Is Montana at Risk?
Identified Hazards for the State of Montana
Basic Disaster Information:
CHEMICAL/BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
There are four major categories under which the chemical agents may be classified; these include the blister agents, the choking agents, the blood agents, and the nerve agents.
The blister agents are intended to incapacitate, rather than kill. These agents were used extensively during World War I. Their use by a terrorist group largely depends on the group’s objectives and moral views. If the intent of an attack is to injure numerous people and overload the areas medical facilities, without causing many deaths, then a blister agent would be the best choice.
Choking agents were the agents most used during WW I. With the advent of nerve agents, they have lost much of their usefulness. These substances are intended to cause death and are convenient for terrorists as they are readily available.
Cyanide based compounds make up what are referred to as blood agents. These compounds aren't suited for use on multitudes of people. Their primary use would be that of targeted individuals, such as assassinations.
The new wave chemical weapon is nerve agent. The original nerve agents were developed by German scientists during the 1930's as insecticides and then evolved into chemical weapons by the Nazi military. These agents have been the main weapon stockpiled as chemical weapons. Generally speaking, they are hundreds to thousands of times more lethal than blister, choking, or blood agents. These chemicals are the most useful to terrorists due to the small quantity needed to inflict a substantial amount of damage. Fortunately, these chemicals are more difficult to obtain.
Several major nations have developed biological agents to use in warfare. Such agents are selected or adapted from bacteria, fungi, viruses, or toxins that cause various diseases of humans beings, animals, or food crops. Deliberately using microorganisms and toxins as weapons has been attempted throughout history. Biological warfare has evolved from the crude use of cadavers to contaminate water supplies to the development of specialized munitions for battlefield and covert use. Currently, the development of biological agents as weapons has kept pace with our ever-evolving day-to-day technology. Despite the widespread ban, international diplomatic efforts have not been entirely effective in preventing the enhancement and proliferation of offensive biological warfare programs. These threats are likely to continue into the future.
With continual progression of the world, mass destruction is within reach. The likeliness of an incident involving weapons of mass destruction is steadily increasing. Awareness of this hazard is the first step to reducing the potential effects it could have in our state. Preparedness and planning efforts are critical processes in keeping Montana safe from chemical and biological attack.
