Protection of Environment from Damaged Nuclear Station and Transparent Inflatable Blanket for Cities—Protection from Radioactive Dust and Chemical, Biological Weapons

The author, in a series of previous articles, designed the “AB Dome” made of transparent thin film supported by a small additional air overpressure for the purpose of covering a city or other important large installations or sub-regions. In present article the author offers a variation in which a damaged nuclear station can be quickly covered by such a cheap inflatable dome. By containing the radioactive dust from the damaged nuclear station, the danger zone is reduced to about 2 km2 rather than large regions which requires the resettlement of huge masses of people and which stops indus-try in large areas. If there is a big city (as Tokyo) near the nuclear disaster or there is already a dangerous amount of radioactive dust near a city, the city may also be covered by a large inflatable transparent Dome. The building of a gi-gantic inflatable AB Dome over an empty flat surface is not difficult. The cover is spread on a flat surface and a venti-lator (fan system) pumps air under the film cover and lifts the new dome into place but inflation takes many hours. However, to cover a city, garden, forest or other obstacle course in contrast to an empty, mowed field, the thin film cannot be easily deployed over building or trees without risking damage to it by snagging and other complications. This article proposes a new method which solves this problem. The design is a double film blanket filled by light gas such as, methane, hydrogen, or helium - although of these, methane will be the most practical and least likely to leak. Sections of this AB Blanket are lighter than air and will rise in the atmosphere. They can be made on a flat area serving as an as-sembly area and delivered by dirigible or helicopter to station at altitude over the city. Here they connect to the already assembled AB Blanket subassemblies, cover the city in an AB Dome and protect it from bad weather, chemical, bio-logical and radioactive fallout or particulates. After assembly of the dome is completed, the light gas can be replaced by (heavier but cheaper) air. Two projects for Tokyo (Japan) and Moscow (Russia) are used in this paper for sample computation.

How United States Agricultural Herbicides Became Military and Environmental Chemical Weapons: Historical and Residual Effects

Discoveries in Charles Darwin’s laboratory led to modern herbicides. Darwin discovered the internal mechanism that directed plants to grow toward sunlight and sources of water. Scientists in Europe and America later called this mechanism a plant’s hormone response system. Administrators and scientists, including Dr. Ezra J. Kraus, the Head of the Botany Department at the University of Chicago and a plant physiologist, suggested on the eve of WWII that weed killers had significant military value as chemical weapons. Dr. Kraus obtained access to a synthetic chemical, 2,4-D, and found that when the chemical was absorbed through the leaves of plants, it destroyed a plant’s hormones. After exposure, the plant experienced rapid and uncontrolled growth, and then the leaves shriveled, died and fell off. Dr. Kraus obtained funding for his Department of Botany research program from Department of Defense (DOD) during World War II (WWII). Camp Detrick (Biological Weapons Laboratory) scientists later obtained samples of newly created 2,4,5-T which contained unknown amounts of the by-product dioxin TCDD. In the 1950s and 1960s, Fort Detrick military scientists formulated the herbicide Agent Orange, which was a 50 - 50 mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. These dual purpose herbicides were used by DOD and USDA. American and European farmers in the 1940s used 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T to eliminate weeds from pastureland and cropland. After WWII, synthetic herbicides (and pesticides) development continued in tandem with production of synthetic fertilizers and breeding of high-yield plant varieties. These new agricultural products were then shipped worldwide to increase crop yields, as part of the Green Revolution. This new system of agricultural technologies was intended to eliminate global starvation and increase food security by increasing field and farm crop yields. In contrast, the goal of military use of herbicides, as chemical weapons, was to defoliate jungle forests and destroy food crops as a strategy to win battles and wars. The primary objective of this research study is to describe how agricultural herbicides became tactical chemical weapons. A current assessment will address the environmental impacts of military and environmental chemical weapons on the United States and Vietnam ecosystems and need for additional dioxin TCDD hotspot clean-up efforts.

Commentary: Unexpected Novel Chemical Weapon Agents Designed by Innocuous Drug-Development AI (Artificial Intelligence) Algorithm

Recent publications reveal the disturbing information that a minor edit to an algorithm being used for designing legitimate drug candidates redirected the program in a way that resulted in the surprising design of novel chemical warfare agent candidates. Although this outcome was not the result of nefarious intent, and appropriate chemical defense authorities were notified, the potential implications of some misapplication of a drug-design algorithm for nefarious purposes are clear. This Commentary summarizes how otherwise benign Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms used for drug discovery can be easily reversed to design novel chemical warfare agents for which no effective antidote will be available, or perhaps even envisioned.

