Chem-Bio: Frequently Asked Questions (CB-FAQ)

The Chem-Bio: Frequently Asked Questions (CB-FAQ) book is designed to assist those who suddenly need to quickly develop a working knowledge of chem-bio terrorism or who need a quick refresher on various aspects of chem-bio. The 164 page 5 x 6.5 inch pocket-sized book is in a question and answer format and has been written for people who do not have a scientific background in chem-bio.

Chemical and biological weapons have been used since antiquity. The first recorded use of chemical weapons occurred more than 2400 years ago in a war between Sparta and Athens. Dating back to the Old Testament, wells were poisoned by dropping putrefying corpses into them. In 15th century Crimea, the Mongols catapulted corpses infected with bubonic plague into Genoese settlements.

It has only been in modern times that these weapons have been rendered sufficiently deadly to become regarded as "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs) or, in a phrase commonly used, the poor man's atomic bombs. Today, a few pounds of these agents can cause thousand or hundreds of thousands of deaths and crippling poisoning or disease. Recently the capability to produce these weapons has moved from being the sole possession of governments to being within the means of terrorist organizations and even, in some cases, individuals. This migration of technology has raised the threat that the average citizen may be exposed to these weapons to a level unprecedented in history.

This book is intended to help those charged with meeting this threat by helping them to understand it. It is an overview of the essentials of biological and chemical weapons - what they are, what they do, and what (in broad terms) can be done about them. It is expected that different people will use this information in different ways. A reporter may wish to review the information on specific agents to allow an incident to be placed in perspective and described both clearly and correctly, the planner may wish to review the descriptions of the specialized terms - vector, contamination density, and LD50 - that the experts use when talking about these weapons, the trainer may wish to use some of the descriptions to clarify points or help make them memorable, and the First Responder may use it to assess what is happening if faced with these agents and to communicate with experts who may be attempting to assist in the response.

To meet the needs of this diverse group of users, we have organized this book into two major sections covering, respectively, biological and chemical weapons. Each major section is further divided into subsections in which topics related to a single theme are grouped. Finally, discussions of major points related to a theme are offered as responses to frequently asked questions - hence, the title of this book - Chem-Bio: Frequently Asked Questions.

The answer to each question is written so that it can stand alone without referring to other parts of the book (although related sections may be referenced). Thus, it is possible to simply look for the question related to what you want to know, read the answer, and move on. However, it is expected that this book will be used for education prior to an incident rather than as a reference during an incident (although some of the tables in the appendix may be useful for incident management). For such use, the authors suggest that the best results will be obtained by reading the general material in Sections 2.1 and 3.1 first, and then reading the other subsections in an order determined by the needs and interests of the individual.