be seen in this version.

Since the US Military is replacing the M17 series of masks with a new mask, spare parts and filters should be purchased now before they become hard to get. While the fact that many police departments use these same military masks means that the masks and accessories for them will probably be available for some time, it would be wiser to get what you need when you buy the mask if you decide to go with the M17. The M17 mask isn’t perfect. The mask’s filters are in the cheeks of the mask

which makes them very awkward to replace. While the filters are lightweight so that the mask is comfortable to wear and not apt to get “hung up” in brush or on obstacles, the 30

‘.

filters can’t be replaced quickly or easily in the field. The filter change in the field isn’t of much consideration, however, except to those forced to stay on a contaminated

battlefield. Hopefully, you will only be moving through a potentially contaminated area for a short period of time, on your way to a non-contaminated area. So a field change will likely not be necessary unless you get stuck for a long period of time in a contaminated area, due to traffic jams, government enforced quarantines or curfews, or other problems. In short, there are no perfect solutions. But overall, the M17 family of masks represent the best way to go for cheap, quick, effective protection. An important plus of the M17 is that there are military eye-glass inserts for those who wear prescription glasses. Some of the companies listed at the end of this manual (see Appendix B) offer these inserts which can be taken to an optometrist to be fitted with lenses. If you wear glasses, be sure to ask about this option when you call to order masks for yourself and your family.

Most M17 masks come with the riot-gas training filters. These filters have a black ring on them. Filters needed for protection from biological agents and chemical agents have a colored ring (usually yellow or green); be sure these are what you have. The color ring is on the neck of the filter and can easily be seen by removing the cover on the outside cheek of the mask. Again, be sure to emphasize exactly what you want when you begin calling companies to purchase masks, filters and other supplies. There are some other surplus masks that are less expensive than the M17’s and nearly as good if not better from some standpoints. One of the best bargains currently on the surplus market is the Israeli Civilian/Military mask. Though these masks look crude, they are fairly new in design. About the only drawbacks with the mask are their small field of view, lack of voice-mitter (a feature which allows your voice to be carried better from inside the mask), and the fact that they're a bit more clumsy than other military masks to get on.

One plus of the Israeli mask is the ease that the filter can be changed on it. The filter screws directly into the nose of the mask. This makes it easy to quickly replace the filter — something that can’t be said about the other masks. Perhaps the best thing about the Israeli masks is the fact that they use the European/NATO standard 40mm round thread filter inlet so that it’s possible to buy new filters from many of the companies

listed at the end of this manual. This will make it possible to get replacement filters for these masks as long as filters are available and the mask remains in good shape.

Another plus is that the Israeli masks seem to fit a wide range of head sizes better than other designs. Often these masks will even function with older children as well as adults, something that can’t be said for most other masks.

About the only catch is that the rubber in the Israeli masks is very stiff. This |

makes the seal less secure than with more expensive industrial masks. Nevertheless, if you’re careful, this shouldn’t be a handicap.

There are two versions of the Israeli masks currently available in the US. One is 31

the “G-1000A” which was produced for civilian use. These masks have small, round eye

lens that are somewhat restrictive in their view. The Israel Defense Force (military) mask is similar but has triangular eye pieces for a wider view. It also has a “voicemitter” that’s not available on the civilian model. The military mask also has a system that permits drinking in the mask, but requires a special Israeli canteen which has not made its appearance in the US. Given the premium prices of the military mask, the civilian version 1s a better buy.

The Israeli masks come with filters that are sealed. Leave the seals in place and the filters should last a long time. When getting ready to use the filters, remember that there are two seals. The top one has a screw top; this cap is removed and the filter screwed into the mask. The intake port of the filter has a tape seal that is simply pealed away. The German “Dreager M65” mask is also to be found in the US military surplus market. This mask is similar to the Israeli civilian mask and takes the standard NATO filters, making it easy (currently) to find filters for.

The Right Size For maximum protection, a mask must fit right. The M17 and many military masks come in three sizes. While some masks have edges that mold to a wearer’s face better than others (and allow more leeway in fit), a correct size is the safest way to go. Unfortunately, the only real way to check the size is to try several masks on; your hat size (small, medium, or large) is generally a pretty good guide, however. The size of a mask is inscribed on the front of most modern masks on the right temple of the mask. Abbreviations are "S" (Small), "M" (Medium), or "L" (Large).

To check the fit, look in a mirror or get someone to look at you. Look for the following:

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A mask should not force your eyes partly closed.

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It should not have straps that touch your ears.

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A mask’s nose cup should not touch your nose.

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A mask should be well up on your forehead.

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A mask should not cut into your neck under your chin.

If the mask doesn’t fit, try adjusting the straps. Various masks have different

ways of adjusting the straps. The US masks are adjusted to a tighter fit with a quick jerk

back on the end of the strap. To loosen a strap, the end is held forward and, with the other hand, you pull the strap behind the buckle back.

Ly)

Israeli masks have a better strap system. Straps are tightened by pulling the strap back; to loosen a strap, it is pulled forward on the lock release. (This design is easier to use during the panic that often occurs when you're in a hurry to get the mask on and get rid of all its leaks.) Protective equipment for small children and even infants is available from several of the companies listed in the back of this manual. These are more expensive than standard masks, but considering what they’re being purchased for, this additional price will be worth the expense.

Take a little extra time when choosing a mask to get the right size. Doing so will greatly enhance the ability of the mask to protect you. If this isn’t practical, purchasing the Israeli civilian mask or an industrial mask is a good idea. These masks fit a wider range of users and will permit some “slop” without loss of capability.

Putting the Mask On There is a trick to getting military-style masks (which use a number of straps) on. The logical way to put them on is wrong; never don a mask by placing the strap over the back of your head and pulling the mask down over your face. The correct procedure is as follows:

1.) With the mask’s outside pointing away from you, place each of your thumbs under each of the lower head straps and pull the mask open.

2.) Place your chin in the chin of the inside of the mask. 3.) Pull the mask up and over your face while your thumbs pull the straps back over your head.

4.) Check the seal by placing your hand (or hands if your mask has two filters) over the inlet valve(s) on the filter(s) and try to inhale. The mask should collapse slightly and remain air tight for ten seconds while you hold your breath with your hands sealing the inlet valves.

That’s it. If the mask leaks, there are several things to check to be sure the problem is in the fit. Check the exhaust valve (usually in the mouth/nose piece of the mask) for leakage; sometimes the valve will be stuck open (this can generally be forced

open or closed by inhaling/exhaling very hard with the intake valves covered with your

hands).

If the exhaust valve is functioning properly, check the edges of the mask to be sure some hair isn’t holding the mask away from your face. If the problem isn’t in the exhaust valve or hair creating a leak, the mask is either defective or doesn’t fit.

ae

Spare Parts Generally, if you’re purchasing an Israeli mask or other inexpensive surplus mask, spare parts will be more expensive than a new mask. For this reason it may be more cost effective to purchase an entire spare mask rather than parts to fix up a failing mask. This may not be true if you’ve opted to buy an industrial mask. In such a case, some spare parts could be a worthwhile investment. Since some parts are generally more apt to wear out before others in a mask, buying key parts will allow you to extend the life of the mask without a lot of extra expense. The critical parts of a mask (next to the filters) which you should consider purchasing are the exhaust valve and the inlet valves on either side of the upper nose cup (spare inlet valves are also good to have but if they leak, you can get by provided you don’t try to change a filter while you're wearing the mask). Valves in the mask should lie flat and (obviously) be airtight. The outlet valve is the most important valve in the mask. If you can’t get any other spare parts, at least get a spare outlet valve.

If your mask has eye lens "outserts" or replaceable lens, it might be wise to have spares of these as well, especially in a sandy environment where the lens may get scratched up.

Practice Makes Perfect It goes without saying that “on the job training” when dealing with something as deadly as biological weapons isn’t a wise strategy for survival. That means it is important for you and your family to practice putting on masks. This will give you an added edge if the masks are needed in a hurry. Everyone will be familiar with the procedure and things will go smoothly.

Such familiarity could spell the difference between life and death.

When practicing, be sure to hold your breath while putting the mask on and then exhale every bit of air that you can push out of your lungs once the mask is on. This long exhalation of air from your lungs will push contaminated air out of your mask and it’s good to get into the habit of doing this.

You should also practice running, sitting in your car (to see how well you could drive), and doing a few odds and ends to see how handicapped you’ll be in the mask. If you find the eye pieces of the mask fogging up and the nose cup valves are working properly or if your mask doesn’t have a nose cup, you should purchase antifogging chemicals to put over the lens of the mask. You can purchase commercial anti-fog material either as a stick (for $3.95) or in a spray bottle (for $3) from most 34

companies selling masks. The material is rubbed or sprayed onto the lenses and then buffed; it does away with fogging for some time.

Cleaning a Mask To clean a mask (not decontaminate a mask — this procedure will be covered later in this manual), swab it off with a cloth and soapy water. For a thorough cleaning, remove the filter(s) and give the mask a quick 3- or 4-minute bath in warm, soapy water. Rinse it off in clear water for 3 or 4 minutes so the soap residue won’t be left behind to irritate your eyes when you wear it. Dry the mask carefully. Remember that water damages filters; keep them dry.

Masks normally extrude a whitish material which may form a light film on the surface of the mask. This material protects the rubber. Don’t remove it and the mask will last longer.

More on Filters Filters go bad with time especially if they are exposed to the open air or excessive heat. You can prolong the life of a filter by keeping it sealed in an air-tight container (preferably the one it is sold in). This will keep the filters from slowly picking up harmless gases from the air and gradually becoming useless when it’s time to extract poisonous gases or biochemical agents. If you leave a mask exposed to the air even without donning the mask and breathing through it, the filter will be shot after a few month’s exposure.

If you keep the filters in the mask (a good idea with masks like the M17 which are hard to put filters in), then you should seal the mask in an air-tight bag. Just be sure that moisture doesn’t condense inside the bag and get into the filters (seal the mask up during a period of low humidity).

Some filters are easily stored with their air intake valves closed so that air won’t | flow around them and gradually deactivate them. This makes it possible to store them for a long period while having them ready to go at a moment's notice. The time needed to get a mask "up and running" with a good filter could mean the difference between life and death.

The Israeli masks and a number of the "canister" chin or chest canister masks are the easiest to keep a filter sealed up: just put a piece of duct tape — available from most hardware stores — over each opening. When it’s time to use these masks, you just pull the top off the filter, mount the filter into the mask, and put it on.

Whether storing your mask or wearing it, be sure to keep the filter dry. 35

Cold weather can also create problems with a gas mask since the moisture from your breath can form ice in the outlet valve of a mask. This ice will keep the valve open so that air can leak back into the mask through it. This can usually be prevented by getting a cold-weather kit for the mask or by improvising one in the form of a sock-like piece of cloth which can be placed over the outlet valve. Either of these will keep heated air around the valve for a fraction of a second longer and prevent ice from forming. Filters should be replaced when they get wet or have become damaged. They should also be replaced if the filter becomes hard to breath through, if you can smell or taste a dangerous chemical, or if the filter has been excessively exposed to a contaminated area.

Know how to quickly change a filter and try to keep a spare with your mask at all times. Remember, too, that old filters can contain dangerous contaminants — including

the biological agent they’ve been removing from the air. Always be careful when discarding used filters since they could pose a threat to your safety.

M17 Filters Replacing filters in the M17 is a bit of a task and will therefore be covered in detail in this section since they are a bear to get filters into and out of. Here’s the procedure for getting a filter out (there are two on each mask): 1.) Pop off the cheek filter covers by prying them up from the bottom (note that they have a top marked "top" and a bottom so you get them back on correctly).

2.) Wiggle the rubber covering up and off of the colored filter ring. 3.) Turn the mask over so you can see the inside of it and unbutton the small rivet-looking buttons inside the mask over each cheek filter (take care, the rubber tears easily). 4.) Hold the cheek pouches open and wiggle out each of the filters. To place a filter in an M17-style mask:

1.) Determine the left and right filters (they are the same shape as the pouches they go into).

2.) Place the pointed end ofa filter into the pouch first and wiggle the filter back and forth until it gets into position.

3.) Button the rivet-shaped buttons down to hold the filter in the mask

4.) Place the filter covers back into place on the outside of the mask (with "top" toward the eye lens).

36

5.) Check the mask carefully to be sure it looks right. 6.) Be sure the nose cup rubber extension is over the chin area so that if moisture collects from condensation, the moisture will not run into the filters (the nose-piece extension should be over the chin piece).

Accessories There are some odds and ends that will help out with a mask. If you wear glasses, you should consider getting some sort of lens adapter for your mask. As noted above, the M17 has an eye lenses insert that is designed for the mask. One possible option for eyeglass wearers with some other masks (but not the Israeli civilian masks) is to get a pair of the black nylon sports glasses that are designed to be used with scuba masks. They have a rubbery plastic strap that is thin enough to allow a gas mask to seal around them. These are available at many optical stores. A carrying bag for your mask is another good thing to have. While you might get a military surplus carrier designed for a gas mask, a tote bag or “soft” briefcase might make more sense because such items are less apt to attract unwanted attention. Ideally the carrying bag will have a shoulder strap so it can be carried with you with a minimum of fuss. |

If the bag may be out in wet conditions or you need to keep a filter sealed up in the mask, either keep the mask or the entire bag in a plastic sack.

Gas Mask Hoods The M17 and some other masks have a hood designed for them. This doesn’t give complete protection, but would keep some biological contaminants off the scalp and thereby make your decontamination steps more efficient. However it is important to remember that a hood is not air tight. It does not guarantee that contaminants will not settle into the hair or skin.

Hoods designed for the M17 or M17A1 mask are available on the surplus market. Some other industrial masks and military surplus masks are also available with hoods.

To don a mask with a hood, use the same procedure outlined above for putting on a mask, but turn the hood wrong-side-out before you start. When the mask is on, pull the hood back over your head and tighten the drawstring. If you have time, you should then fasten the two Velcro-locked cords under your armpits to hold the hood down. With the mask and hood on, your head is protected and you’Il achieve complete protection from a large number of biological agents.

37

A Trick for “Extending” Filters Most modern masks have a small mesh-type filter over their intake surface which traps large dust particles. These are used to filter out particulate matter which might otherwise cause the filter to become clogged. These mesh filters are especially useful in removing bacteria and viruses of "germ warfare" agents as well as dangerous chemical dust such as asbestos, radionuclides, or other similar dangerous particles. Unfortunately, the mesh filter material will eventually clog up as the filters become full of "junk" from the air. What clogs these filters isn’t necessarily the dangerous biological agents, but rather the harmless dust and mold from the environment. You can significantly prolong the life of your filter by avoiding areas where you can see dust or other contaminants in the air. You can also extend the life of the filter by improvising a mesh filter from cloth or other material and taping it over the filter intake valves. If you are in a contaminated area, before you enter your shelter you need to be sure to remove such an improvised cloth filter from the mask, as it could easily be contaminated. You can simply discard it by peeling it away while the mask is still on. However take care to hold the mask against your face during this operation so air doesn’t leak in around your face. Replacement improvised mesh can then be added for your next trip out once the mask has been disinfected (as outlined later). Filters can be stored for long periods of time without harming their abilities to work well if they are kept in an air-tight container in a cool area. Heat, moisture, and air will all quickly deactivate the chemical protection ingredients of a filter. None will harm the filter that removes bio contaminants, however.

