Radiation Decontamination
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary , 10th edition, lists 1936 as the year of the earliest known use of the word decontaminate in English. Decontaminate is defined as follows: “to rid…
Future Biological and Chemical Weapons
Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge the previous contributions of James M. Madsen. Historical perspective Biological and chemical weapons have been used throughout history. For millennia, indigenous South American peoples deliberately…
Dirty Bomb (Radiological Dispersal Device)
A dirty bomb is a device that combines radioactive materials with conventional explosives. Global terrorist organizations are believed to be interested in and capable of constructing dirty bombs and launching…
Conventional Explosions at Mass Gatherings
Description of the event The magnitude and severity of primary injuries from a blast explosion are determined by proximity, the quantity and type of explosive, and whether the explosion is…
General Approach to Chemical Attack
The risk of chemical attack is no longer confined to the battlefield. The rise of asymmetric terrorist tactics, combined with the dual-use nature of technology and the proliferation of information,…
Nuclear Disaster Management
The events of September 11, 2001, and the worldwide proliferation of nuclear materials, including theft and smuggling, increase the possibility that a nuclear disaster may occur from the terrorist use…
Suicide Bomber
Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Kashuk for his contribution to the first edition. Description of event The continued perpetration of suicide bombings by terrorists throughout the…
Introduction to Explosions and Blasts
Description of event Physics of Blast Injury Although the exact details of an explosion are rarely available to emergency providers, a basic understanding of explosives and blast-wave physics can help…
Civil Unrest and Rioting
Civil unrest , also termed civil disturbance , is a spectrum of activities progressively disruptive to public order and tranquility. Civil unrest can occur whenever a group in the community…
Improvised Explosive Devices
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have existed since the first time a person used an explosive material in a different manner than that for which it was originally intended. The term…
