Nerve agents: implications for anesthesia providers.

Anesthesia providers may be called to treat injuries from chemical weapons or spills, for which prompt treatment is vital. It is therefore important to understand the mechanism of action of nerve agents and the resultant pathophysiology and to be able to quickly recognize the signs and symptoms of nerve agent exposure. This review article addresses the different types of nerve agents that are currently being manufactured as well as the symptomatic and definitive treatment of the patient who presents with acute nerve agent toxicity. This article also reviews the physiology of the neuromuscular junction and the autonomic nervous system receptors that nerve agent toxicity affects.

Emergency preparedness among people living near US army chemical weapons sites after September 11, 2001.

We examined trust in the army and perceptions of emergency preparedness among residents living near the Anniston, Ala, and Richmond, Ky, US Army chemical weapons stockpile sites shortly after September 11, 2001. Residents (n = 655) living near the 2 sites who participated in a cross-sectional population were relatively unprepared in the event of a chemical emergency. The events of September 11 gave rise to concerns regarding the security of stored chemical weapons and the sites' vulnerability to terrorist attacks. Although residents expressed trust in the army to manage chemical weapons safely, only a few expressed a desire to actively participate in site decisions. Compliance with procedures during emergencies could be seriously limited, putting residents in these sites at higher levels of risk of exposure to chemical hazards than nonresidents.

Public health, law, and local control: destruction of the US chemical weapons stockpile.

Destruction of US chemical weapons has begun at one of the 8 sites in the continental United States, was completed on Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean, and is scheduled to begin in at least 3 other locations during the upcoming year. About 25% of the stockpile and 38% of the munitions had been destroyed as of December 31, 2002. However, the program has become controversial with regard to choice of technology, emergency management, and cost. This controversy is in large part due to efforts by some state and local governments and activist groups to play a more central role in a decision making process that was once fully controlled by the US Army.

[Status and trends of development of chemical warfare agents of imperialist countries]. / Stand und Entwicklungstendenzen bei chemischen Kampfstoffen der imperialistischen Länder.

At present the dangerous experiment is made by the USA and their NATO-partners to force the armament also in the field of military chemistry. On the basis of the structural warfare agents of the NATO, which are produced and stored in large quantities and are immediately applicable, with high intensity is worked at the further development of chemical warfare agents. Here the development of new action means for the realisation of an equivalence of the effect between warfare agent and action means is the central point. The principles of action for chemical warfare agents incorporate into the strategy of the imperialistic army commands in a possible war, which is based on the cooperation of mass extermination and conventional arms.