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Many Female Terrorists Motivated by Revenge

May 17, 2012 in 2012, Al Qaeda, America, Hazards, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement / Terrorism, Middle East, Security, Terrorism

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Female terrorists share many similarities with male terrorists in that they are likely to be educated, employed, and native residents of the country where they commit a terrorist act, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

The latest findings contradict stereotypes presented in previous studies that describe female terrorists as socially isolated and vulnerable to recruitment because they are uneducated, unemployed and from a foreign land, psychologists reported in a study published online in the APA journal Law and Human Behavior.

“We discovered that some of the popular notions about female terrorists do not reflect what has occurred in the past,” said the study’s lead author, Karen Jacques, Ph.D. “A more realistic description is helpful because it provides insights into the social dynamics that might promote an individual’s involvement in terrorist activities.”

The researchers did find one difference between female and male terrorists: Female terrorists had more individual motivations, such as personal revenge for the death of a loved one, for their terrorist activities than men.

For the study, researchers at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom examined biographical data from multiple sources on 222 female and 269 male terrorists connected to one of 13 conflicts involving groups such as al Qaeda, the Irish Republican Army, and the Popular Liberation Army of Colombia.

Jacques and her co-author, Paul J. Taylor, Ph.D, examined eight variables for each terrorist: age at first involvement, education, employment status, immigration status, marital status, religious conversion, criminal activity, and activist connections.

The majority of both female and male terrorists were between 16 and 35 years old, native residents, employed, educated through secondary school, not converted from another religion, and rarely involved in a previous crime, the researchers discovered.

Compared to male terrorists, women had, on average, more education, with the majority continuing beyond secondary school, and were more likely to be divorced or widowed, less likely to be employed, and less likely to be immigrants.

“A surprising finding was that, unlike for other criminals, there were very few instances of previous involvement in criminal activity among both females and males,” said Jacques. “This could be because they were unwilling to confess to other crimes, because criminality could attract authorities’ undue attention to potential terrorists, or the possibility that having a criminal career is not a significant precursor to terrorism.”

About a third of all terrorists had previous connections to terrorism through their families. However, more than 50 percent of those with family connections to terrorism indicated that family influence did not motivate them to carry out terrorist activities, the researchers said.

By JANICE WOOD

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Bird Flu Research Details To Be Released

February 23, 2012 in Al Qaeda, America, Bio Terror, Emergency Medicine, Hazards, Terrorism

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Despite fear that terrorists could the information to start epidemics, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced they would release the “full details” of experiments done last year by research teams, at Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the virus known as H5N1, that made the deadly bird flu virus more contagious.

Scientists around the world have been divided on the subject, and there has been a moratorium on the research and its publication once news of the experiments was known. Some urged that the results be published in full; while others say the research is so dangerous that it should never even have been done, much less published. But bio-security experts fear mutated forms of the virus that the researchers created could escape or fall into the wrong hands and be used to spark a pandemic worse than the 1918/19 outbreak of Spanish flu that killed as many as 40-million people. But on the other hand, the Unites States representative to the organization, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that any theoretical risk of the virus being used by terrorists is far outweighed by the ”real and present danger” of similar flu viruses in the wild

Remember that biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease-causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. It is meant to incapacitate or kill an adversary. The level of damage depends primarily on the biological agent’s transmissibility, lethality and susceptibility to countermeasures.

Be aware that H5N1 is a highly contagious deadly strain of bird flu. It is considered so dangerous it could potentially lead to a global pandemic. The virus has killed about 60 per cent of those it has infected, making it one of the most lethal known forms of influenza in modern history.  Until recently it was thought the virus could be transmitted between humans only through close physical contact, but the Netherlands team, led by virologist Ron Fouchier have been able to mutate a deadly strain of bird flu in a laboratory, so that it can be transmitted through the air with the potential to infect and kill millions of people.  Consider that al-Qaeda’s arm in Yemen was said to be actively recruiting specialists in many forms of terror and they had even openly discussed deploying deadly poisons in an article titled “Tips for Our Brothers in the United States of America,” in its online English-language journal, “Inspire.”

