i couldnt said it any beter. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
for those who are interested http://fas.org/ has great artikels about the treat dirty bomb and other terrosrist wapon poses....

I don't claim any experience in biological or chemical preparedness. But I almost choked on my breakfast when I heard Charlie Gibson say that you could thwart a chemical weapon attack with a roll of duct tape and a plastic sheet (can you say duck and cover?). I'd like to make two proposals:

1) We change the definition of WMD to "Wild Monkey Dance" ‘cause that seems to be what we are doing.

2) We take the popularization of gloom and doom and turn it into something positive. If I choked when I heard the Charlie Gibson comment, I had a heart attack when my wife asked me about our 72 hour kit (I slid her a copy of "Aboman's guide to Survival and Self Reliance".). The sensationalization can turned into a teachable moment. I say we use it.
-Biscuits

Maggot,

I had wondered about your nom de plume. I can see you are now clearly a repentent sinner. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

John

Greg,

I am inclined to agree with the tenor of your post, if for no reason other than my instinctive aversion to the media hysteria that you & Maggot cite, BUT:

A. No one can ever have too much duct tape. And, a little plastic sheeting can do a lot in the event of storm or rain damage anyway. So it is always useful.

B. Developing a safe room or other sanctuary is only prudent. We only need to consider the overall cost compared to the the risk entailed. One day's labor, & $30 worth of supplies, vs. a significant risk of death/disease all seem to weight the odds in favor of preparation.

C. Also compare such preparation as this as to what we consider regarding the possibility of surviving a an airplane crash. How much time to we devote our beloved PSKs, the subjects of infinite perfection?

Somehow, the minor costs of preparing for the possibility of the fairly effective delivery of a chemical weapon, or even the moderate costs to protect against the detonation of an actual nuke do not seem so great in comparison to the risk of grievous death or injury to your family.

Regards,

John

Agreed.

Last night on the news a reporter ask Chicago Police Supt. Hillard about duct tape and plastic sheeting in the event of an attack. He said "If we're attacked with Sarin or Anthrax and anybody thinks they're going to be protected by duct tape ..." He couldn't even finish. He shook his head in obvious disgust and walked away from the podium. Behind his right shoulder was Mayor Daley shacking his head and muttering "plastic sheeting." It was actually encouraging to see two top law enforcement officials in Chicago hold such pragmatic opinions and to not allow themselves to be caught up in the hystaria. After all, they will be the Chicago government's decision makers in the event of a true disaster or emergency.

Having actually studied the effect of various chemical, biological, and radiological threats as a member of a federal WMD response team, I would offer a few comments.

First off, I am in favor of a program that encourages people to prepare for contingencies like bad weather, power failure, etc. Preparations for self-sufficiency in such situations will have a positive effect WHEN there are further terrorist events. It is naive to believe that there will be no further attacks.
Chemical agents are not a meaningful threat to us in our homes. All nerve agents other than VX are liquids that simply evaporate and are gone. Their effect would be enchanced in a confined space, like a subway or a building. It is unlikely that a terrorist could deploy sufficient agent in the air over a city to pose a significant threat to the population. VX is the only persistent agent and would be a longer lasting problem if released.
Biological agents are worrisome, but those that are communicable, like smallpox, will turn around and bite hardest in underdeveloped third world paradises like where the terrorists come from.
Israel has not been bothered by WMD attacks. Simple explosives have worked well.
Draw your own conclusions.

Regarding the proposed use of plastic sheeting and duct tape to create a safe room, I invite you to review the following article:

Seems to be a current topic of interest. A report from Oak Ridge
National Labs.

"Will Duct Tape and Plastic Really Work?"
Issues Related To Expedient Shelter-In-Place
John H. Sorensen, Barbara M. Vogt
August 2001
http://emc.ornl.gov/EMC/PDF/TM_2001_154_duct_plastic.pdf

Best regards!

Here in S. Florida we have a little experience with hurricane preparedness and year around tornado threats that overlaps with the Chem-Bio-Nuke scenario. I agree with johnbaker that some plastic sheeting (prefer 3 mil) and HD duct tape is a good investment. We have a designated safe room complete with plastic sheeting, duct tape, scissors, first aid kit, water, canned goods, decks of cards, and games for the kids. We keep seven 5 gallon water bottles in the house for our water cooler rotation, refilled by a reverse osmosis system. I think the term "family preparedness" is the key here. Why not do a few things to calm the nerves for your family? After 9-11 saw a web-site with basic supplies kept on hand by Israeli families and pretty much got it all for under $100.00. Hope to never need any of it. Main thing learned from Hurricane Andrew is it can take several days or even weeks for the government to get in to help. Regards, Tom

I have to agree with what Beachdoc and others have said in reply to this post - it makes sense to be prepared, sure, but it is insanity to get so scared and wound up that you crap all over yourself every time a fire engine goes by. Then we all end up playing the so-called terrorist's game without them even having to do anything. Everyone needs to step back, take a deep breath and remember Doug's mantra of STOP.

Jeff,

Thanks a lot for your post. I especially appreciate your link to the Oak Ridge Lab report. Nothing like actual studies & hard facts to make an informed assessment.

John

Billy
I would suggest that the public officials that you mentioned are no better informed about this matter then you or other members of the forum.
I suggest that you look at this link, as these people actually HAVE an informed opinion after doing the research.

A report from Oak Ridge
National Labs.

"Will Duct Tape and Plastic Really Work?"
Issues Related To Expedient Shelter-In-Place
John H. Sorensen, Barbara M. Vogt
August 2001
http://emc.ornl.gov/EMC/PDF/TM_2001_154_duct_plastic.pdf

Jeff