Hair and Beards Modern masks work by sealing around the face. Air is then forced through the filter and all potential contaminants removed. Anything that makes the seal fail is potentially life-threatening. That means care must be taken to keep locks of hair from falling between the face and the mask.

For men, the air-tight seal starts to deteriorate with even a 24-hour-old beard stubble. The protection will deteriorate ‘from there on. And guys with beards will seldom be able to get an adequate seal for protection with a standard mask. These facts dictate cutting off the beard and shaving closely for maximum protection.

If you don’t wish to cut off your beard, then there is a way to get around the problem. Masks are available that surround the whole head, sealing at the neck. This makes it possible to gain a tight seal even with facial hair. Probably the best of these

masks is the “NBC Posair 2000,” sold by Gas Masks, Inc. (All companies mentioned in this manual have their names and addresses listed in Appendix B of this manual.) 38

Mask Alternatives Surgical masks -- Traditionally surgical masks and similar protective measures have been adopted both to protect patients as well as to protect health workers. These masks are better than nothing but can leak considerably, making them less than perfect. They are better than nothing in a last ditch situation. (You may wish to invest in a bundle of these, however. Should a biological attack occur, being able to hand these out to your friends and neighbors might enable you to save a few lives — and gain a lot of goodwill in the aftermath of an attack.) You could also use such masks in a shelter or other area where wearing a mask around the clock is impossible. IMPORTANT: These might also be employed for the sick that are being cared for following an attack. Placing a mask on such a victim might help prevent secondary infections as well as help check the spread of disease to those helping him. These masks can be purchased from medical supply stores and many pharmacies (hay fever sufferers and people with asthma often wear such masks). You can also buy masks that are’similar to these at most hardware stores; these are designed for wood working and spray painting work where small particles can easily be inhaled by workers who don’t have adequate protection. Be sure to check the “fine print.” You want masks that give maximum protection against inhaling small particulate matter — not fumes. (See Appendix B for more sources.)

You can improve the protection of these masks by augmenting them with goggles that seal the eyes from exposure (some bioterrorism agents may gain a foothold through the eyes). However these are less than ideal; if they really keep air from circulating, they tend to fog up. Those that don’t aren’t air tight. Nevertheless, they would be better than nothing and would increase your protection. They would be especially essential if you are caring for a victim of an attack; a cough or sneeze from such a patient might easily splatter fine droplets toward your eyes. Having something over them would give you needed protection from contamination.

One big plus of these masks and goggles is that most are cheap enough to be purchased in bulk and then thrown away after being exposed to biological agents. This makes it possible to simply dispose of contaminated masks rather than having to decontaminate them. Remember: Even if you have quality gas masks, having a few disposable surgical or dust masks is a good idea.

Protective Suits It might be argued that a protective suit isn’t necessary for defense against many biological weapons. This is true, provided you have a method to shower and very 39

thoroughly disinfect your skin. And even then, some biological agents will penetrate the skin; the threat posed by such diseases is less threatening than when inhaled, but still presents a risk that is not worth taking. Street Clothing -- If you are caught by an attack and have only a mask, street clothing will offer some protection. In such a case buttoning and fastening all openings would improve your survival chances, as would improvising some sort of protective covering for your head. Adding rubber bands or packing tape around the wrists and ankles of your clothing would limit air flow and give even more protection. When reaching a safe area, you would then need to discard your clothing if at all possible or disinfect it (as outlined later in this manual).

Permeable and Impermeable Suits -- Military and medical workers often use protective suits when dealing with very dangerous pathogens. There are two styles of suits: permeable and impermeable. “Permeable” suits allow air to flow through them while filtering out much of the dangerous gases in the air. Impermeable suits don’t allow air to move through them. The impermeable suit — generally made of butyl rubber or rubberized cloth —offers more protection but is terrible when the weather is warm. Then the rubber suit can give you heat stroke in just a few minutes if you have to exert yourself. However, if you're in a cool area, impermeable suits offer the best protection and last a long time. Permeable (“breathing”’) suits designed for both chemical and biological warfare protection are made with activated charcoal quilted into them. The charcoal absorbs chemical agents so that they can’t damage your skin while the weave of the fabric prevents biological agents from reaching the skin. These suits allow air and water vapor to move through the suit so that you are cooler in them than in the rubber suits. The permeable suit is still far from comfortable, however and is also heavy and hot in warm weather.

Military surplus permeable suits are a good bargain if you want only biological agent protection. Like filters, the permeable suit can also be damaged when it gets wet and it also pulls chemicals out of the air if the suit isn’t sealed in an air-tight container. This means suits the military uses for training are often discarded because they will no longer offer protection from chemical weapons. But their ability to protect from biological weapons remains. Often you can find these suits on sale in military surplus catalogs and stores for a song, making them a good bargain. (Do be sure to check for tears or rips that need to be patched to keep the suit’s protective value intact.)

Permeable suits can not be decontaminated after exposure to chemical weapons, but they can if the exposure has been only to a biological weapon. This means you can follow the decontamination procedures outlined in Chapter 6 of this manual, and re-use the suit. However, with the cheap price tags surplus suits carry, you should consider buying a number of these and then discarding them after use. This would make cleanup chores considerably less involved and expose you to less chance of catching the virus or bacteria trapped in the clothing.

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The only drawback to most surplus chemical/biological military suits is that they may not come with a hood. This dictates that you use a mask with a hood or improvise some system to cover you head. For this reason medical suits that come with hoods are more ideal. Disposable Medical Suits -- The disposable suits designed for medical workers are readily available and have low price tags because they are designed to be thrown away after use. The two fabrics to look for are Tyvek and Kaycel. These non-woven fabrics offer excellent protection from dust and air-borne particles. Non-coated, hooded Tyvek overalls with built-in boots are available from Direct Safety Company (see Appendix B) for under $10 per suit. The white coveralls are available in small, medium, large, and extra large; these suits are very lightweight and don’t take up much room. A suit and gas mask along with some lightweight rubber gloves could easily be fitted into a large brief case, giving you a way to carry a little “insurance” without attracting unwanted attention.

Lightweight Tyvek and Kaycel suits are designed for laboratory use. That means they don’t stand up well on the street — especially the boots which can be abraded quickly to loose their seal. For this reason you may want to augment such an outfit with rubber rain shoes to keep from wearing the fabric out. Such boots can be purchased at most shoe stores or discount stores for under $20 a pair. (In a pinch, plastic bags might be used for very temporary boots; be sure to use tape to keep them from being too baggy; this is an expedient solution and not ideal.) Rubber gloves, like those used to wash dishes, as well as disposable surgical gloves, are ideal to complete a biological protection suit. These are available for a song at most grocery stores and drug stores. Many hardware stores also carry the gloves for use with harsh paint removing and other chemicals. If you will be doing heavy work that might tear these gloves, then purchase cotton gloves to wear over them. When it comes to sealing the junctures of your suit at your hands and feet, duct tape is an ideal solution. In an emergency, wide packing tape can also be used. When using either, be sure to bend over the end of the tape at the final lap around the wrist or ankle. This will keep the end from sticking and make it possible to easily grip it even when wearing gloves. This makes disrobing from your suit considerably easier and faster.

Creating a Contaminant-Resistant Protective “Expedient Suit” -- An expedient protective suit could be created from cotton fabric (provided it has not been | water proofed); a sweat suit, coveralls, jump suit, or similar outfit would be ideal for this. . The more “skin” covered by the outfit the better. When completed, this expedient protective suit should be worn over a heavy layer of clothing. That means your expedient suit should be larger than the size you normally wear.

Here’s how to make it resistant to biological agents should you have to pass through a contaminated area: First, bring one gallon of water to a roiling boil in a large pot, such as would be used for a pot roast. Turn off the heat, and immediately mix in 1/4 gallon of liquid detergent (laundry or dishwashing liquid will do), 1/2 pound of hand soap shavings (carefully pre-cut from a bar of soap with a knife), and 1/4 pint of 4]

disinfectant (such as lysol). Mix these ingredients together, and then carefully immerse the suit into the mixture, being careful not to burn yourself. Let the suit soak in the mixture for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to agitate the liquid so every part of the fabric is soaked and will absorb the various ingredients.

Now set the suit aside to dry thoroughly. Once it is dry, you could wear it for added protection if you had to walk through a contaminated area. However you should remember that your expedient suit will fall short of giving 100 percent protection. It gives you added protection, not perfect protection. And it would be inferior to the protection offered by a military surplus suit or an industrial or medical suit like those mentioned above. Finally, please remember that a protective suit improves your chances of survival during a biological attack, but there are no guarantees for survival ifyou stay in a contaminated area for any length of time. Sooner or later you’!1 manage to knock your mask loose, your mask filters will fail, or your suit will tear. Don’t be foolhardy. Get out of, or avoid, a contaminated area when possible. Use the suit and mask to help you leave dangerous areas but minimize the time you are exposed to danger whenever you can.

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Chapter 5: Contamination-Proofing Your Home “A major biological arsenal, with trillions of bacteria - enough to wipe out the entire United States population - could be built with under $10,000 worth of equipment in a room 15 feet by 15 feet. And unlike nuclear materials, we have no way of detecting it until it’s released into the air.” — Kathleen C. Bailey, Assistant Director of the US Arms Control Committee.

Ideally you would evacuate from an area that was under terrorist attack with biological weapons. However that might not be possible. If, for example, you were in an urban area where large numbers of people tried to escape at the same time, gridlock might make it impossible to leave the area right away. Too, there might not be any indication how wide-spread the problem was; if large numbers of terrorists were operating in concert, you might easily leave one area of contamination only to enter another. Not only that, the chances would be good that some of those escaping a contaminated area would bring the disease along with them. The worst place you could be would be in a refugee camp that had a plague spreading like wildfire through it.

If you are forced to hunker down and stay in a contaminated area for a period of time, a protective suit and mask can give protection only for a limited time. In such a situation, you must eventually get into an uncontaminated area to eat, sleep, and tend to other callings of nature. Keep in mind also that a protective suit will eventually fail; you must minimize your time in a contaminated environment if you are to improve your chances of survival.

The easiest way to reach a ‘clean’ place is to get out of the contaminated area. Since biological weapons will usually be used on small areas where terrorists can kill large numbers of people, evacuation will usually be the best choice to make in escaping contamination. If you were on the outskirts of such an area, walking or riding out of the contaminated area might be an option.

But if biological weapons are used over a large area, or if the area you’re in has been temporarily quarantined by the authorities to keep the disease from spreading, you will have no choice but to get by the best you can. Jn such a situation, the ability to

create a shelter to protect yourself from biological agents until the quarantine ts lifted or help arrives would be essential for your survival. 43

While ignoring the civilian population, our government has developed shelters for our military to use in such an attack. These generally operate on “positive air pressure.” This system works like a tent that is kept inflated by pumping air into it. The air is brought in through filters to remove biological contaminants from it. The positive pressure inside the tent forces air through any holes that might develop, making it impossible for a biological agent to penetrate the system. Unfortunately such shelters are too expensive for most civilians to purchase and are often not made to last or to be operated without heavy motor-driven equipment and extensive maintenance. That said, many homes and offices are pretty air tight, in part due to better building techniques as well as because of attempts to conserve energy. This means that it is practical to seal off a room in a building and transform it into a biological agent-proof shelter. We will look at that option in just a moment. But first, you should know that you can help protect your entire home or office from biological contamination by installing a good HEPA filter in your forced air heating/cooling system. The following sections will discuss a number of effective filter options that will aid you in protecting yourself, your family and your home in the event you are forced to stay in a contaminated area.

HEPA: A Key Survival Tool The key ingredient for protecting your home or office is to make sure you have a filter for your forced air/heating system that is capable of taking out particles the size of biological agents. Viruses are the smallest of particles that might be employed as a biological weapon, with all other organisms being larger than viruses. Viruses range in

size from 0.01 to 0.27 microns in diameter. If a filter will remove viruses, it will give protection against all other biological weapons. Finding a filter like this may seem impossible. In fact, it’s possible to make an off-the-shelf filter do the job for not too great of an expense (more on that in a moment). The best commonly available commercial filter (the HEPA filter) is designed to have a 99.97 percent efficiency at removing particles of 0.3 microns from the air. While logic would dictate that such filters wouldn’t be as efficient at removing smaller particles or might even allow them to penetrate the filter, in fact, this logic is false. In what is a bit of a paradox, these filters actually are MORE efficient at removing particles that are smaller than 0.3 microns as well as particles that are larger. Such a filter is just what is needed. HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are designed for use in industry or medical work and also used by hay-fever sufferers to remove fungus and pollen from the air. Because of the hay-fever and allergy problems many people in the US have, most hardware stores now carry HEPA filters; you can probably find one at your local “True Value” hardware store, or even a local Wal-Mart.

HEPA filters must be certified in order to display the “HEPA” name. That means when you purchase a HEPA filter, you should be sure to inspect it carefully for this certification. This is one place where purchasing a name brand product is a good idea; you don’t want to save some pennies on an off-brand that may have fudged on its

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certification. Also be sure to avoid “near-HEPA” filters which come close to the performance of the HEPA filter but aren’t as good — you could need every bit of performance a filter can deliver during a bioterrorism attack. In short, when you buy a HEPA filter, buy the best your source has to offer. When placing a HEPA filter in a forced air furnace or air conditioning system, you can greatly improve its protection value by making sure air can’t bypass the filter around its edges. This means you’ll have to seal around the edges of your filter once it is installed. But keep in mind that such seals need to be made in a manner that permits quick replacement of the filter. A malleable material like plumbers putty, or even plain old duct tape or similar materials can be used to seal around the edges of an installed HEPA filter, yet still allow it to be easily removed and replaced later.

Since the time of a biological attack is not likely to be known in advance, it would be a good idea to stock up on a number of HEPA filters, and start using one now in your furnace/air conditioning system if you have a forced air system in your house. This would allow you to filter dangerous pathogens from the air before they enter your home, even if you weren’t aware that an attack had taken place, giving you at least some extra level of protection. Since infection is not likely in a healthy person until a given level of biological agents are breathed in, having a HEPA filter in place might make the difference between inhaling just a few spores and surviving, or inhaling a lethal number and dying. In short, using a HEPA filter is a good way to buy yourself a little extra time should a surprise attack occur, and a great way to help protect your house during the aftermath of such an attack. If a HEPA filter is not available (or you find you can’t afford one), there are some alternatives which aren’t quite as effective. In case of a biological attack, a standard furnace filter for your heating/air conditioning system will help, particularly if it’s coupled with several layers of a heavy bath towel to form a make-do filter. By doing this, you can create a filter which can remove 85 percent of all particles in the 1 to 5 micron range. While this won’t give full protection from some viral agents, it would be effective against many of the larger bacteria, rickettsiae, and fungi biological agents.

Another good choice for your heating/air conditioning system is a disposable, pleated air filter. Choose one which meets the US AHRAE standards and would ideally have 2-inch pleats. A 19-1/2-inch square filter like this will remove over 90 percent of particles 1 to 5 microns in size while offering less air resistance than the furnace filter/bath towel arrangement. While costing more than the furnace filter, it will greatly outlast it making the need to change the filter less of a problem.