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More Leaks Found at Japan Nuclear Plant

February 4, 2012 in 2012, Hazards, Nuclear

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TOKYO –  Leaks of radioactive water have become more frequent at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant less than two months after it was declared basically stable.

The problem underlines the continuing challenges facing Tokyo Electric Power Co. as it attempts to keep the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control. A massive earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant last March, resulting in the melting of three reactor cores.

Workers spotted a leak Friday at a water reprocessing unit which released enough beta rays to cause radiation sickness, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. He said no one was injured and the leak stopped after bolts were tightened on a tank.

Matsumoto said TEPCO also found that 8.5 tons of radioactive water had leaked earlier in the week after a pipe became detached at Unit 4, one of the plant’s six reactors. The company earlier had estimated that only a few gallons had leaked.

He said officials are investigating the cause of that leak, but that it was unlikely the pipe had been loosened by the many aftershocks that have hit the plant.

The structural integrity of the damaged Unit 4 reactor building has long been a major concern among experts because a collapse of its spent fuel cooling pool could cause a disaster worse than the three reactor meltdowns.

Cold winter weather has also caused water inside pipes to freeze elsewhere at the plant, resulting in leaks in at least 30 locations since late January, Matsumoto said.

Officials have not detected any signs of radioactive water from the leaks reaching the surrounding ocean. Sandbag walls have been built around problem areas as a precaution.

More than 100,000 people around the plant fled their homes after the disaster due to radiation fears.

The government announced in December that the plant had reached “a cold shutdown condition” and is now essentially stable.

On Monday, six inspectors from the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will begin an inspection of the plant to ensure its continued stability. They will study the reactors’ cooling functions and measures to prevent explosions and nuclear chain reactions, among other steps to keep the plant under control, officials said.

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Sprinklers For The Eisenhower Tunnel

January 18, 2012 in 2012, Emergency, Emergency Medicine, Firefighter, First Responder, Hazards, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Security

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The current infrastructure of the United States includes approximately 400-highway tunnels in 35 states and thousands of miles of mass transportation (rail) tunnels. Concerns about fire safety in these tunnels existed long before terrorism exposed their vulnerability, though. These underground fires, occurring in road or railway tunnels, as well as accidents and other issues create extraordinary challenges for firefighters and emergency personnel. One of the most challenging scenarios for a firefighter is battling a blaze deep in the constricted bowels of an underground tunnel, where a fire can heat the tunnel to as much as 1500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Consider the catastrophic consequences of tunnel fires, not only resulting in loss of life and severe property damage, but also in a profound lack of confidence from the public regarding the use of such systems. In an effort to be proactive and safe, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) desires to install a twenty million dollar sprinkler system in the four-lane, 1.6 mile long Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel on Interstate 70. This would undoubtedly make the tunnel safer. The CDOT has asked for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding to install a suppression system designed to control heat in the event of a fire, making it easier for fire fighters to enter the tunnel.

Fire safety in rail and road tunnels is challenging because of the specific features of the tunnel environment. A key factor to be aware of is that sprinkler systems are designed to confine a fire to its area of origin. According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), automatic sprinkler systems reduce the risk of home fire deaths and can significantly decrease fire-related property damage. Experts say that sprinklers will most likely extinguish the fire at its incipient stage before it has a chance to grow. The flow of water from fire sprinklers is also intended to drop the core temperature of a fire area. Once the temperature has dropped below what is known as the threshold temperature, fire crews can enter the area and completely extinguish it.

It is very important for one to remember that fire safety in tunnels is a challenging endeavor, mainly due to the specific features of the tunnel environment. A fire in a tunnel can spread from its original source to secondary vehicles very easily, so tunnel fires must be extinguished as quickly as they begin in order to stop it from reaching a critical heat-release rate. This can be achieved by “applying the wet stuff to the red stuff.”

 

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Should we fear avian H5N1 influenza? – HSN

January 17, 2012 in 2012, Bio Terror, Emergency Medicine, Hazards

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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Why is there such widespread fear of avian H5N1 influenza virus?

