Biological & Chemical Warfare
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Biological & Chemical Warfare
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Biological: Some substances are easy and cheap to produce yet hard to detect
Chemical: Can be scattered easily; some attack not only humans but also the food chain
The Threat: The threat of biological and chemical terrorism is real, but a perpetrator would need to overcome many obstacles to succeed.
1. Acquiring the basic chemicals or infective seed cultures.
• Obstacles: Some chemicals are monitored under international terrorism agreements
2. Synthesizing chemicals or growing biological agents (this step would be unnecessary for toxic industrial chemicals).
• Obstacles: Possessing the proper technical skills
• Obstacles: Knowledge of testing procedures
3. Processing the chemical or biological agents into a form that can be effectively delivered (unnecessary for some chemical agents).
• Obstacles: Having adequate financial resources
• Obstacles: Avoiding detection by authorities
4. Improvising a delivery device, then releasing the chemical or biological agents to cause mass casualties.
• Obstacles: Assuming personal risks with no vaccines or antidotes
• Obstacles: The ability to recognize environmental or meterological conditions