With good filters in place, your air system can now be used to pressurize your house so that biological agents are unable to penetrate it from other areas such as around the door jams and windows, or through attic air vents or appliance ventilation ducts. IMPORTANT: In most cases, your heating/air conditioning system will need a fan capable of driving 300 cubic feet per minute through the filter, and will also need to have the intake port located outside the house rather than in the basement. Positive air pressure can only be created when the intake port is located outside the home, bringing outside air into the home to create a positive air pressure. Intake ports located inside 45

your home can only re-circulate air already in the home. This will not do the trick. Unfortunately, some of the forced air/heating systems in some homes or offices aren’t set up with outdoor intake ports. If this is the case in yours, you may discover that your system can be effectively modified with a few adjustments. You would need to consult your local HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) company to handle such a modification. If you are handy with such things, you could also create a squirrel cage fan/filter system for emergency use. It could be housed in a plywood box with caulking compound sealing it to keep it airtight. If you are not handy, consult your local HVAC company (ask to speak to an installer) and tell them what you have in mind. For the most part, however, using your forced air heating/air conditioning system with a good HEPA filter installed as described above is your best bet for creating the kind of positive air pressure needed to keep biological agents from penetrating your home (or office) through areas around your door jam, your windows, your appliance vents, etc. Keep in mind that if you do not think you can prevent leakage from around your HEPA filters for any reason, creating a positive air pressure will not work. You will only end up sucking large amounts of biological agents into your home or office, and spreading them throughout. The air brought in from the outside must be effectively filtered. If you can’t do so, then your next best option is to simply make sure your house is well sealed from the inside and the outside as described in the section directly below, and then create a “safe room” or “sealed room” as described in the section directly afterwards.

Sealing Your Home to Prevent Air Leakage In a fairly tight house, the system described above will work even when a 25 mph wind is blowing against the house. At higher levels of wind, the house may start to leak air from other areas. And if you are not able to create a positive air pressure system in your home, air leakage into the house is likely even on non-windy days. This is a serious problem, because in the initial stages of an airborne terrorist biological attack, literally billions of spores will be in the air, and you do not want them seeping into your home via air leaks. This makes it imperative to shore up areas of your home (or office) where excessive air leakage could bring in biological agents during a terrorist attack on U.S. cities. Fortunately, there are several ways of combating air leakage.

One way to make the house more resistant to air leakage is to seal the house from the outside very carefully with caulking (particularly around windows) so that it can withstand greater wind forces without leaking. Much of this sealing can also be done ahead of time and will give an added benefit of energy savings in the here-and-now. Or,

you can wait until the threat of a terrorist bio-warfare attack has become a reality, and hope you have enough time to get the job done before your specific area is contaminated.

Occasionally you will hear of a house that is sealed too well. The occupants then suffer from "out gassing" of plastic materials in the house, carbon monoxide from kitchen 46

ranges, or other sources of air pollution. But according to current experts on energy efficiency, it’s nearly impossible to get a home too tight; this is generally only a worry with very small houses being heated by a system that isn’t properly vented. This means that if you want to prepare beforehand for a biological attack, you can pretty much do so without fear of creating other health problems. The cost for “tightening” an average home is about $50 if you do it yourself; and you’ll get the money back in energy savings in a year or two at the very most. The first tool you’ll need is a caulking gun and a number of tubes of caulking. Latex and butyl rubber caulks are inexpensive and can even be used indoors (remember, too, that butyl rubber offers excellent protection from chemical agents if that is a consideration). Or, you can use silicone caulks for longer caulk life outdoors, or the for greater joint flexibility between two different building materials. If you have large cracks or gaps in the sheathing of your house, then you might consider filling them with “expanding foam caulk,” available in simple-to-use spray cans, to augment your other caulking chores. (Note: All of these supplies are available at your local hardware store.) Be especially careful to caulk the areas around all window and door trims very well. Indoors, hit the window and door trims again, and be sure to caulk around the molding too.

Weather stripping can also be used to slow air leaks between fixed and moving parts of your house. Doors, windows, and attic access panels are all good places to use weather stripping. This comes in a variety of styles: felt strips, foam tape, rubber extrusions, folded metal/vinyl strips, door “threshold sweeps,” etc. All of these can all help you get the job done, depending upon the needs for your specific house. Don’t skimp on the doors since the weather stripping material there will get a lot of wear and tear in dayto-day use. Some doors may need to be taken down and planed to provide a space for the weather stripping, and to give a tight fit. Again, if you are not handy, call in an experienced local handy-man and explain what you want done. They’ll be happy to do the job for you. One area of the home where large leaks may occur, which is generally overlooked by most people, is in the electrical outlets located throughout your house. Electrical plugs located on the inside of your house’s exterior walls are most vulnerable to air leakage. There are several ways to effectively seal these outlets from the inside to prevent contaminated air from seeping into your home during a biological attack. One is to simply remove the socket plate and use expanding foam caulk to fill in the area around the electrical plugs. A better way is to purchase a foam gasket designed just for this purpose, install it behind the plug, and then cover it with the socket face plate. Again, your local hardware store is the best source for these supplies.

Installing exterior storm windows will also help decrease unwanted air leakage into your house. Plastic film “interior storm windows” will add to the effectiveness of the storm windows or may be used instead of them if you’re in a bind for cash. Currently, kits of clear plastic which will cover one to five windows are available at many hardware stores. These allow double-stick tape to be applied to the window trim or wall (the wall

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gives more complete sealing) and then the plastic sheet is placed over the window and held in place with the tape. An electric hair dryer is used to heat shrink the plastic sheet into place. This is a quick and easy way to give your home or office a significant amount of added protection against contamination from airborne biological agents. In an emergency situation where time is of the essence, you can use duct tape and plastic sheets -- even large plastic garbage bags would do the trick -- to seal windows and doors in order to limit the amount of air leaking into your house.

Creating a “Sealed Room” or “Safe Room” For maximum protection against biological agents in the home (or office, if you happen to get trapped at work when a terrorist biological attack takes place) it is recommended you do as the Israelis do and create a “sealed room” or “safe room.” If you plan in advance and keep the proper materials on hand, you can create a sealed room in a very short period of time during an emergency. Large, clear plastic sheeting can be employed for this purpose. This sheeting is currently available in limited quantities at most hardware stores where it is sold for use as a barrier between the earth and concrete foundations, or for construction of inexpensive greenhouses. But keep in mind that during an emergency such as a terrorist biological attack on U.S. cities, word will spread quickly and supplies of plastic sheeting will dry up almost overnight. In the event of an attack on your city, it is most likely that all stores will be closed anyway. So purchasing these materials now — in advance of the anticipated crisis — is the absolute wisest move you could make. Measure the room you’ve chosen for your “safe room” or “sealed room,” (see instructions for which room to choose, below), and purchase enough of this

plastic sheeting to completely cover the room — walls, ceilings, floors and then some!

By thoroughly covering the walls, ceiling and floor inside a room with this plastic sheeting, and then sealing the seams between sheets with packaging tape or duct tape, you can quickly create a very airtight shelter. If necessary, you can use a staple gun, push pins, or other fasteners to keep the plastic sheets in place on the wall and ceiling; once in place, cover the staples, pins, or other fasteners with duct tape or packaging tape to minimize the chance of tearing or having air leak in from the holes. Because the vast majority of air leakage will most likely occur around doors leading to the outside, and around exterior windows, it is wise to choose a room that has no doors leading outside the home, and only one -- or even no -- windows. If your home or office does not have any windowless rooms, be sure to tape the plastic sheeting very securely over the window so there are no leaks from the outside possible. As mentioned earlier, if you can safely spread caulking around the entire outside and inside of the window to seal all cracks, it would be wise to do so -- however, keep in mind that in the event of a terrorist

biological attack on your city, you will want to dramatically limit your personal exposure outside of the house. This is something you need to do in advance of a terrorist biological attack, if at all possible.

It is also extremely wise to choose a room that is on the “downwind” side of your home as your “shelter room” or “sealed room.” If the room you’ve chosen is on the 48

“downwind” side of your home, the structure of the house itself will block most of the air leakage from coming into the room. In such a case, a single room lined with plastic Sheeting would give a very high level of protection -- much more so than an entire home or apartment, no matter how well you have sealed up the doors, windows and

vents. And again, the sealing of a room with plastic sheeting can be done rather quickly upon news of a terrorist biological attack in your area — as long as you already have the materials and supplies on hand to take care of the job. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Get these materials now while there is still plenty of time. Be sure to store water in the room you’ve chose for your “sealed room.” A ruleof-thumb figure for water needs are 2 quarts (a two-liter soft drink bottle works well for this purpose) per day per person at a minimum. Remember that it’s always better to have too much water on hand than not enough. If you drink soda pop or any other products that come in plastic containers, carefully rinse the empty containers out and use them to store water. Two liter pop bottles are probably the best since the containers are tough and easy to move and handle. Plastic milk containers work only for a very short time; they tend to split easily even when new, and over time the plastic deteriorates so they have to be replaced. Best advice is to avoid plastic milk containers for water storage.

Ideally, you will also want to store food such as canned goods in your “sealed room” so there will be less need to leave the room and risk possible exposure to biological agents in other areas of the house. Food that can be eaten with a minimum of preparations would be ideal in sucha situation. Tins of tuna, canned veggies that can be eaten cold, etc. Avoid running a cooking stove or even using candles in such a closedin area as the amount of oxygen and the build-up of carbon monoxide would likely present a significant danger to you in such a tight space. Setting up a “porta pot” (available in most camping/outdoor supply stores, or via mail order through The Sportsman’s Guide -- see Appendix B) in a closet in your sealed room would take care of your bathroom needs for some time. Many of the newer store bought models have disinfectant built into the base so you can go for quite some time without stench before having to empty it. Having your family “camp out” in a room so equipped would greatly reduce your chances of becoming infected with pathogenic microorganisms during the initial stages and aftermath of a biological attack on your city. Keep in mind that your sealed room is simply a place to gain added protection for a few days if necessary, until you can leave the contaminated area altogether.

Other items to consider storing in your sealed room in advance, or bringing into your sealed room during an emergency, would be:

°

Flashlight and batteries for light, since your local power company will probably fail for at least a short period of time in the case of a direct terrorist biological attack on your area.

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Can opener for canned goods; plastic cups, plastic silverware and paper plates for eating and drinking; plastic garbage bags with “twist ties” for trash. 49

A home colloidal silver generator is an absolute must for your sealed room. It is your first line of defense against the coming infectious disease crisis. This will allow you to make as much colloidal silver -- the world’s most powerful natural antibiotic, which even kills anthrax -- as you need during a crisis to help prevent microbial infection, as well as to purify drinking water while you are waiting for the “all clear” signal. An innovative company called Silver Bullet Enterprises distributes the very best lightweight (about the size of a pack of cigarettes) battery-operated colloidal silver generator we have ever seen. Do not fail to read Appendix A1 for a detailed description of this fascinating little unit that could literally help save your life during the coming infectious disease crisis; and see Appendix B for pricing and ordering information.

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A battery operated radio (preferably short wave, as your local radio stations will probably not be functioning in the event of a terrorist biological attack on your area), SO you can tune in to government reports, and find out when it is safe to go back outside again. Since you cannot always depend upon batteries, a simple “hand crank” or “wind up” radio (i.e., that operates without conventional batteries because it generates and stores its own electricity when you rapidly crank a small handle twenty or thirty times) would also be an ideal tool to have on hand inside your sealed room. (See paragraph directly below.)

A very interesting company we’ve recently discovered, called Columbine Sales, sells the phenomenal JVFO MATE CRISIS PREPAREDNESS RADIO, with multiple alternative power sources so you NEVER have to depend upon the power grid. The unit comes with a built-in solar panel -- just set it in a sunny window and it automatically begins storing energy for hours and hours of play. Or, you can use the simple wind-up hand crank to generate and store energy (i.e., you simply wind it up for several minutes to produce enough energy for hours of playing time)! Or if the power grid is working, use standard household current to charge the batteries, with an optional AC/DC adapter. Heck, it can even be charged through your car’s cigarette lighter! Talk about alternative power sources! What’s more, you’ll not only be able to pick up AM and FM band, but you get 7V band (so you can tune into the sound portion of television broadcasts), police band, taxicab, ambulance and commercial airline band too! It also gives you direct access to National Weather Service broadcasts!

PLUS, YOU GET SHORTWAVE

RADIO TO BOOT! Be sure to read more — including pricing and ordering information — about these extraordinary emergency preparedness products in Appendix B, under Columbine Sales. Another important item to have inside your sealed room would be a cellular phone. In the event of a terrorist biological attack on your city, it is likely your local phone company will be completely shut down. Electrical power to your city may even be out for a period of time. But the cell your cell phone calls go through may be far enough outside of your area to still be operating. If so, having direct contact with people you know and trust from outside of your area could be a real life saver. They can tell you what’s going on, what the government response to the emergency is, how other cities around you are faring, how long the crisis is expected to last, whether or not your city has been quarantined, when your city is scheduled for government clean-up crews or evacuation, whether or not roadways into and out of your city are open, and much more 50

vital information.

Another form of communication you might consider having in your sealed room is a CB radio. Although the range on these is very short (two to fifteen miles), they have several distinct advantages over a cellular phone: One, you can listen in on the conversations of other people who are using CB during the crisis, which could help you obtain vital information. Two, if cellular and conventional telephone systems go down, it is likely that at least some government agencies will be using some form of CB communication, which you may be able to tune into by adjusting the frequency band on your radio. Three, you can broadcast a distress call to a wide range of listeners (i.e., everyone else that has CB), rather than to just one individual. Four, you are not dependent upon the local phone company or cellular phone company to stay up and running during the crisis; as long as batteries to your CB hold out, you have a viable method of communication. Hints: Be sure to stock plenty of extra batteries for your CB, in case you are stuck in your “safe room” for several days or even several weeks. Also, purchase a CB that can run off batteries as well as off a simple plug-in AC/DC power converter. If the power remains on, or comes back on after it’s been out a while, you can maintain your CB’s maximum broadcasting range and prevent wearing down your batteries prematurely by using the power converter instead of the batteries. This manual contains more information on communication devices in the section

below entitled “Determining When It Is Safe to Come Out.”

The Vacuum Cleaner Trick By the way, if you have power to your home or office you can create an effective improvised “‘quick-and-dirty” biological agent filter and positive air pressure system for your sealed room with a simple tank-type vacuum cleaner. This is best done during the

initial hours of an airborne terrorist biological attack in your area, when the danger is highest because the spores or other forms of pathogens are still floating in the air and have the best opportunity of penetrating your home through cracks and crevices. The best vacuum cleaner to use is the kind that comes with a HEPA filter already installed in it. That’s because exhaust air that passes through the cleaner will be free of nearly all spores or other dangerous materials. Many newer models of vacuum cleaners come with certified S-Class HEPA filters and could be used to build an “off-the-shelf” filtration and positive air pressure system in an emergency. With a little extra effort, even a vacuum cleaner without a HEPA filter can be

transformed into a biological agent filter and positive air pressure system. The trick is to fill the vacuum cleaner bag with fibers that are small enough to filter out spores and other agents. You can do this by extracting lint from a clothes drier. F illing the vacuum cleaner bag with such lint will transform it into an efficient filtration system.

The best way to use a vacuum cleaner filtration/positive air pressure system would be to place the vacuum cleaner outside your shelter area, connect the hose to the exhaust port and run the hose into your protected area. (You would have to cut a hole eH

through the bottom of the door to your sealed room, or through the wall, to run the vacuum hose into the room. After running the vacuum hose through the hole, be sure to thoroughly seal around the hole with duct tape so that you do not have leakage of air into the room when the vacuum cleaner is not running.) With the vacuum turned on, clean filtered air would be effectively vented into your “safe room,” creating positive air pressure in the room, and thereby preventing airborne microbes outside your home from being able to penetrate in through cracks or crevices into your sealed room. It would be wise to leave the vacuum running for a full 24 hours during the initial stages of a terrorist biological attack on your area. This way, you have positive air pressure in your sealed room during the worst part of the attack, when the spores are still airborne and the danger of having them seep into your room through cracks or crevices is highest.