Why did Paul Keim, chair of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) say “I can’t think of another pathogenic organism that is as scary as this one”.  What lead Donald McNeil, writing about H5N1 in the New York Times, to conclude that “In its natural form, it is known to have infected only about 600 people since its discovery in 1997, but it killed more than half of them.”

McNeil’s statement is incorrect. Yet it summarizes why Paul Keim, the NSABB, and many others fear the virus.

The problem is that we cannot say with any certainty that the virus has infected only about 600 people. What we do know is that among the 600 seriously ill individuals infected with influenza H5N1 who are admitted to hospital, over half of them die.

To know the fatality rate of avian H5N1 influenza virus in humans, we need to divide the number of fatalities by the number of infections. We do not know that last number – but there are hints that it could be quite large. In a recent study of rural Thai villagers, sera from 800 individuals were collected and analyzed for antibodies against several avian influenza viruses, including H5N1, by hemagglutination-inhibition and neutralization assays. The results indicate that 73 participants (9.1%) had antibody titers against one of two different H5N1 strains. The authors conclude that ‘people in rural central Thailand may have experienced subclinical avian influenza virus infections’. A subclinical infection is one without apparent signs of illness.

If 9% of the rural Asian population has been subclinically infected with avian H5N1 influenza virus strains, it would dramatically change our view of the pathogenicity of the virus. Extensive serological studies must be done to determine the extent of human infection with avian H5N1 influenza viruses.

Until we know how many individuals are infected with avian influenza H5N1, we must refrain from making dire conclusions about the pathogenicity of the virus. Doing so has only lead us down a dangerous path of fearing that H5N1 influenza virus might be used as a weapon of bioterrorism, and restricting the publication of scientific papers on the virus.

Update. A meta-analysis reveals that about 1.3% of over 8,500 study participants had serological evidence of infection with influenza H5N1 (Palese, personal communication).

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Firefighters To Learn Of Meth Hazards

December 22, 2011 in Emergency, Firefighter, First Responder, Hazards

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By: TVR – a 28 year veteran First Responder

First responders are widely recognized as having extremely dangerous and stressful occupations. They often encounter direct danger in situations that are unsafe, violent, and tragic. Trends show expanding numbers of methamphetamine (meth) labs throughout the nation, so in an effort to educate their first responders Hawaii’s Department of Public Safety recently announced that many firefighters throughout the Hawaiian Islands, along with a number of law enforcement agencies, would soon be receiving training on the hazards that can be encountered in meth labs, so that if a clandestine lab is uncovered during the course of their duties, the emergency responders will know how to protect themselves and the surrounding community.

The state Department of Public Safety’s Narcotics Enforcement Division recently announced that it would be holding the training, which they say, is not because of an increase in the number of labs in the islands but, but instead to prepare the responders in the event a clandestine laboratory is discovered.

Methamphetamine also known as “meth,” “speed,” “crank,” “crystal,” and “ice,” is a potent synthetic drug that is synthesized in clandestine drug labs. There are many different chemical “recipes” for “cooking” meth. Each uses different ingredients using a variety of ingredients, but all the formulas have one thing in common, they require ingredients that are flammable and explosive. Recipes vary from using common household products, over-the-counter medications, solvents; metals and strong acids. These labs contain all sorts of hidden hazards. A clandestine meth lab will likely have hazardous, flammable chemicals stored in every type of container imaginable.

Many times firefighters are not be aware of a meth lab operation when responding to an incident. A meth lab is always a hazardous materials incident, these first responders are at risk for numerous health problems when they come in contact with clandestine meth labs during the course of their duties. Production methods involve numerous chemical reactions that can cause fire, explosion, and release of toxic gases. In addition making a pound of crystal meth produces at least five pounds of hazardous byproducts and waste that are both dangerous to breath and possibly explosive, contaminating a residences carpet, wallboard, ceiling tile, furniture or draperies which may absorb spilled or vaporized chemicals thereby making these labs potential hazardous waste sites.

