U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Chemical and Biological Terrorism

NCJ Number
193184
Author(s)
Vaughn E. Wagner Ph.D.
Date Published
2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the nature of chemical and biological terrorist incidents.
Abstract
The paper claims that understanding the potential threats, consequences, and vulnerabilities resulting from the intentional release of chemical and/or biological agents requires a review of environmental and agent components affecting toxicity/infectivity. The terms toxicant and toxin as used in this paper mean two different things. Toxicant relates primarily to synthetic chemicals produced by man, while toxin refers to chemical metabolites produced by living organisms. Bioagents most likely to be used in terrorist attacks are anthrax, botulinum toxin, and ricin. Chemical agents may include cyanide blood agents, mustard gas-type vesicants, and organophosphate nerve agents. Less toxic substances such as off-the-shelf insecticides could also cause large-scale injuries. One of the principal advantages of chemical and bioterrorism agents is their extreme toxicity in small quantities. These agents must have the capacity to form and be delivered in respirable aerosol concentrations to result in mass casualties. Of major concern is the accessibility of specific related compounds such as organophosphate insecticides and the use of peacetime delivery systems such as insect sprayers and dusters to disseminate the agent. Target delivery systems would be heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems and water reservoirs in high use areas. The paper suggests local health department initiatives for terrorist-sponsored attacks.