However not all vacuum cleaners can be used this way. When purchasing a vacuum, be sure the hose can be connected to the exhaust port of the unit. Or, in a pinch,

you could connect the vacuum hose normally, place the hose outside the shelter and have the vacuum cleaner running inside the shelter, thereby venting filtered air into your living quarters and creating positive air pressure. The catch to this latter system is that you end up with the filter — and therefore any spores or other dangerous pathogens — inside your shelter area with you. In such a case, obviously great care would need to be exercised to prevent leaks or damage to the filter. And equally important, the system should never be opened or the filter replaced while the cleaner is inside your safe room. Once set up, when the vacuum cleaner is running it should offer at least 99.9 percent protection from 2 micron sized particles — roughly the size of anthrax spores. This one trick alone could save your entire family’s lives if you become stuck in a contaminated area for any length of time. It is a commonly known “positive air pressure” trick in Israel, where the citizens live under the threat of terrorist biological attack on a daily basis.

One more important note on this issue: Because you can’t see biological contaminants, it is easy to forget they exist. But doing so can prove fatal. So when you remove the filter from the vacuum cleaner, take care to remember that it will be full of

dangerous pathogens; be sure it can be disposed of without contaminating you or the area itis in. Burning is most ideal for this. When removing a contaminated filter, be sure to observe all decontamination procedures (see chapter 6) and wear a protective mask, gloves, boots, and suit. And finally, always remember that people leaving your “safe room” or sealed room should don their mask and protective suits before going out. When returning, the suits and mask should be removed just before re-entering the safe room. Ideally

anyone entering would be carefully decontaminated as outlined in Chapter 6 of this manual. The chances of dragging contaminants into the safe room is great anytime

someone enters from outside its protective area. For this reason trips outside the safe room should be kept to a bare minimum.

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Determining When It Is Safe To Come Out Should you be forced to “hunker down” in your home or office due to a terrorist biological attack on your city, knowing when to leave your shelter could be key in your survival. Leaving too soon could easily expose you to the very pathogens you’re attempting to avoid. Leaving too late might leave you in the middle of an anthraxcontaminated no-man’s land with no way to travel out because all rescue workers have written the area off. How do you figure out when to make your move? Fortunately there are several routes you can take to avoid making potentially fatal mistakes. The key things to know are: what’s going on outside the area you're in, whether or not people are being evacuated from your area by the authorities, and if so, where they are being evacuated too. . Having a way to communicate with the outside world (or at least obtain news broadcasts) is the #1 key to gaining this vital information. To do this, you need to have the items mentioned several sections above (i.e., battery operated or “hand crank” AM/FM radio; conventional telephone; cellular phone; CB radio), and you need to have them already purchased in advance of the crisis. If the disaster is very localized, a phone would be extremely useful for communicating with those outside the danger area. A call to a relative or friend could enable you to pick up key information that will help you to understand what’s going on, and help you plan on making your escape or deciding whether you should stay put for awhile longer.

That said, the telephone is not a sure-fire solution. For starters the high telephone traffic that would occur during such an emergency would almost guarantee that lines would be jammed. Furthermore, unless the central switching board was located outside the area of contamination, it seems likely that the system would have to operate unattended. While much of a modern phone system is automated, expecting it to operate for days without being attended to is unrealistically optimistic. Best advice here is to hope the phone will work but don’t depend on it when you’re making your plans. Cellular phone systems, CB radio, HAM radio, and the like might also be useful for contacting the outside world. However like the telephone it is likely that heavy traffic will initially overwhelm these systems as well. Furthermore, keeping such equipment running could be a problem since local electrical systems will undoubtedly go down within days, if not hours, of a terrorist attack on your local area. Having a battery operated CB radio will at least give you the option of /istening in to other people’s broadcasts and conversations, even if the airwaves are so tied up initially that you can’t broadcast out. (By the way, Radio Shack sells several hand held, rechargeable battery operated “CB walkie-talkie” units with 40 channels and full legal power, that includes a “high/low” switch which helps you conserve batteries. Use high power for maximum range, or select low power when talking to someone nearby. This way, your batteries are conserved for a significantly longer period.of time. These units are normally under $100 apiece. Stop in at your local Radio Shack and ask about models #TSP21-1647 and #T'SP 21-1646.) 53

Having a portable AM/FM radio will be essential. Since even small towns now have radio stations, it seems likely that any stations located outside contaminated areas would be broadcasting news about attacks, telling listeners which places were hit (and thereby giving you clues as to where places of safety might be), and relaying government instructions about what to do during the emergency. Furthermore the government might take over working stations with FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) or other agencies giving instructions on how to minimize risk as well as what evacuation plans might be going into effect. Receiving such broadcasts would be as simple as turning on a battery operated AM or even FM receiver and listening in. As mentioned earlier, it would be very wise to include lots of spare batteries for your radio in your shelter room with you. An even better option, as mentioned previously in the section on “Creating a Sealed Room,” would be to purchase a “wind up” (hand crank) radio that would work without batteries. (See “Sources” appendix.)

If you are using a radio that operates on batteries, then you should use it sparingly to conserve the batteries and prolong the period during which you can receive information with it. During emergencies, broadcasters tend to repeat important messages over and over in order to be sure everyone gets the information. If you keep your radio _on, you’ll only hear these repeated messages without gaining any new information after the first few minutes of listening. A better strategy is to listen in for short periods of time on the hour, finding a station that seems to have the most information pertaining to your area. Again, the key is to have a large number of batteries, and to use your radio sparingly. A dead radio will leave you blind to what is going on around you. Even if our government were to be crippled beyond being able to set up emergency procedures (and this seems extremely doubtful), radio broadcasts from outside US borders might also be received via short-wave broadcasts. While these would be of limited use as far as assessing your local situation, they might give you some idea as to how widespread the disaster was, if there would be outside help coming, and so forth. Such information could be very beneficial in making plans. For example, learning that a neighboring area was relatively unaffected while another was highly contaminated might keep you from heading the wrong way should you decide to evacuate your area. When To Leave -- If the radio brings you a message that people are being evacuated from your area, you need to be cautious about leaving. It seems likely that survivors might panic and leave in droves — thereby creating gridlock that could leave everyone stranded in a dangerous area. Furthermore, such people might be carrying the disease they’re attempting to escape; others might be dangerously desperate to get their families out, resorting to criminal acts if necessary to do so. Getting your family out into the middle of such a mob would be foolish.

Instead wait a while if at all possible, listening to your radio to try to determine if everyone is able to leave in an orderly fashion. Once it seems likely that you can make your escape, then you and your family members should carefully “suit up” in your protective clothing (as described in previous sections of this manual) and attempt to drive out. Automobiles are not air tight, even if you keep vents and air conditioning systems 54

closed and turned off. That means that your suits and masks must be worn until you reach a safe area. Generally you'll probably be better to sit tight in your shelter room until you’re absolutely sure you can reach safety. Getting trapped in traffic or being herded into a refugee camp where some people are sick, and where a plague will spread quickly if it breaks out, is not a good tactic for survival.

Of course with some biological agents like anthrax, large areas might remain contaminated for long periods of time. But even so, you’re going to be better off hunkering down in a shelter until the spores have time to settle out of the air and become trapped in the soil and water. At that point, travelling through contaminated areas would be much, much safer than it would for the first few days after an attack when spores are still airborne. In such a case, remaining in a shelter room you’ve constructed for a strategic amount of time could spell the difference between life and death when you finally decide to leave.

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Chapter 6: Savvy Decontamination Secrets You Need to Know “The likelihood of there being an attack someplace in the United States is fairly high, probably in the next few years.” — Colonel David Franz, researcher at the US Army’s Ultra Secure Lab for Defense Research, speaking on PrimeTime, ABC News, February 25, 1998. [Please note: the following section will describe some of the common -- and notso-common -- household chemicals that can be used to decontaminate living areas, clothing, tools, supplies and other things that have been contaminated by biological agents. It should be noted that such decontamination may cause damageto some materials, produce rust, or have other detrimental effects. Also it is important to remember that caustic lye, bleach and other disinfectants that may be employed on surfaces and objects are not suitable for use on human beings or other living things; many will cause grave chemical burns and other injuries. These chemicals can also produce dangerous fumes; protective gloves, masks, and other equipment may be called for when using these chemicals. Be sure to follow direction on the labels of any chemicals you employ for purposes of decontamination. Obviously such decontamination should be approached with great caution.] Fortunately, many biological agents will gradually be killed off by the ultraviolet light from the sun, by dry air, and other environmental conditions. In such a case sitting tight in a shelter may be all that is necessary until it once again becomes safe to go out.

However persistent biological agents like anthrax (which appears to be the “terrorist weapon of choice”) would be very difficult to decontaminate. Most likely your best tactic would be to use the protective gear techniques outlined in previous sections of this manual to effect an escape from such an area once it became possible to do so. Were that impossible, the decontamination procedures listed below would enable you to vastly improve your survival chances. But note that long-term existence under such conditions would be hard to achieve.

Outside soil and vegetation are hard-to-impossible to decontaminate. When time permits, it is best to wait for weather to decontaminate terrain naturally. Contaminated 56

areas should be either bypassed or, when protective equipment is worn, crossed quickly and carefully. After crossing a contaminated area, decontaminate yourself and your equipment as soon as the situation permits, using the techniques described in this sections of the manual.

With the exception of anthrax, most biological agents will be greatly weakened, if not killed outright, by exposure to the wind and sunlight. As Colonel David Franz, researcher at the US Army’s Ultra Secure Lab for Defense Research, has noted, “/f you look at the countries that have attempted to proliferate biological agents over the last 50 years, anthrax comes out at the top in every case. I believe that’s because it’s so very, very stable. It’s the most stable biological organism. ””° Fortunately, most other living micro-organisms that might be employed as a terrorist weapon are far less stable and have a hard time multiplying in a dry, clean, sunlit environment. Even in their spore stage, such conditions will discourage the growth of most harmful micro-organisms. Outdoors, if the humidity is low, most biological agents would die within 24 hours on a normal sunny, and slightly breezy, day. Except for spores, an area would be free of biological agent dangers within several days during good weather. This means you must be prepared to stay in your shelter for at least 24 to 72 hours or more before even attempting to go outside. Even then, wear your mask and other protective equipment, as outlined in this manual. If you have done as I have recommended and included a battery powered short wave radio, or even a simple hand crank radio as part of your survival equipment, you should listen for news before going out, to help determine if it is safe or not.

Indoors, the use of disinfectants — including soap and water — will help discourage the spread of biological agents. If you’re indoors, avoid creating an environment which encourages the growth of biological agents. Be sure everyone practices good common-sense personal hygiene, washing and disinfecting on a regular basis both to prevent contracting the biological agent as well as a secondary disease that might cause you to be more susceptible to the dangers posed by biological agents.

Savvy Decontamination Tricks Since terrorists may place biological agents in a liquid to enhance their abilities to stick to surfaces and survive for longer periods of time, you should always assume anything left outside in the aftermath of an attack is contaminated. Nevertheless, it is possible to wash most biological agents off gear, or even off large areas of a building or concrete surface. Steam or hot water with soap or detergent are effective in lifting microorganisms off objects and surfaces, and can be used to clean off most biological agents from contaminated areas. Remember however that these materials may fail to kill all of the agents. The run-off from attempting to decontaminate large objects outdoors is potentially dangerous.

20“Germ Warfare Weapons of Terror ,”PrimeTime, ABC News, February 25, 1998. on

Burial of biological agents is not wise since some agents can remain dangerous for long periods of time in cool, moist conditions. A better way of destroying contaminated material is to burn it in an extremely hot fire if possible.

Heat can also be used to sterilize small objects. An oven can be used for this purpose provided you're not putting fabrics in it — they would be destroyed. Temperatures of 335 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer for 2 to 3 hours will kill many biological agents. Boiling an object in water (preferable with soap or detergent) for 20 minutes at a complete boil (start timing after it reaches a full boil) will also kill many biological agents (add 5 minutes to the time for every 1,000 feet of elevation above sea level). Unfortunately, boiling will not kill anthrax spores, and will also create rust spots on many tools or other objects you may be trying to decontaminate. Pressure cookers or an autoclave can be used to kill biological organisms, and they will also kill spores; the pressure cooker/autoclave must reach a minimum of 15 psi (with 17 psi being safer to avoid errors in the meter) and 250 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes.

Decontaminating Your Body The act of washing your hands in warm water with soap — preferably a germicide soap — is a highly effective way to avoid spreading germs. Germicidal soaps are available in most pharmacies. In the aftermath of a biological attack, this simple tactic would greatly reduce the chances of spreading disease as well as help avoid the contraction and spreading of secondary diseases which can become dangerous when the body has been weakened in fighting off a serious disease. Additionally, the use of a germicidal hand sanitizer is highly recommended for after washing. A good product to consider is Hobe’s Instant Hand Sanitizer, which is a quick-dry gel formula that requires no soap, water or towel. It kills 99.99% of most common bacteria within 15 seconds of contact. (See Appendix B.) You can decontaminate your body by showering with soap and hot water, once again employing germicidal soap. (Available at most pharmacies.). Clean your nails thoroughly and scrub the hairy parts of your body. A shower is better than a sit-down bath. Pay special attention to any cut or sore which may be exposed to a biological agent; clean it thoroughly with soap and water then be sure to treat it with a powerful disinfectant such as betadyne or hydrogen peroxide (available at most pharmacies) when you've finished bathing. Your body can be decontaminated more fully with some germicidal chemicals. However care should be taken to avoid injuring yourself in the process. A 70 percent ethyl alcohol or 80 percent isopropyl alcohol "rub down bath" will clean off most biological agents if water isn’t available (but remember that alcohol doesn’t kill spores). Clean thoroughly and hold your breath when working around your nose and mouth. 58

WARNING: Avoid getting either of these alcohols into or even around your eyes, as they will cause severe pain, and might cause blindness.

Cleanup Vehicles that have traveled through a contaminated area should be thoroughly washed with hot soapy water at a bare minimum. If possible, you should steam-clean vehicles using detergent. Gas masks, protective shoes, gloves and other equipment should be carefully washed in hot, soapy water and left in the air to dry, in the sunlight, if this can be done without danger of re-contamination. Disposable protective suits should be burned carefully and thoroughly. Wash contaminated clothing in hot, soapy water if it can’t be discarded. Cotton items may be boiled for an even more effective germ-killing.

Common Household Chemicals to Use Against Biological Agents Many common chemicals are quite effective in killing biological agents. Some are as close to you as your local grocery and hardware stores. They aren’t expensive so stocking up now, before there is a run on them because of fear of a biological terrorist attack, would be a good plan. Sodium hypochlorite (common household bleach) and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda or lye) are effective on biological agents and make ideal chemicals to use if you're not sure what type of weapon has been used in an area, or if agents appear to be mixed to mask their various effects and discourage identification. Many government authorities are somewhat perplexed upon discovering that common chemicals like these are useful for decontamination of biological weapons. It would seem that some high-tech solution should be called for, rather than something we’ve all grown up with. This feeling can be “read between the lines” from publications written for emergency response teams. Here’s what one such write up had to say: “Unlike the complexity of ascertaining the varied physical properties of chemical warfare agents and deciding on appropriate counter-agents for neutralization and decontamination, in the case of most biological agents a diluted solution of common household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) may often be effective in decontaminating procedures involving people and equipment. Other antiseptics and

21 Clark L. Staten, Executive Director, “Emergency Response to Chemical/Biological Terrorist Incidents,”

Emergency Response & Research Institute, August 10, 1997. 59

disinfectants, as appropriate for the individual bio-toxin, can also be used.”

