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3. Contents:
Weapons of Mass Destruction
- NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS
- CHEMICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
Mitigation strategies
Biological Disasters

4. Weapons of Mass Destruction :
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are weapons which bring a huge loss to life, property and
environment. The term covers several weapon types, including nuclear, biological, chemical (NBC) and,
increasingly, radiological weapons. There is controversy over when the term was first used, either in 1937 or
in 1945. The term weapons of mass destruction has been in currency since at least 1937, when it was used to
describe massed formations of bomber aircraft. With the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan,
the fearsome power of conventional bombs paled before the spectacle of an entire city centre destroyed and
some 66,000 people instantly killed by the blast and heat of a single nuclear weapon.

5. Nuclear weapon, device designed to release
energy in an explosive manner as a result
of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a
combination of the two processes. Fission
weapons are commonly referred to as atomic
bombs. Fusion weapons are also referred to
as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly,
hydrogen bombs; they are usually defined as
nuclear weapons in which at least a portion of
the energy is released by nuclear fusion. There
are two basic types of nuclear weapons:
* ATOMIC BOMBS – produce their
explosive energy through nuclear fission.
* HYDROGEN BOMBS – produces a
large amount of its energy through nuclear
fusion and can be thousand times more powerful
than fission bombs.

6. Atomic bomb, also called atom bomb, weapon with great explosive power that results
from the sudden release of energy upon the splitting, or fission, of the nuclei of such
heavy elements as plutonium or uranium.
When a neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom of the isotopes uranium
235 orplutonium-239, it causes that nucleus to split into two fragments, each of which
is a nucleus with about half the protons and neutrons of the original nucleus. In the
process of splitting, a great amount of thermal energy, as well as gamma rays and two
or more neutrons, is released. Under certain conditions, the escaping neutrons strike
and thus fission more of the surrounding uranium nuclei, which then emit more
neutrons that split still more nuclei. This series of rapidly multiplying fissions
culminates in a chain reaction in which nearly all the fissionable material is consumed,
in the process generating the explosion of what is known as an atomic bomb.

7. The hydrogen bomb is a nuclear weapon
in which light atomic nuclei of hydrogen
are joined together in an uncontrolled
nuclear fusion reaction to release huge
amounts of energy. The hydrogen bomb
is about a thousand time more powerful
than the atomic bomb, which produces
a nuclear fission explosion almost a
million times more powerful than that
of a comparably sized bomb using
conventional high explosives such as
TNT. The atomic bomb was an essential
first step towards the development of
the hydrogen bomb, before the atomic
bomb w2as developed by the United
States during World War 2, there was
no way to produce the extreme
amounts of heat needed to initiate the
fusion reaction of the hydrogen bomb.

9. Don’t panic in the event of a nuclear attack or accident. Common indicators of
radioactivity are nausea, dizziness, vomiting and disorientation, with no odor but a wave of
heat.
Don’t look at the fire blast as it can cause instant blindness.
Close all doors and windows, and stay indoors till further communication from the
Government. Radioactivity does not penetrate solid structures, though fire may cause
damage to buildings.
Cover all food and water. Don’t consume water, milk, food obtained following a nuclear
blast.
Await government instructions/communications if you have to move out of your house.

10. Manufacturing of chemicals are a major source of contamination through
hazardous materials, but there are many others, including service stations,
hospitals, and hazardous materials waste sites. Hazardous materials come in the
form of explosives, flammable and combustible substances, poisons, and
radioactive material. These substances are most often released as a result of
transportation accidents, lack of proper storage, use or disposal or because of
chemical accidents in plants.
Chemical Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are
normally easy to manufacture using simple chemicals.
Further they are difficult to detect as most of the
Chemical WMD are colorless and odorless.
You and your community are at risk if a chemical is used
without following safety precautions or released in
harmful amounts into the environment where you live,
work or play. One of the significant events in India
includes the Bhopal Disasters of 1984, where a highly
toxic gas was released into the air at a Union Carbide
pesticides facility and killed more than 3,000 people.

11. Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world’s
worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984 at the
Union Carbide Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. A leak of
methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant insulted in the exposure of
hundreds of thousands of people. The toxic substance made its way in and around the
shantytowns located near the plant. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official
immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed
a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas released. Others estimate 3,000 died
within weeks and another 8,000 have since died from gas-related diseases. A
government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including
38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling
injuries.

12. Although the risk of chemical accident is slight, knowing how to handle these products
and how to react during an emergency can reduce the risk of injury.
Some of the possible risk reduction measures are as follows:
1. Hazard Mapping – Inventors and maps of storage locations of toxins or hazardous
substances along with the possible characteristics should be displayed and known to
all. The community staying in the immediate vicinity should be aware of this hazard
and its possible effects in case of an accident. The map should also determine the
area that may get affected in case an accident occurs. The nature of the accident
can be different. It can be fire, explosion, spillage, gas cloud etc.
2. Land use planning – Densely populated residential areas should be located at a
distance from industrial areas. A buffer zone should separate the residential and
industrial zone. Better planning is required to handle the waste that is generated so
that the environment is not affected. Safe disposal methods should be planned
before setting up any industry. Waste disposal sites should be identified as part of
the planning process.

13. 3. Community preparedness – The community should be aware of the hazardous
installations and know how to combat the situation. The local community has to be
informed about the response steps to be taken in case of an accident. Community
members should monitor the pollution levels of the industry and participate in mock drills
of evacuation.
4. Other possible risk reduction measures include:
- Improve fire resistance and warning systems
- Improve fire fighting and pollution dispersion capabilities
- Develop energy relief and evacuation planning for employees and nearby
settlements.
- Incident response training should be provided to the employees of the
industry
- Maintain a wind flow diagram of the region
- Limit storage capacity of the toxic substances
- Insurance for industries and Safety legislation

14. Biological weapons are referred to as a “poor man’s nuclear bomb” because they are easy
to manufacture, can be deployed without sophisticated delivery systems, and have the
ability to kill or injure hundreds of thousands of people. Simple devices such as crop
dusting airplanes or small perfumes atomizers are effective delivery systems for
biological agents. In contrast to chemical, conventional and nuclear weapons that
generate immediate effects, biological agents are generally associated with a delay in
the onset of illness. Moreover, illness from biological weapons are not likely to be
recognized in their initial stages. With highly transmissible agents, the time delay in
recognition can result in widespread secondary exposure to others, including doctors and
health staff.