Remember that meth labs pose a definite threat to first responders. If a first responder were to unexpectedly come across an active meth lab they can be susceptible to acute chemical exposure, which can cause lung damage and burns to the body. So to protect responders if a meth lab is suspected, only trained and properly equipped professionals, wearing the appropriate level personnel protective equipment (PPE) should enter the building.

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Structural Collapse And The Firefighter

December 6, 2011 in Emergency, Firefighter, First Responder, Hazards

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By: TVR – a 28 year veteran First Responder

Not knowing what unseen hazards they may encounter, veteran firefighters will tell you there’s always inherent risks in a our jobs. Within the fire fighting community, we know that one of the greatest hazards in firefighting is the threat of structural collapse.

Structural collapse of a building during fire fighting is a leading cause of death among fire fighters. The potential for structural collapse is one of the most difficult factors to predict during initial size-up and risk assessment, and, ongoing fire fighting. Structural collapse of any part of a building (floors, walls, ceilings, roofs, or structural members) during fire fighting often occurs without warning.

According to Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn’s book “Collapse of Burning Buildings: A Guide to Fireground Safety”: upon arrival at a fire scene, in order to determine the structural integrity of a burning building, the incident commander (IC) should consider the following factors: “extent of fire and location, the amount of time the fire has been burning, conditions on arrival, size of the building (single or multistory, floor area, and height), age of the building (deterioration of structural members, and any evidence of weathering), use of lightweight materials in new construction, presence of combustible materials, occupancy, renovations or modifications to the building, previous fires, and supported loads (such as roof-top heating and cooling systems) that might affect the structural integrity of the building.”

Consider that in the future this threat to the firefighters safety will only get worse, as we see the impact of fire on the lightweight engineered wood components being used today in new construction. Residential buildings are increasingly replacing conventional solid joist construction with modern lightweight construction, such as lightweight wood trusses and engineered I-beams, which are used as both roof and floor supports. Under normal conditions these contemporary construction components are said to have the same or better load-carrying capacities as old-fashioned conventional construction, but don’t perform as well under fire conditions mainly because there is less wood to burn, leaving fire crews no margin for safety for the fire crews entering the burning structure.

Firefighters should accept the fact that these new construction materials are here to stay. They are cheaper, and easier to handle than conventional building materials. So understanding the many hazards of lightweight construction will help incident commanders, company officers, and firefighters to evaluate the hazards present prior to and during a given incident and allow a more informed risk/benefit analysis when choosing tactics (offensive/defensive) to be used.

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Electric Car Fires Prompt Investigation

November 29, 2011 in Hazards

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By: TVR – a 28 year veteran First Responder

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has begun an investigation which is said to be an effort to assess the risk of fire in the Chevrolet Volt, after fires involving the lithium-ion batteries in the General Motors Co.’s electric car occurred during the safety administration’s crash tests.

The NHTSA released a statement explaining that during tests one Volt battery pack caught fire, and another crash-tested battery emitted smoke and sparks. Although so far no fires have been reported in Volts involved in roadway crashes, these latest incidents are in addition to another blaze involving damaged Volt battery that caused a Volt that was being stored in a parking lot a test facility in Burlington, WI to burst into flames. The fire extended from the electric car to other vehicles parked nearby causing significant damage to all vehicles.

Consider that there have been a multitude of incidents where lithium batteries have been found to overheat and ignite. These rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have been the subject’s of several recalls of consumer electronics, in addition they were the subject of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning, advising the airline industry about potential fires in cargo containing lithium-ion and non-rechargeable lithium metal batteries. That warning was prompted after a United Parcel Service plane carrying thousands of lithium batteries crashed near Dubai last year, killing both pilots.

Fire crews should be aware of additional hazards. Lithium may emit a colorless to pale yellow gas with a sharp, pungent odor. The electrolyte contained in lithium cells can cause severe irritation to the respiratory tract, eyes, and skin. Other potential hazards may include the release of thionyl chloride, bromine, chlorine dioxide, hydrochloric acid, sulfur dioxide and sulfuryl chloride gasses, which could potentially result in a room full of hazardous air contaminants, including corrosive or flammable vapors.