There’s no need for you to be perplexed by the fact that these common household chemicals are useful for fighting biological agents. They have been used for killing germs for hundreds if not thousands of years. That’s why these chemicals remain popular today. Soon they may become even more important in fighting biological agents as well. With rare exception, when faced with suspected virulent bio-agents, full strength sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) may be dumped into/onto the general area of the released agent and may assist in preventing a further spread of the contaminant. Household bleach is useful in decontaminating clothing since it is not too hard on it (though it does cut down on the wear you’ll get from the clothing). A solution of 1/2 cup bleach per gallon of water is most ideal for decontaminating clothing or other materials. Let the objects being decontaminated soak for 30 minutes then rinse them thoroughly in clear water. (Bleach will ruin wool clothing; discard or boil wool.) Gas masks exposed to biological agents in the aftermath of an attack should be cleaned with hot water and soap or detergent then dipped into a 2 percent solution of household bleach and water. Remember that the filters should be carefully removed and discarded before cleaning the mask; the filters may be heavily contaminated. For sterilizing instruments or other objects, the following mixture can be used: 23 ounces of 99% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol); 8.5 ounces of 37% formaldehyde solution; 1 “pinch” of sodium nitrite; 1 “pinch” of sodium bicarbonate; and

1 quart (or less) or distilled water. For complete sterilization, metal objects should remain in this solution for at least 3 hours and porous or soft objects for 24 hours. (Be careful when working around formaldehyde as its fumes can damage the lungs and sting the eyes. Be sure to use it in a well-ventilated area, with great care.) Most types of alcohol work well in killing most biological agents. However alcohol will fail to kill spores and therefore may not be suitable with some biological agents including anthrax. If you wish to prevent rust when using alcohol to decontaminate steel objects, mix it with sodium nitrite (0.5 percent). Many aerosol spray disinfectants (like Lysol) contain a 70 percent solution of isopropyl alcohol; these are useful for some types of disinfecting but won’t kill spores. Such spray cans are convenient, however, and can be used for decontamination of small areas after using some of the more potent decontaminates listed below. They also are better than nothing and should be used if they are all you have; a little protection is better than none at all.

Decontaminating Larger Areas After An Attack If for some reason you need to thoroughly decontaminate a very large area after a biological attack is over, you’ll need some serious chemicals. Please note that use of the 60

following chemicals can be extremely hazardous to your health if you are not careful. If you are inexperienced with these chemicals, you should find someone who is experienced with their use, and employ their help. If it becomes imperative to decontaminate a large area, this is what you will need: Formalin (formaldehyde solution) and methyl alcohol are two excellent disinfectants by themselves and even better when mixed; these can be found in many pharmacies — or special ordered through them if not already on hand. The fumes of formaldehyde are not stopped by most gas masks so use great care when working with formaldehyde. (Indoors, you should not stay in an area which is full of formaldehyde fumes for more than a few minutes. It can be very harmful to your lungs, or cause dizziness, fainting or even respiratory arrest.)

The formalin you purchase will most likely be a 36-40 percent solution of gas to aqueous inert ingredients. For decontamination purposes, never dilute the formalin; use it at full strength. Spray it indoors at a rate of 1 quart per 1,000 cubic feet of space (cubic feet are determined by multiplying the height times the length times the width of the room being decontaminated). If possible, an indoor area should be kept closed for 16 hours following such a spraying; allow it to air out for 3 days before being occupied to avoid being made sick by the formaldehyde fumes. Formaldehyde leaves behind a white residue sometimes; this residue is harmless and can be removed with hot water. A mixture of formaldehyde (5 parts) and methanol alcohol (3 parts) can be used indoors also. The advantage of the mixture is that the area being decontaminated can be used sooner since exposure to this mixture need only be 8 hours long and time needed for a room to air out is much shorter. However a greater amount of chemicals is needed to do the job. Use 4/5 quart of the mixture per 100 cubic feet of space. Two other chemicals which are useful for indoor decontamination after an attack

with biological agents is over are paraformaldehyde gas and ethylene oxide. Paraformaldehyde can be used in the same manner as the formaldehyde. Ethylene oxide needs to be used at temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and used in a sealed area for 6 to 8 hours at least. Again, the utmost caution must be used when utilizing these hazardous chemicals. /fyou do not know what you are doing, find someone who does so you do not harm yourself. Your local hardware store has a tool that is ideal for quickly and effectively dispensing liquid decontaminates like those listed throughout this chapter. It’s a simple spray container that has a compression pump built into it. This dispenser is often used for insect and weed control — but is also ideal for decontamination purposes. Once again, this device is available for a song now but will become extremely hard to get in the face of an emergency. That means now is the time to buy it.

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Food and Water Food in sealed cans, jars, or air-tight vials should be safe to use provided the container is carefully disinfected before opening it if there was any danger of the container itself being contaminated. Plastic containers are less apt to be safe; however, if

they are air-tight, the food they contain would probably would be uncontaminated. The outside of any container can be largely decontaminated with a 5-minute dunking in sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) or by soaking it for 20 minutes or more in water that has first been brought to a boil. Turn the heat off before immersing any object in such heated water, and be sure not to place glass objects such as jars in such hot water or they could shatter upon contact. Some food contaminated by biological agents may sometimes be salvaged, although the salvaging process may significantly alter their form and taste. Three methods that might work are boiling (as above); cooking in a pressure cooker (at 17 psi, and 250 degrees Farenheit for at least 15 minutes or longer); or baking the food for 40 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or for 2 hours at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Water can be purified from biological contamination by boiling it at a complete boil for 20 minutes, or by using water purification tablets (double the normal numbers usually used). Boiling water is not too practical in a shelter, however. So you should be prepared to use chemicals to kill the bacteria in your water. Purification tablets are the most handy way to sterilize water. These can be purchased from most good camping supply stores, and may even be found in the sports departments of discount stores as well as “survival” stores. There are two types of purification tablets: tetraglycine hydroperiodide (an iodine compound) and halazone tablets (a chlorine compound). The tetraglycine hydroperiodide is much, much better to use than the halazone tablets; some viruses and amoebic cysts are NOT killed by the halazone. The more effective iodine compound is sold under a number of trade names: Potable Aqua, Globaline, and Coghlan's among others. (Preparedness Mart sells “Potable Aqua.” These are the commercial equivalent of GI iodine tablets for purifying water in the field. See Appendix B for pricing and ordering information.) Shelf life for tetraglycine hydroperiodide tablets is up to four years if they are kept sealed, not exposed to bright light, and kept cool. Halazone tablets will remain useful for 2 years if kept cool and sealed airtight. Always purchase commercial brands such as those listed above. Avoid military surplus purification tablets since these are usually very old; the tablets, over time, tend to lose their ability to kill organisms which might be in the water.

To use purification tablets, follow the directions on the container. (If directions aren't available, for MOST tablets the following will work: use 2 Halazone tablets per 2 quarts of clear water. Chlorine tablets should be used 5 per quart and Potable Aqua tablets 1 per quart. Double the number of tablets for hazy or foul-smelling water. Wait for 30 minutes after the tablet has dissolved before using the water.) 62

Several other substances that will decontaminate water supplies of most infectious microorganisms are: Colloidal Silver — kills over 650 infectious microorganisms — including anthrax — usually within six minutes of contact. You can make your own high-grade, therapeutic-quality colloidal silver, quickly and easily (and very inexpensively compared to purchasing commercial colloidal silver) by using a simple Home Colloidal Silver Generator. See Appendix A1 for more in-depth information on colloidal silver and Home Colloidal Silver Generators, and see Appendix B for purchasing information.

Stabilized Oxygen — Originally used by NASA to protect astronauts from bringing infectious microorganisms back to earth with them in their body fluids, it can safely be added to water to effectively eliminate pathogenic microorganisms in just minutes. See Appendix A3 for more in-depth information, and Appendix B for purchasing information.

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Chapter 7: Probable Biological Agents “We have increasing intelligence reports that many mid-East countries, including Iraq, are still manufacturing biological weapons.” — Major Julie Pavlin, U.S. Army Spokesman, speaking to a reporter from the Associated Press, September 16, 1999.

As noted early in this manual, work has been done, and most likely is being done as you read this, to alter many of the diseases that might be employed as biological weapons to make them more dangerous or more resistant to the antibiotics that might be employed against them. This means that the diseases might cause different symptoms or have added lethality over their natural counterparts. Too, these agents might be delivered in groups, making outbreaks of several diseases take place at the same time. Nevertheless, some biological weapons, especially those used by terrorists, may be less sophisticated “garden variety” forms of disease. For this reason it is good to know the basic symptoms the natural counterparts cause as well as what types of treatment may be called on to overcome them. In such a case antibiotics might be used — provided you can secure them. For this reason the treatment and antibiotics that might be of use for countering these are also listed in this section. That said, the best survival tactic is one of avoiding being exposed to these agents, rather than attempting to recover. Recovery becomes an iffy thing with these diseases. Some will recover, but far too many will succumb. You can improve your survival chances and your body’s ability to counteract these diseases by being in good health. A healthy body can fight off greater infection than can a body in bad health. Taking vitamins, exercising regularly, and other healthful practices could pay off in a big way during the aftermath of a terrorist biological attack on U.S. cities. One way of keeping your immune system in tip-top shape is through the use of immune-boosting nutrients such as Vitamin C and beta-carotene. Cat’s Claw, known scientifically as Uncaria tomentosa, an herb from the Peruvian rainforest (available at most good health food stores) is known to be a powerful immune system booster. However, the single most powerful immune-boosting natural substance known to 64

medical science is a polysaccharide extract from the cell wall of common baker’s yeast called Beta-1,3/1,6-glucan. Known as “the world’s most powerful immune booster,” it stimulates the body’s macrophage system into engulfing foreign invaders (such as pathogenic microorganisms) in the human bloodstream. (You can read more about the profound immune-boosting benefits of Beta-1,3/1,6-glucan in Appendix A4 ofthis manual, and learn where to order it in Appendix B.) In short, making sure your immune system is in peak condition will go a long way toward protecting you from infection in the event of a terrorist germ warfare attack on U.S. cities! Securing antibiotics well ahead oftime would also be a good strategy. Obtaining them after an attack is a doubtful proposition. U.S. supplies would be severely taxed during just the first few hours of a wide-scale attack with supplies becoming non-existent within days if not hours. Unfortunately a prescription is required for the most effective pharmaceutical antibiotics. If you have a family doctor who will understand what you’re preparing for, you might be able to get him to write a prescription for medication for you and your family with the understanding that it won’t be used unless there is an emergency.

Animal antibiotics, including tetracycline and penicillin, are nearly identical to human antibiotics and can be employed in an emergency when reliable medical care is unavailable. Some people have luck building up emergency supplies of such antibiotics by working with their veterinarian, under the same “will not use except in an emergency” understanding. Considering that your family members’ lives might hang in the balance, it would seem prudent to attempt to locate a doctor or veterinarian willing to help you out well ahead of an emergency — because they will be unable to help once an attack occurs and supplies are exhausted. (Former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris estimates the total U.S. supply of tetracycline and oxytetracycline — two of the best antibiotics to use for

protection in the event of a terrorist biological assault with anthrax — would be exhausted within the first week of a successful biological attack on just one U.S. city.) If you have a legitimate need, you can always purchase animal antibiotics such as Penicillin G or tetracycline from a farm animal supply house such as Jeffers Equine (1800-533-3377 for catalog). Most farming communities have such supply houses in abundance, so if you live near one you might want to drop in and take a look at what they have to offer. Keep in mind that self-medicating can be a very dangerous proposition and may also be illegal. The dosage instructions for the use of animal antibiotics are generally intended for large animals in the range of 300 to 2,000 pounds, and are therefore well beyond the safe dosage range that could ever be used for humans. Using such a dosage could literally kill you! If animal antibiotics were to be employed on humans in a case of dire emergency in which conventional medical treatment were unavailable due to a severe crisis or depleted antibiotic stock, the dosages of animal antibiotics would obviously need to be expertly re-calculated by weight for human use (this is why the bottles are clearly labeled “Not for human use”).

Warning: the use or misuse of any form of antibiotics — animal or human — can result in severe side effects including anaphylactic shock, kidney failure and death. Also, most (but not all) animal antibiotics are for injection only, which means you 65

would also have to purchase syringes from the animal supply house and be adept at correctly administering the antibiotics with them. (One book I recently read claims that antibiotics meant for intramuscular injection would probably be easiest for most people, using a 3cc syringe with a 25 gauge needle. The book claimed the two best injection sites are the upper right and the upper left quadrant of the buttocks, where muscle mass is most appropriate for such injection.) In researching the “shelf life” of various antibiotics, I came into conflicting information. Some maintain that antibiotics become useless or even dangerous over time. However in talking to a gentleman who markets medicine with a major pharmaceutical company — who agreed to speak only on the condition of anonymity — he claimed that medications including antibiotics only become less potent over time. And storage life can be extended by keeping these and other medications in a cool, dark place. The only exception to this is tetracycline which I am told will become dangerous if taken beyond the date marked on the medication. [Editor’s note: In our opinion, these factors make the use of animal antibiotics — even in such a dire emergency situation — a very risky, possibly illegal and potentially dangerous proposition indeed. We believe it would be far better to engage a friendly and understanding doctor to keep a stock of antibiotics on hand for you in case of such an emergency situation, so they could be administered by him professionally where appropriate. All information in this manual on animal antibiotics is strictly for informational purposes only, and should in no way, shape or form be considered a recommendation for their use by the authors, editors, publishers or distributors of this manual. | As an anecdotal note, one individual who has studied this situation for some time

told me he has made friends with a local farmer who regularly has to administer animal antibiotics to his farm animals via injection. The farmer has agreed to keep an extra stock of tetracycline and Penicillin G on hand for this individual and his family, along with the appropriate syringes. The farmer has re-calculated the dosage (based on body weight) to take into account the significantly lower body weights of adult humans and children. This individual tells me the farmer has even agreed to administer the antibiotics to him and his family in the event of a terrorist biological attack in or near the city they live in, ifthis individual will let the farmer know when such an attack is suspected to have taken place, and ifregular medical care becomes unavailable at that time. Apparently, the farmer intends to administer antibiotics en masse to his farm animals if such a crisis occurs, as well as administer them to his own family if the conventional medical system becomes so overwhelmed as to be unable to treat people. Personally, I would still prefer to engage an understanding and knowledgeable local doctor to fulfill such a role for myself and my family in the event of a terrorist biological attack. But I have to admire this individual’s creativity and forethought in seeking to protect himself and his family in light of the impending infectious disease crisis that would be caused by such an attack.

We are told that standard antibiotics for human use can easily be ordered from overseas without a doctor's prescription. We are not aware of any of the legalities or illegalities involved in such an endeavor. Check with your legal advisor. A company 66

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located in the Channel Islands in Great Britain called International Anti-Ag ing Systems, Ltd. (IAS. Ltd.) sells doxycycline tablets as well as penicillin-vk tablets at reasona ble prices, and will ship to private parties in the United States. Phone or write for product information and order form: Phone: 011-44-541-514144. Write: IAS, Ltd., PO Box 337, GY1, Channel Islands, Great Britain. (See Appendix B for more informa tion.)

Now let’s take a brief look at the diseases most likely to be employed as terrorist weapons.

Anthrax Also known as splenic fever, malignant pustule, or woolsorters’ disease, anthrax

is an acute, infectious disease of animals as well as human beings. The disease is caused by Bacillus anthracis, an organism that forms highly resistant spores that can remain dangerous for decades in contaminated soil or other materials. Anthrax has become the terrorist “biological weapon of choice” during the 20th Century and most likely will continue to hold this position into the next century. The reason for this is simple: The agent is easy to create and stores almost indefinitely under the right environmental conditions; it can also be easily delivered to a target in a dust form that creates casualties when it is inhaled. Additionally it remains dangerous for long periods of time on the ground, giving it a persistent effect.

And anthrax is very persistent; during WWII, the British experimented with anthrax spores as a possible weapon. Their work was conducted on an island called Gruinard off the northwest coast of Scotland. The island is still quarantined today, decades after the work was discontinued The small amount of Anthrax needed to mount a serious attack is nothing short of horrifying. To successfully attack one third of the population in the US in a short period of time, a group would only need 300 pounds of anthrax spores to handle the entire job. And once the epidemic got a foothold with the third of the population exposed, it would probably soon spread to other areas for even more casualties. There are several forms of the disease. Peracute is the most intense form followed by “acute anthrax”, subacute (or internal anthrax), and chronic or localized (external) anthrax. In the acute forms symptoms include excitement and a rise in body temperature followed by depression, spasms, respiratory or cardiac distress, trembling, staggering, convulsions, and death. Bloody discharges sometimes come from the natural body openings, and edematous swellings may appear in various locations on the body.

The peracute and acute forms generally end with death occurring within a day or two. Subacute forms of anthrax either lead to death in three to five days (or sometimes longer) or to complete recovery after several days, depending on the overall health of the victim and the exposure to the agent.

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Outbreaks of Anthrax do occur from time to time and with proper control, they can be brought to a halt. For this reason you shouldn’t give up should an outbreak occur. Vaccination, if available, can help prevent further outbreaks. Strict quarantine measures, disposal of the dead by burning or burial in carefully marked graves that will not contaminate drinking water in the future are a necessity. Since flies can carry this disease, care must be taken to avoid letting flies multiply. Strict sanitation, screening over doors and window, and other protective measures are in order. Natural outbreaks of Anthrax in humans usually occurs as a cutaneous, pulmonary, or intestinal infection. Of these the localized infection of the skin in the form of a carbuncle is the most common; this results from handling infected material. Lesions are usually seen on the hands, arms, or neck; this resembles a small pimple that develops rapidly into a large vesicle with black necrotic center (known as a “malignant pustule’’). Large numbers of lesions can lead to fatal blood poisoning. The most likely form to be employed for biological terrorism would be pulmonary anthrax, also known as “woolsorters' disease,” which affects the lungs and pleura. This results from inhaling anthrax spores which often occur naturally in areas where hair and wool are processed. Because anthrax spores are apt to be delivered in a “dust” or aerosol form on the battlefield, this form of the disease is also the most likely to be encountered during the use of anthrax as a biological agent. This form of anthrax usually runs a rapid course and ends in death. The intestinal form of anthrax often occurs after eating contaminated meat. It’s characterized by acute inflammation of the intestinal tract, vomiting, and severe diarrhea. Anthrax can be transmitted to humans who travel through spore-contaminated brush or come into contact with objects that are contaminated. And because of the hardiness of the spores, areas can remain contaminated for very long periods of time. For this reason great caution must be exercised in venturing into areas that have been contaminated with this biological agent. Prompt diagnosis and early treatment are necessary if a victim is to survive an Anthrax attack. Anti-anthrax serum, arsenals, and antibiotics offer excellent results with known strains of anthrax.

The hazard of infection from a contaminated environment can be reduced by sterilization of contaminated material before use, wearing protective clothing, use of a gas mask or other respirator, and maintenance of good sanitary facilities to avoid further spreading of the disease. Great care must be exercised in moving the bodies and carcasses of men and beasts that have been killed by the disease.

Anthrax generally has a | to 7 day incubation period before a victim exposed to the spores becomes ill. Spores delivered in a terrorist incident would probably be in a dry, powdered form looking something like dried cocoa. The human lethal dose is between 8,000 and 10,000 spores — one heavy whiff of air laced with the dust.

Symptoms include tightness of the chest and the symptoms of a cold. Often victims will appear to recover (this is known as the “Anthrax eclipse”); this comes to an 68

end around day four of the illness when victims will die from anthrax pneumonia. Treatment following exposure to spores requires a massive dose of antibiotics during the first 24 hours in order to prevent a lethal buildup of toxins. The antibiotics of choice for treating Anthrax are Penicillin G for a massive exposure. For mild cases caused by secondary exposure to the disease, tetracycline can be effective. Effective decontamination of materials such as tools, or of floors and other

surfaces, can be carried out with a mixture of a solution comprised of 10 percent formalin and 5 percent lye. As noted earlier, these chemicals are not meant for direct contact with human flesh and may produce dangerous fumes. Be sure to read and follow the instructions on the containers you purchase them in, or the instructions sheets that come with such containers. Take all necessary precautions such as protective gloves, breathing masks, etc.

Brucellosis Brucellosis is another disease that can be spread through aerosol exposure as well as through eating contaminated food. It has an incubation period of 5 to 21 days after exposure. The Brucella bacterium invades the central nervous system and brain making people “loopy” for nearly a month. Victims become bad tempered, unstable, and confused. It is also known as Mediterranean fever, undulant fever, and Malta fever. The

fatality rate if left untreated is less than 2 percent. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, fever, headache, chills, orchitis, weakness, nausea, and weight loss. The chronic form may assume an undulant

nature, with periods of normal temperature between acute attacks; symptoms may persist for years, either continuously or intermittently. Antibiotics can cure victims within one year in about 80 percent of all cases. This disease can only be successfully treated with a combination of two or three drugs. These include either doxycycline plus rifampin or streptomycin (or both) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole plus rifampin or streptomycin (or both). These are given for 21 days. Relapses, osteomyelitis, or meningitis may result; this dictates even heavier treatment by these antibiotics. Quarantine of victims is essential to stop its spread. Because it is spread through contact, you should wear disposable gloves, mask, and other protective equipment when

dealing with those who have this disease. Disinfectants that are successful in stopping this agent include chlorine, organic iodine, and quaternary ammonium compounds. These can be purchased from most veterinarians or farm supply stores; follow the directions that come with these disinfectants. (As with other potentially caustic disinfectants covered in this chapter, avoid getting these in contact with your skin.)

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Diphtheria Diphtheria is an acute bacterial disease that usually affects the tonsils, throat, and

nose or the skin. Although circumstantial, the epidemic of diphtheria that swept through the former Soviet Union countries in 1995 suggest that the Russians may have been developing this as a weapon when it got out of control. The spreading disease was so serious that public health officials expected it to have a destabilizing effect on countries already hit with severe economic and social dislocation. The outbreak began in Moscow and St. Petersburg and spread to all regions of Russia. Soon it was hitting Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

and Uzbekistan. Diphtheria is transmitted to others through close contact with discharge from an infected person’s nose, throat, skin, eyes and lesions. As a biological warfare agent, it would most likely be spread through aerosol attack. There are two types of diphtheria. One involves the nose and throat, and the other involves the skin. Symptoms include sore throat, low-grade fever and enlarged lymph nodes located in the neck. Skin lesions may be painful, swollen and reddened. Symptoms appear one to six days after initial exposure. Diphtheria has an incubation period of 2 to 5 days. Untreated people who are infected with the diphtheria germ can be contagious for up to two weeks making a secondary epidemic likely after an initial terrorist attack with this pathogen. Recovery from diphtheria is not always followed by lasting immunity. Nor does the vaccine give lasting protection if booster shots aren’t given every 10 years. For this reason, much of the population even in countries having an aggressive vaccine program for its children may be at risk. This also makes this disease a potential biological weapon. A complete vaccination series substantially reduces the risk of developing diphtheria, and vaccinated persons who develop disease have milder illnesses. Protection lasts at least 10 years. Vaccination does not, however, eliminate the ability of a person to spread the disease as they may still carry it in their pharynx, nose, or on the skin. For this reason care must be taken as those who are immune to the disease can still carry and spread it.

Treatment generally is centered around antibiotics with penicillin or erythromycin usually being prescribed. If diphtheria goes untreated, serious complications such as paralysis, heart failure, and blood disorders can occur with death resulting in 5 to 10 percent of all cases.

Ebola Although deadly, natural Ebola is rapidly killed by sunlight. This makes it less than ideal for biological warfare. However the variant of Ebola called the Marburg virus 70

was developed by the Russians and it may be that this strain is more hardy. Too, work has been done by the Russians in transferring parts of the Ebola virus into the composition of Smallpox and other diseases. If such experiments succeed, then such a strain might be suitable for terrorism. The Ebola virus burst from obscurity late this century with spectacular outbreaks

of severe, hemorrhagic fever. The first outbreak in Zaire resulted in 318 cases with a

fatality rate of 90 percent; later it caused 150 deaths out of 250 cases in Sudan. Smaller

outbreaks have continued in Africa with scientists unsure what the animal vector of the disease is — or even if there is one.

Epidemics appear to have resulted from person-to-person transmission as well as through laboratory infections, making this a potentially very contagious and deadly disease that is undoubtedly of great interest to those searching for new biological weapons. The incubation period for the needle-transmitted Ebola virus (spread by medical authorities who improperly sterilized equipment used for vaccinations) appears to be 5 to 7 days; person-to-person transmission takes from 6 to 12 days.

The virus spreads through the blood and then is replicated in many of the body’s organs including the liver, lymphatic organs, kidneys, ovaries, and testes. As the disease progresses, it manifests itself in the form of bleeding, especially in the mucosa, abdomen, pericardium, and vagina. The capillary leakage leads to loss of blood volume, bleeding from various points in the body, shock, and acute respiratory disorder for those cases that will prove fatal. These patients eventually die of intractable shock. The illness is often accompanied by sustained high fevers with patients often becoming delirious and combative.

Health officials have argued that the Ebola virus is ill-suited to sustaining an epidemic since it kills so rapidly that victims don’t have much chance to infect others. Too, the virus is not all that easy to pass along since it isn’t airborne and can’t be transmitted with a sneeze or cough. Although not everything is known about how the disease is spread, it appears to be similar to AIDS in that direct contact with a victim’s blood or other body fluids appears to be necessary to contract the virus. Modification of the virus through genetic engineering, or the creation of dispersal methods that could infect people through aerosol methods might also be practical. And the virus itself could conceivably mutate into an airborne disease. In short, given the lethality of Ebola, there is a great incentive to develop methods that would transform this into a viable weapon. There currently is no specific antiviral therapy available for the Ebola virus, nor does interferon have any effect. Past recommendations for isolation of the patient in a plastic isolator have given way to the more moderate recommendation of strict barrier isolation with body fluid precautions. This presents no excess risk to the hospital personnel and allows substantially better patient care.

Currently the main consern in the prevention and control of the disease is to interrupt any person-to-person contacts between those suffering from the disease and 71

those who are free of it. This many be very difficult, especially during a large outbreak of the disease when hospitals are over-taxed and sick or dying patients are on the streets. The main consideration of those who are well is to avoid contact with blood or other body fluids from those who are ill; use of a protective mask and even clothing might also be necessary if the virus appears to be airborne.

Until the vector creatures that carry this disease have been determined, it would also be wise to avoid contact with all mammals since these are the most likely vectors of the disease (though it is always possible that the disease is carried by insects or other means).

Glanders Glanders, first described by Aristotle in 330 BC, is an airborne bacterial disease

that causes boils to break out on animals and humans. It is generally spread by flies, and is still found in parts of Africa and the Middle East. Although usually spread naturally by ingestion of contaminated food or water, it can be spread in aerosol form, making it useful as a biological weapon. It has an incubation period of 3 to 5 days. The disease is caused by Pseudomonas mallei (Actinobacillus mallei), a bacteria that is common to horse and some other mammals in Asia and Mediterranean areas but rare in North America. The disease is most often spread from the infectious discharges of wounds and mucus membranes which through one route or another are then ingested.

Symptoms include cough and nasal discharge from the pulmonary form of this disease. The cutaneous form is marked by multiple, purulent, cutaneous eruptions, often following lymphatics. The fatality rate in humans is 95 percent if left untreated. Treatment is generally carried out with a combination of streptomycin and tetracycline or chloramphenicol and streptomycin. Because it can be spread by contact, care must be taken to avoid sick animals. Gloves and protective clothing are called for when handling infected animals or in treating patients.

Hantavirus The hantavirus has been proposed as a possible biological agent. It emerged in the “Four-Cormer” region of the American Southwest in 1993 and demonstrated that even First World countries such as the US are not immune to the sudden emergence of an indigenous disease with life-threatening potential.

Not that Americans hadn’t been exposed to the disease before. The “Canyon virus” variant that appeared is related to the Hantaan viruses that created disease among (eo

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Gls in the Korean War. Both are members of the genus Hantavirus, family Bunyaviridae, with three segments of negative-sense single-strand RNA. In the wilds this disease is spread by small rodents. People contract the disease after exposure to rodent urine and feces, spread through small dust particle in the air. This suggests that a similar method could be employed to spread this disease as a biological agent through the delivery of fine dusts contaminated with hantavirus spores. The fatality rate from this disease is generally around 60 percent even with treatment.

The first symptoms of most hantavirus exposures resulting in the disease are fever, muscle aches, chills, and cough. As the disease progresses, the lungs quickly fill with blood, choking airways. Death can result in a matter of hours after the initial symptoms. And the initial symptoms are so common that they can easily go unrecognized.

Supportive care and meticulous monitoring of vital signs and fluid balance are the basis for therapy. Severe hypoxia and overhydration should be avoided or prevented. The antiviral drug ribavirin was effective in treating severe cases of hantavirus infection when administered early in the course of illness during one limited test; this drug has not been established as a treatment, however.

Hantaviruses are susceptible to most disinfectants including dilute hypochlorite (household bleach) solutions, detergents, ethyl alcohol (70 percent), or most generalpurpose household disinfectants. Eventually a vaccine may be developed for this disease. The best available approach for controlling and preventing secondary spread following a biological attack would include killing all rodents and taking care to be masked when working with patients having the disease.

Influenza Influenza mutates quickly, causing the immune system to fail to “recognize” it from one year to the next. Unfortunately mutated forms of old diseases often become more virulent. This is the case with Influenza which normally is deadly only to the elderly, the very young, or those with weak immune systems.

Influenza, or the “flu”, is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. Compared to most other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza infection often causes a more severe illness. Typical symptoms of influenza include fever (usually 100 F - 103 F in adults and often even higher in children) and respiratory symptoms such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, as well as headache, muscle aches, and often extreme fatigue. Although nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can sometimes accompany influenza infection, especially in children, gastrointestinal symptoms are rarely prominent; the term "stomach flu" is a misnomer that is sometimes used to i

describe gastrointestinal illnesses caused by other microorganisms. Most people who get the flu recover completely in one to two weeks, some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as

pneumonia. In an average year influenza is associated with about 20,000 deaths nationwide and many more hospitalizations. Although flu-related complications can occur at any age, the elderly and people with chronic health problems are much more likely to develop serious complications after influenza infection than are younger, healthier people.