Finally fires involving lithium-ion batteries necessitate maximum use of personnel protective equipment, such as self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and protective bunker gear. These fires can reach 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit while lithium reacts explosively with water to form hydrogen. The presence of even minute amounts of water may ignite the material and the hydrogen gas, so firefighters should use an extinguishing agent that is best suited for the materials involved. In addition to the battery itself, packaging materials, plastics, and electronic components may add additional fuel to the fire. Lithium fires can also throw off highly reactive molten lithium metal particles, while cells adjacent to any burning material could overheat causing a violent explosion.

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Medical Waste, A Hazard To Responders

November 21, 2011 in Explosive, First Responder, Hazards, Medical waste

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By: TVR – a 28 year veteran First Responder

Hazardous materials incidents encompass a wide variety of situations including fires, spills, transportation accidents, chemical reactions, and explosions.  Every incident presents the potential for exposure to hazardous materials.

In recent years a disregard for waste-management procedures outlined in regional infection control regulations, that governs the handling and disposal of medical waste has led to some unsound and illegal practices. There are several types of waste and waste by-products from hospitals and other health-care establishments laboratories and research centers mortuary and autopsy centers animal research and testing laboratories blood banks, collection services, and nursing homes for the elderly which cover a diverse range of materials many which may be considered hazardous, infectious, toxic or radioactive.

Around the nation first responders have encountered biomedical waste along with scalpels, syringes and other sharps, in many responses, whether when called to extinguish a dumpster fire and even left in heaps outside of medical facilities. This nation-wide trend along with recent deaths in Brazil, Algeria, Morocco and Mexico which was later determined to have been caused by improper disposal of radiotherapy materials have led to a forced awareness by first responders.

As a suggestion if medical waste is encountered or suspected during operations the incident commander (IC) should not attempt to verify the type or amount of medical waste, instead the IC should ensure that all members are using their personnel protective equipment, utilize tactics that will minimize exposure of all operating personnel and limit the number of members potentially exposed to the material during the incident. In addition suitably trained hazardous material (Hazmat) personnel shall be called to the scene to access the situation and mitigate the hazards.

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Potentially Explosive Containers

November 17, 2011 in Explosive, Hazards

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By: TVR – a 28 year veteran First Responder

Prompted by the deaths of maintenance workers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is refusing to handle refrigerated container units, at many West Coast ports. These containers also known as “reefers,” are usually constructed from steel, aluminum, or fiberglass and are used to store temperature-sensitive items such as perishable goods and certain chemicals.

According to the World Cargo News (WCN) about a dozen exploding “reefers” have so far “been linked to at least three deaths. The refrigeration units in question had received gas repairs in Vietnam, and suffered compressor explosions and incidents of spontaneous combustion which have resulted the fatalities,” reported WCN.

In recent days officials with the ILWU have commented that the explosion risk in these refrigerated shipping containers has become a major issue in the shipping world and that thousands of potentially explosive refrigerated shipping containers are being transported around the globe. The deaths connected to the “reefers” have been reported in Vietnam and in Brazil from the refrigerated containers that they union say’s may be in danger of exploding. In response to this threat multiple international shipping agencies are conducting a comprehensive review of all refrigerated containers that passed through Vietnam’s Port of Kat Lai, where officials surmise that Vietnamese workers may have replaced the Freon refrigerant with a contaminated coolant, thus resulting a chemical reaction creating a creating a flammable/explosive mixture when the coolant comes into contact with R134A refrigerant, oil or air.

Consider that as a responder, we must be prepared to deal with a broad spectrum of transportation incidents. These incidents occur randomly and can be particularly difficult to handle. However, most situations provide a tremendous number of clues for emergency responders, but these intermodal freight containers, which have become a common sight in all modes of transportation (highway, rail, water, and air) provide few indicators to potential hazards. Many times they hold hazardous materials in many forms and quantities, which alone present a broad spectrum of challenges to responders. But first responders should be aware of this new unique deadly hazard when operating at incidents that involve these containers.

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