Occasionally when this disease mutates, it becomes extremely lethal. The worst example of this was the 1918-19 "Spanish flu" (strain A(H1N1)) which caused the highest known influenza-related mortality: Approximately 500,000 deaths in the United States, 20 million worldwide. Other outbreaks include the 1957-58 "Asian flu"

(A(H2N2)) with 70,000 deaths in US; and the 1968-69 "Hong-Kong flu" (A(H3N2)) which was responsible for 34,000 deaths in US.

Influenza, both human and avian, is high on the list of diseases with epidemic potential and therefore potentially a biological agent as well. It can be lethal and is quickly spread to secondary victims after the initial targets have been exposed to the agent. There currently is no good way to prevent the spread of a new strain of flu that might be employed as a weapon. While vaccines can be created to treat potential strains, these are developed well ahead of the flu season so large supplies can be created. The introduction of a flu strain as a biological agent “out of the blue” would circumvent such diseases, most likely making the development of a vaccine that would do much good a doubtful proposition at best. Because the disease appears to be spread through aerosol exposure as well as contact, a mask, gloves, and careful hygiene would be essential to avoid contracting this disease. Antiviral agents have proved to be useful in the prevention and treatment of influenza type A infection and might be employed to combat a biological weapon based influenza virus. Amantadine and rimantadine are chemically related drugs that interfere with the replication cycle of influenza type A viruses. They are not effective against influenza type B or other viral respiratory pathogens.

Amantadine and rimantadine may cause adverse reactions in some persons; such adverse reactions are rarely severe, but may be important for some categories of patients. Serious side effects such as marked behavioral changes, delirium, hallucinations, agitation and seizures have been observed. Because of the ability of the flu virus to develop resistance to these drugs, it seems likely that any such agent developed for use as a weapon would be bred to have this resistance. For this reason it is doubtful that amantadine and rimantadine would be of much use in combating such an agent.

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Pneumonic Plague Bubonic and pneumonic plague are both forms of plague, but with differin g symptoms. Both are caused by the same bacterium and are spread by rodents and their fleas. Pneumonic plague can also be spread by droplets released into the air when an infected person coughs — or by aerosol spray if it is being used as a biological weapon. The incubation period of Bubonic plague is 2 to 6 days following exposure. Symptoms include enlarged, swollen lymph nodes and fever; pneumonic plague occurs when the disease spreads to the lungs, causing pneumonia. If untreated, bubonic plague is fatal to about 50 to 60 percent of its victims; untreated pneumonic plague reaps nearly 100 percent fatalities. Pneumonic plague is believed to have been the Black Death that devastated Europe and Asia in the 14th century. The 1994 plagues that struck northwest India are believed to have been pneumonic plague. Even with medical treatment available, at least 56 people died in the outbreak, that started in Surat. Four hundred thousand people fled the area, including one of the doctors in charge of the clinics that were treating patients. The spontaneous evacuation held all the potential for a run-away spreading of the disease to surrounding towns. Instead, the plague died out, with almost no cases in nearby Bombay and only two deaths in New Delhi, India’s capital. In all only 250 people were actually treated for plague at hospitals in several states, though thousands were examined with what appeared to be plague. The quick recovery of India from the epidemic was unexpected by many scientists. Generally a natural contagious disease like the plague lasts a season or more.

For this reason some Indian scientists have maintained that the outbreak was caused by military microbes designed to last for only a short time in a very virulent form that quickly died off so it wouldn’t spread unchecked. Whether this was actually an attack or just an odd outbreak is unknown. (Which is what makes biological terrorism so effective — it is often impossible to prove an actual attack has occurred.) The most common vector of plague is the common house rat, rattus rattus. For this reason the first line of defense against the plague is the elimination of all rats in an area with poison and traps. Additionally, insecticides designed to kill fleas can also be useful; recent studies suggest that borax powder is a highly effective chemical for killing fleas and it has the added benefit of being only mildly toxic to mammals. Because of the possibility of the spread of the disease through aerosol droplets, use of a protective mask would also be prudent in areas that are experiencing plague victims. Antibiotics often will cure the plague; plague can currently be treated by a variety of antibiotics, including tetracycline. However it might be bred into a more resistant form for use as a biological weapon.

When dealing with those who have contracted the plague, masks, gowns, and gloves should be worn for protection.

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Pertussis Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, was thought to be under control through the use of vaccines. However The New England Journal of Medicine reported that children in Cincinnati suffered an epidemic of Pertussis in 1993. The report noted that 352 children had the disease in 1993, compared with a total of 542 cases during the 13 previous years. The catch to the whole matter was that this appeared to be a new strain; most of the children who contracted it had been properly vaccinated. In November, 1995, a new vaccine for Pertussis was announced by the Swedish government. In field tests involving 3,450 children, the vaccine was effective in 71 percent of cases, according to a study of 3,450 Swedish children. The new vaccine is created around a protein that studs the surface of the whooping cough bacterium and is said to produce few if any side effects.

Pertussis produced by the lead to injury to were developed,

causes a severe cough that lasts for about six weeks. The intense spasms cough can cause vomiting, choking, and an inability to breath. This can the brain (due to lack of oxygen) and even to death. Before vaccines about one in 50 children who developed the disease died.

This disease naturally attacks mostly children; adults, if they contract it, seem to have a milder form. This situation might change if the bacteria were altered in order to exploit it as a biological weapon, however. Treatment consists of rest and supportive care for victims. Because it is spread through the air, a mask, gloves, and other precautions are in order when working with victims.

Q Fever Caused by the Coxiella burnietii Rickettsia, Q Fever is one of the biological weapons once kept in US inventories, and most likely the arsenals of other countries as well. The disease is usually acquired through inhaling the Rickettsia which lives without creating symptoms in many domestic animals including sheep, cattle, and goats. The organism can live in feces, urine, or milk so that a variety of natural aerosols are easily

formed. The ability of the disease to be delivered in aerosol form also makes it ideal as a biological weapon. The incubation time is 1-28 days following exposure.

Coxiella burnietii can also live in and be transmitted by ticks including the Dermacentor andersoni. It is believed the disease can be carried by a variety of other arthropods as well as rodents and birds, all of which may cause human infection on occasion. These creatures would undoubtedly serve as secondary vectors to continue the spread of Q fever if it were initially used to attack a population. The onset of symptoms is abrupt, with fever, severe headache, chills, severe malaise, myalgia, and chest pains being common. No rash develops with this disease. 76

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Victims generally have a dry cough which may lead to pneumonitis by the second week of the disease. Mortality for this disease is low — less than ] percent even in untreated victims. However the pneumonia or endocarditis that sometimes accomp anies this disease may cause deaths in old or weak individuals. Chronic endocarditis, particularly in persons with preexisting valvular disease, is difficult to treat and the case fatality rate may be as high as 60 percent. Care must be taken to avoid secondary spread of this disease. Areas where animals have been should be carefully cleaned and the sputum and urine of Q fever patients can pass this disease to healthy individuals (in hospitals, SOP is to autoclave urine and sputum and the patient kept in isolation). Tetracycline is generally the preferred treatment. However individuals will usually recover on their own with supportive care. When medication is available, the fever usually disappears within three to four days. Treatment with tetracycline can suppress symptoms and shorten the clinical course but does not always eradicate the infection. Treatment of endocarditis consists of protracted (often for years) antibiotic therapy; heart valves often need replacement following recovery. When working with victims of this disease, protective clothing, masks, gloves, and shoe covers are all necessary to prevent spreading it.

Smallpox Also known as Variola, Smallpox has an incubation time of 7 to 16 days following exposure. Smallpox begins with something that’s a lot like chicken pox with small blisters forming on the skin, especially on the face, chest and hands. But then as days go by, the blisters grow larger and a high fever develops that comes and goes. Victims eventually go into shock and may also suffer from secondary infections in blisters. The disease is highly contagious and most Americans, even those once vaccinated for it, would probably contract it as resistance from vaccines lasts for only a decade or so.

Transmission can be though direct contact, aerosol, ingestion, or parenteral administration. Because person-to-person transmission will be highly likely following an attack involving Smallpox, great care must be devoted to proper sanitation and particularly to isolation of those who have not contracted it from those who are ill.

Typhoid Fever Typhoid fever is a bacterial infection of the blood caused by Salmonella typhi bacteria. The infection is spread directly from person to person as well as by contaminated food or water. Typhoid fever also has infected, chronic “carriers” who may not show any symptoms, but can pass the germs in their feces and urine for many years. qT

Animals do not spread this disease. Symptoms show up | to 3 weeks after exposure and include fever, headache, red

spots on the trunk of the body, slow heart rate, and constipation (or, less commonly,

diarrhea). Intestinal hemorrhage may also occur with significant bleeding occurring during the third week of the infection. This most often causes fatal complications of this disease.

Secondary spread of the infection can be prevented by keeping infected persons from food handling or having direct contact with young children or other potential victims who are not yet ill. Thorough washing of hands with soap and water after using the toilet is essential for everyone whether they show signs of this disease or not. Washing before preparing food and drinks, and before eating are also essential.

Typhoid fever can be prevented with typhoid vaccine. Suitable antibiotics can reduce the death rate to less than 2 percent; lack of a treatment raises the death rate to 30 percent. Obviously developing a new strain of this disease might be key in employing it as a weapon. At one time chloramphenicol was the drug of choice for treating typhoid fever. But new strains resistant to this drug have surfaced in Mexico and Southeast Asia. For this reason ampicillin is often used or, for those with a penicillin allergy, trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole. Exercise of a victims legs helps prevent phleothrombosis. Eating frequent and high calorie meals is also recommended. Cathartics and laxatives should be avoided. Fluid replacement is important during days of high fever in order to prevent dehydration. Victims can remain potential carriers of this disease for up to 3 months after recovery. So those who have recovered should practice good hygiene and avoid preparing food, washing dishes, or similar tasks that might spread the disease to others.

Varicella Commonly known as Chicken Pox, Varicella has an incubation time of 14 to 21 days after exposure. The victim remains communicable from a few days before the onset of symptoms until all crops of vesicles have crusted over. Symptoms include moderate fever, headache, malaise, and sometimes a sore throat.

Eruptions appear first on the trunk and then spread to the face, neck, and extremities. They seldom appear on the palms or soles of the feet. The small “pox” eruptions remain from the onset of symptoms up to anywhere from a few days to two weeks. The same virus that causes chickenpox can also result in herpes zoster, the difference apparently being one of location and severity. Wet compresses may help control itching which can be extreme in some cases. Antihistamines may help in severe cases. .

Staphylococcal or streptococcal infection can result in broken vesicles; for this reason clean clothing, frequent bathing, and encouragement not to scratch are all 78

important to avoid secondary infections. Antiseptics are not recom mended unless sites become infected. The current strains of varicella seldom causes death in healthy adults, though secondary infections at scratch sites can produce problems. But the disease is debilitating, making it potentially useful as a biological weapon.

Tularemia Tularemia causes high fever and destroys the respiratory system. It is also known

as Francis’ Disease, Deer-Fly Fever, Rabbit Fever, and O'Hara Disease.

Symptoms include fever, headache, and nausea begin suddenly, and a local lesion -- a papule -- develops and soon ulcerates. Regional lymph nodes may become enlarged and tender and may suppurate. The local lesion may be on the skin of an extremity (ulceroglandular disease) or in the eye. Pleuropulmonary disease may develop from hematogenous spread or may be primary after inhalation.

Secondary spread following a terrorist biological attack could result from handling tissue of infected animals; this disease can spread through direct contact with skin, even if there is no break or sores on the skin. For this reason great caution has to be exercised when dealing with animals which may be infected. Human infections due to a cat bites or scratches are also possible. The disease is also believed to have been transmitted by biting insects. And it can also be caught by eating contaminated meat from a sick animal. Following ingestion of infected meat or water, an enteric (typhoidal) form may be contracted. Symptoms include enteritis, stupor, and delirium.

All types of this illness may cause the spleen to become enlarged and tender. There may also be nonspecific rashes, myalgias, and prostration. The fatality rate is from 5 to 10 percent with this disease. The treatment of choice is a combination of streptomycin and tetracycline; chloramphenicol may be substituted for tetracycline and used with streptomycin.

Thick gloves and a mask should be worn when dealing with animals that might be infected. Meat from animals that might be infected should not be used. Care should be taken to avoid being bitten by flies, mosquitoes, and ticks. Avoid drinking untreated water or bathing in it.

Pulmonary Tuberculosis Pulmonary Tuberculosis can be spread through the air. After exposure, the WD

disease may result in 1 to 30 days. TB continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. One billion people are infected with the tubercle bacillus, and there are 8 million new cases and 3 million deaths annually. Cases of active tuberculosis are increasing in the United States after years of decline.

The Mycobacterium bacilli responsible for this disease are transmitted from infected animals or infected tissue primarily via the aerosol route. Once within the body the organism may spread throughout the lungs, lymphatics, blood vascular system, and many visceral organs. In humans the clinical signs depend on the organ system involved. The most familiar signs related to pulmonary TB are cough, sputum production, and hemoptysis. The patient may be asymptotic for years. General signs may include anorexia, weight loss, lassitude, fatigue, fever, chills and cachexia. Skin lesions are

characterized by ulcers or by papular lesions progressing to dark supportive lesions.

Treatment is usually carried out with isoniazid combined with rifampin, with or without pyrazinamide. Vaccines can be created for some forms of this disease; these are used with “high risk” personnel but have the detrimental effect of causing a false positive in TB tests. Protective clothing including a mask is absolutely essential when treating victims of this disease.

80

Chapter 8: Conclusion “T can tell you it is not a matter of if this will occur. It’s a matter when it occurs and where it occurs, and how much panic and how much death are we willing to accept at the time that it occurs.... I think it would be the closest thing to a living hell that I could imagine. This is really a doomsday scenario that I don’t think many people could ever believe would really happen, but it’s real.” -- Dr. Michael Osterholm, Chief of Disease Epidemiology, Minnesota Department of Public Health, speaking on ABC’s Prime Time Live about the likelihood of a bioterrorism attack on U.S. cities.

Hopefully you’ll never be near an area where a bioterrorism act occurs. But you can’t bank on that if you’re living anywhere that has contact with the outside world. Because even if you’re not in the area of an actual attack, today’s cars and airplanes make it highly likely that a contagious disease will quickly spread across our nation — if not around the world. With the information in this book, you can take steps to protect yourself from a terrorist act and the plagues it might create. The key thing is that you act now. Currently the equipment and materials are available at bargain basement prices. But that’s only because most of the public is unaware of the danger they’re in. That situation could quite literally change overnight.

That means that now is the time to start collecting the gear and supplies you need. Set them aside for an emergency where they’Il be ready for use. Teach your family members how to use masks and what the various supplies you’ve collected are for. Then quit worrying about the problem. Because you’ve prepared for it. Just as you’ve probably got home owner’s insurance, health insurance, and so forth, you’ve now got the “terrorism insurance” policy that will protect you should the worst come to worst. You’ve done your job to protect yourself and your loved ones from the bioterrorism that may soon grip our country and which will wreak its havoc chiefly on those who have failed to prepare in advance. 81

Appendix A: Unconventional Protection There are several powerful and effective -- albeit unconventional -- forms of protection from biological agents you should take maximum advantage of now, in advance of the coming crisis, while they are still readily publicly available. In this appendix we will describe for you what we believe to be the four most effective forms of unconventional protection against pathogenic microorganisms, explain how they work to help protect you against biological agents and infectious disease, and tell you where and how to find them. These powerful anti-microbial and immune-boosting substances are not a replacement for the specific step-by-step survival strategies described throughout this manual. Instead, they offer a profound added layer ofprotection that could literally help save your life and the lives of your loved ones in light of the impending terrorist biological attack against U.S. cities, and the ensuing nationwide infectious disease crisis.

82

Appendix A-1: Colloidal Silver -Antibiotic!

Nature’s Most Powerful

The first form of protection against biological agents that will be discussed in this section is called colloidal silver. Before the advent of today’s modern synthetic prescription antibiotics, colloidal silver was literally the most powerful and effective natural antibiotic substance know to man. Alfred Searle, founder of the giant Searle Pharmaceutical conglomerate, said of colloidal silver’s phenomenal power against infective biological agents, “Applying colloidal silver to human subjects has been done in a large number of cases with astonishingly successful results. For internal administration...it has the advantage of being rapidly fatal to pathogens without toxic action on its host. It is quite stable. It protects rabbits from ten times the lethal dose of tetanus or diphtheria toxin.” More importantly, colloidal silver was one of the few substances on earth that was successfully used against anthrax in the early 1900's prior to the advent of modern-day antibiotics, as verified by the book Colloids in Biology and Medicine by H. Beckhold, pages 367-368. Former CIA microbiologist Larry Harris is said to

have tested colloidal silver against anthrax in 1997, and also found it to be highly effective. According to Harris confidant Mike Seiler, “Harris definitely confirmed colloidal silver kills the anthrax pathogen. He used the minimum inhibitory test, in which he took ten vials of anthrax and put correspondingly higher concentrations of colloidal silver in each vial until he determined which concentration gives an effective kill rate. Harris discovered the kill rate was at 100 parts per billion — an amazingly small amount of colloidal silver.” Considering that anthrax is said to be Saddam Hussein’s all-time favorite biological warfare agent -- and is one of the biological agents his terrorist cells teams are known to be in possession of here in the United States -- it would seem to be a prudent precaution indeed to have a good supply of therapeutic-quality colloidal silver on hand in the event of a terrorist biological attack on U.S. cities. Not only is colloidal silver proven to be effective against anthrax, it has also been proven effective against four 83

more of the most popular pathogenic microorganisms known to be used by terrorists as bio-warfare agents: diptheria, influenza, whooping cough (pertusis) and typhoid. In fact, all told, colloidal silver is known to be effective against 650 different

disease-causing pathogenic microorganisms — reason enough in anyone’s book to have a plentiful supply on hand, especially in light of the trying times ahead. Here is a list of just 110 of the pathogenic agents and serious disease conditions which colloidal silver was documented prior to 1938 to be effective against [Spelling as cited in the old medical texts]:

1. Anthrax Bacilli 2. Appendicitis 3. Axillae and blind boils of the neck Ace tis OL 5. B. Coli Communis 6. B. Dysenteria 7. B. Tuberculosis 8. Bacillary Dysentery 9. Bladder Irritation 10. Blepharitis 11. Boils 12. Bromidrosis in axillae 13. Bromidrosis in Feet 14. Burns and wounds of the cornea 15. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis 16. Chronic Cystitis 17. Chronic Eczema of anterior nares 18. Chronic Eczema of metus of ear 19. Colitis 20. Cystitis 21. Dacryocystitis 22. Dermatitis suggestive of toxaemia 23. Diarrhoea and Diptheria 24. Dysentery 25. Ear Affections 26. Enlarged Prostrate 27. Epiditymitis 28. Erysipelas 29. Eustachian tubes (potency restored) 30. Follicular Tonsilitis 31. Furunculosis 32. Gonococcus 33. Gonorrhoea 34. Gonorrhoeal Conjunctivitis

40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Infantile Disease Infected ulcers of the cornea Inflammatory Rheumatism Influenze Interstitial Keratitis Intestinal troubles Lesion Healing Leucorrhoea Menier’s Symptoms Nasal Catarrh Nasopharyngeal Catarrh (reduced) Oedematous enlargement of turbinates without true hyperplasia Offensive discharge of chronic suppuration in Otitis Media Ophthalmology Opthalmic practices Para-Typhoid Paramecium Perineal Eczema Phlegmons Phlyctenular Conjunctivitis Pneumococci Pruritis Ani Puerperal Septicaemia Purulent Ophthalmia of infants Pustular Eczema of scalp Pyorrhoea Alveolaris (Riggs disease) Quinsies Rhinitis Ringworm of the body Scarlatina Sepsis

35. Gonorrhoeal Ophthalimia

71. Septic Tonsilitis

36. Gonorrhoeal Prostratic Gleet

72. Septic Ulcers of the legs

37. Haemorrhoids

73. Septicaemia

38. Hypopyon Ulcer 39. Impetigo

74. Shingles 75. Soft sores 84

76. Spring Catarrh 77. Sprue 78. Staphyloclysin (inhibits) 79. Staphylococcus Pyogenea 80. Staphylococcus Pyogens Albus 81. Staphylococcus Pyogens Aureus 82. Streptococci 83. Subdues inflammation 84.Suppurative Appendicitis (post-op) 85. Tinea Versicolor 86. Tonsilitis 87. Typhoid 88. Typhoid Bacillus 89. Ulcerative Urticaria 90. Urticaria suggestive of toxaemia 91. Valsava’s inflammation 92. Vincent’s Angina

silver being used to treat: 97. Adenovirus 5 98. Aspergillus Niger 99. Bacillius Typhosus 100. Bovine Rotovirus 101. Candida Albicans 102. Endamoeba Histolytica 103. Escherichia Coli 104. Legionella Pneumophila 105. Poliovirus | (Sabin strain) 106. Pseudomonas Aeruginosa 107. Salmonella 108. Spore-forming Bacteria 109. Staphylococcus Aureus 110. Streptococcus Faecalis 111. Vegetative B. Cereus cells

93. Vorticella 94. Warts

95. Whooping Cough 96. More recent articles have described

The Secret of Making Your Own Fresh, Pure Therapeutic-Quality Colloidal Silver Therapeutic-quality colloidal silver can quickly and easily be made at home -- in 10 minutes or less -- through the use of an inexpensive home colloidal silver generator. We highly recommend the purchase of a home colloidal silver generator, for the simple reason that in the event of a terrorist biological attack on U.S. cities, you will want to be able to make all of the fresh, safe, high-grade, therapeutic-quality colloidal silver you can for yourself, your family and your neighbors. Since commercially purchased colloidal silver is prohibitively expensive (especially if you are trying to stock up fora long-term emergency such as a terrorist biological attack on U.S. cities, or any other serious crisis situation), making your own high-grade colloidal silver is the only way to go, in our opinion. Plus, commercially purchased colloidal silver has a limited shelf-life — as little as one to six months. Whereas with a simple home colloidal silver generator, you can make all of the fresh, potent therapeutic-quality colloidal silver you want at a moment’s notice, anytime you need it. You literally never have to worry about shelf life, because you make it fresh and pure as you need it! And rather than paying anywhere from $15.00 to $26.00 for a tiny four ounce bottle of colloidal silver through mail order sources or health food stores, having a colloidal silver generator allows you to make your own colloidal silver for just pennies a gallon -- for years on end! Finally, experts say colloidal silver is the perfect product for purifying contaminated water, or keeping fresh water from becoming contaminated. After boiling water suspected of being contaminated to kill off any heat-susceptible microorganisms, simply add two ounces of fresh colloidal silver per half gallon, stir or shake briskly, and 85

let the water sit for ten minutes. Then, stir or shake briskly again, and let set for 10 more minutes. Experts say that since no microorganism ever tested has been able to stay alive for more than 6 minutes once exposed directly to colloidal silver, this may be all you need to assure the safety of your drinking water. Furthermore, colloidal silver has long been recognized by medical experts as one of the most potent antidotes on earth for food poisoning. During a protracted

crisis, when the quality of foods may be suspect, it is absolutely vital that you and your family have effective protection in case of food poisoning. Experts say colloidal silver is literally the best insurance against food poisoning money can buy. Because of these crucial factors, we have reprinted below an article from a recent issue of Life & Health Newsletter explaining what colloidal silver generators are, how they work, and where you can get one quickly and inexpensively. We strongly urge you to put a home colloidal silver generator at the top of your “must have” list for surviving the coming germ warfare and infectious disease crisis with your life and your health intact. The following reprinted article will give you all of the information you need to do SO:

—

How to Make Your Own High-Grade, Therapeutic-Quality Colloidal Silver At Home, In Minutes, for Just Pennies! By

Chief

Science

S. Spencer Jones, Writer, Life & Health

We’ve been solution to the

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on U.S. cities. What we've discovered is a safe, and completely legal way to make your own high-grade colloidal silver -- nature’s most powerful antibiotic substance -- for personal use. In the course of our ongoing research, we found that pure, unadulterated therapeuticquality colloidal silver can be made at home in minutes, for

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apparently thousands of Americans have been quietly making their own colloidal silver at home for Many Years, using. it to safely and effectively knock out stubborn bacterial and viral infections of all sorts -- without having to resort to the use of potentially dangerous PreScriplLionsaneibio9oL 1 com , 86

In

fact,

one

of

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readers

recently

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how

he

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successfully used his homemade colloidal silve r LPOeKnOCk out a stubborn fungal infection his doctors Courd natectre: Another has told us how he has used homemade Colloidal Silver over the past few years to obliterate strep throat infections, pink eye, upper respiratory infections, colds, the flu, and numerous other maladies among famil y members and friends! So

How

Is

Colloidal

Silver

Made?

Here’s what we discovered in the course of our research: Manufacturers have a machine that runs a low voltage current of electricity through several .999 pure Silver wire electrodes which are dangled into a container of water. The low voltage electricity passing through the pure Silver wires drives tiny, submicroscopic silver ions out of the

silver

wire

and

into

the

water,

water with an electro-colloidal electro-colloidal process. The suspended in the water are what amazing

antibiotic

powers.

To

suspending

them

in

the

charge. This is called an submicroscopic silver ions give “colloidal silver” its date,

of

the

650

different

disease-causing pathogenic microorganisms tested in the lab, NONE could live in the presence of colloidal silver. In MoptCecases;,experts alfirm, they are killed within 51x minutes of contact!

And

best

yet,

experts

attest

that

colloidal

silver

made

through the electro-colloidal process is completely harmless to the human body. In fact, for over 60 years there have been no known toxic effects from the use of colloidal Silver, and it causes no harmful interactions with other medications you may be taking. The submicroscopic ionic

particles of silver suspended in the water are so small they readily pass directly through (measured in angstroms) the human body after doing their work on any disease-causing thatts really ale Insaynutshell, BPavnogenssencountered.. Eero ato. be

Fortunately, renowned

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or

Robert

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bright Beck)

silver

researchersi(ineluding have

generators

developed

(the

very

units

are

so

small they can be held in the palm of your hand) that can be run on standard 9 volt batteries. These units are able to Makesupsto. bo .ounces: of colloidal silver in under ten minutes, or even a gallon or more of pure, unadulterated Con botddisselivetminean, —hotir.) sfhey are sos simpte to use,. it igs amazing. And there is no risk of shock or other problems,

because

the

units

run 87

on

safe,

simple

9 volt

batteries.

These highly effective home savvy health-conscious Americans

years

to make

their

own

units are what thousands of have quietly been using for

high-grade

colloidal

silver!

The more we looked into this situation, the more intrigued we became. We found that home-made colloidal silver is safe, extremely simple to make, and is as pure and effective as the best commercial colloidal silver products on the market. And now you can make your own colloidal Silver, too! As a service to our readers, we’ve searched for

the

best

and

here’s

home

what

colloidal

we’ve

Introducing: by

silver

generator

on

the

market,

found...

The Home Colloidal Silver Generator Silver Bullet Enterprises!

During the course of our research, we ran across a very interesting company called Silver Bullet Enterprises, which manufactures colloidal silver generators — the very best on the market! These are small palm-sized counter top devices that run on three standard 9-volt batteries, and can make to 16 ounces of the highest quality colloidal silver in under 10 minutes, for only pennies! (Keep in mind that a tiny four ounce bottle of colloidal silver now sells

commercially colloidal amount of

world’s for

most

about

for

$26

to

$36

or

more.

silver generator, you can pure, fresh, high-quality

powerful

sixty

natural

cents

or

But

with

make four colloidal

antibiotic

--

your

own

up

home

times that silver — the

in

just

minutes,

less!)

The device comes ready to work, and is as easy to use as making a cup of tea. Only instead of tea, you get pure, unadulterated therapeutic-quality colloidal silver!

Considering the impending terrorist germ warfare assaults against U.S: cities, and the potentially life— saving value of having uninterrupted access to fresh pure, therapeutic quality colloidal silver, we can’t emphasize enough how invaluable one of these amazing little devices could turn out to be. The very day we spoke to the good folks at Silver Bullet Enterprises and learned about their device, we ordered one and have used it regularly ever Sime ewe Chink vou shomldastoo.

These

home

colloidal

inexpensive -- only handling (specially

silver

generators

are

wonderfully

$129.95 each plus $5 shipping and discounted from $149.95 for readers 88

of

this manual), which is about the price you’d have to pay for just four tiny bottles of commercially bought colloidal Silver. But one of these tiny devices can make literally gallons and gallons of the highest-qual ity colloidal silver available, for years on end. And all you have to do is replace the silver wire once every year or two (depending upon how frequently you make colloidal Slive r)’, for about $15 from Silver Bullet Enterprises. Best yet, their top-quality, carefully-engineered colloidal silver generators come with a full 30-day 100% money-back guarantee. If you’re dissatisfied with their product for any reason, you simply return it in good condition for a full 100% refund of your purchase price (less postage) -- no questions asked!

You can order one of these amazing home colloidal Silver generators -- which comes complete with easy-tofollow

instructions,

three

9-volt

batteries,

and

12

inches

of ultra-pure .999 silver 14 gauge electrode wire (enough for years of normal use in making your own high quality colloidal silver) -- by sending a check or money order to the address below for only $129.95 plus $5 s&h, for a total of

only

$134.95.

Or

order

two

or

more

colloidal

silver

generators and get them for only $99.95 each, plus (California residents must add 7.50% sales tax, or Cannot be processed.) Just mail your order to:

Silver Bullet Enterprises 25277 West Main St., Dept. Lenwood, CA 92311 Your

FREE

Order the

next

10

4-Part

your

new

days

Colloidal

Home

and

you

will

BW

Silver

Colloidal

$5 s&h. the order

Information

Silver

receive

—

Generator

absolutely

Kit!

within FREE

—

an

extensive 4-part Colloidal Silver Information Kit consisting of four in-depth Special Reports on colloidal silver and its phenomenal uses in preventing and curing virtually all forms of infectious illness and disease!

out that

For example, you’1ll learn how colloidal silver numerous forms of infection from bacteria (even are

resistant

to

modern

antibiotics),

as

well

wipes bacteria as

infection from viruses, fungi and parasites...you’ll learn how and why colloidal silver can be used topically as well as internally with complete safety...and you’1ll learn what many of the world’s top experts have to say about the myriad 89

colloidal

of

of proven uses prevention.

in

silver

and

healing

disease

Plus, you’ll learn why some of the major pharmaceutical companies want colloidal silver banned, even though it is completely harmless, and even though they once produced it themselves,

used

it

medically

for

infectious

disease,

and

promoted it for decades before the advent of their expensive prescription antibiotacs!