Agent Blue: A Secret Military and Environmental Chemical Weapon Used for Food Denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965)

During the last 60 years, the southern Vietnam environment and Vietnamese living in the Mekong Delta have bio-accumulated arsenic from natural and anthropic (Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965)) sources via their drinking water (groundwater from tube wells) and food supply leading to an increasing risk of chronic poisoning over time. A synthesis and analysis of publications and records is presented to document the Republic of Vietnam (RV), the official name of the South Vietnam Government, and United States (US) militaries contribution to arsenic levels and toxic spikes in the Vietnam Mekong Delta groundwater. During the Vietnam Civil War, Agent Blue, in powder form, was shipped to Port Saigon, via the Saigon River, and transported to the Tan Son Nhut Air Force base during the Vietnam Civil War. After the official start of the American-Vietnam War (1965-1973) the tactical herbicides were re-routed to Bien Hoa Air Force base (1965 to 1971). Approximately 3.2 million liters of Agent Blue (468,008 kg As) was sprayed or dumped by the RV military with the assistance and support of the Central Intelligence (CIA), US Army and US Navy, during the 1962-1965 Khai Huang (Hamlet) Program. A portion of an additional 4.6 million liters of Agent Blue (664,392 kg of As) was sprayed between 1962 and 1965 by the US Air Force as part of Operation Ranch Hand and prior to the official start of the American-Vietnam War in August 1964. Operation Rand Hand began in 1962 and ended in 1971. The Institute of Medicine estimated a total of 7.8 million liters (1,132,400 kg As) of Agent Blue was applied to southern Vietnam landscape from 1962 to 1971. This total includes both the 1962 to 1965 RV Khai Huang program with the assistance of the CIA, US Army and US Navy, and the total Agent Blue applied by US Air Force Operation Ranch Hand from 1962 to 1971. The primary objective of this study was to document how Agent Blue, the arsenic-based herbicide, became a secret US military and environmental chemical weapon used by the RV and US militaries in southern Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War years (1962-1965). This assessment found that the anthropic arsenic, including Agent Blue, added a toxic burden to the Mekong Delta soils, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, food supply, and human health. However, there are missing details regarding political decisions and a full accounting of the geographic locations sprayed and amount of Agent Blue used. Vietnam War Archives have paper correspondence and RV herbicide spray records that shed greater light on this period. These records are over 50 years old and need to be electronically scanned, stored, and made available for additional historical analyses.

Chemical Weapon Victims Claim Compensation, Apology From Japan

Though blessed to be born in a peaceful era, Chi Shuai, a 17-year-old high school student in Qiqihar, northeast China’s Hei-longjiang Province, was unfortunate to fall victim to the Japanese invasion his grandparents witnessed in the 1930s and 1940s. On August 4, 2003, the boy and 43 others were poisoned by mustard gas leaked from five tanks dug out at a construction site. The five metal tanks were later proved to be left by Japanese invaders in 1945. Li Guizhen, a rag picker who carried away and incised the tanks, died despite all the medical efforts to save his life. The youngest victim in this incident was only eight years old.

Regulation of toxins and bioregulators under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

In this paper we highlight how the apparent double coverage of toxins and bioregulators by both the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention(BTWC)and the Chemical Weapons Convention(CWC)in fact masks a regulatory gap that has left such potentially dangerous agents neglected by both the control regimes during a period of rapid advances in relevant chemical,life and associated sciences and technologies.We first review what toxins,bioregulators and other mid-spectrum agents are and why they are of such concern and then examine how they are regulated under the BTWC and CWC.This paper then examines an illustrative range of contemporary chemical and life science research and associated activities of concern drawn from case study research on China,India,Iran,Russia,Syria and the United States,and assesses how the CWC and BTWC States Parties have inadequately addressed these threats.We then examine how both the CWC and BTWC Review Conferences failed to address these long-term challenges,and we end by providing a series of recommendations for how both regimes can be strengthened in this area.

Shifting chemical defence or novel weapons? A review of defence traits in Agarophyton vermiculophyllum and other invasive seaweeds

Seaweed bioinvasions increasingly affect coastal environments around the world, which increases the need for predictive models and mitigation strategies. The biotic interactions between seaweed invaders and invaded communities are often considered a key determinant of invasion success and failure and we here revise the current evidence that the capacity of seaweed invaders to deter enemies in newly reached environments correlates with their invasion success. Particularly efficient chemical defences have been described for several of the more problematic seaweed invaders during the last decades. However, confirmed cases in which seaweed invaders confronted un-adapted enemies in newly gained environments with deterrents that were absent from these environments prior to the invasion (so-called “novel weapons”) are scarce, although an increasing number of invasive and non-invasive seaweeds are screened for defence compounds. More evidence exists that seaweeds may adapt defence intensities to changing pressure by biological enemies in newly invaded habitats. However, most of this evidence of shifting defence was gathered with only one particular model seaweed, the Asia-endemic red alga Agarophyton vermiculophyllum, which is particularly accessible for direct comparisons of native and non-native populations in common garden experiments. A. vermiculophyllum interacts with consumers, epibionts and bacterial pathogens and in most of these interactions, non-native populations have rather gained than lost defensive capacity relative to native conspecifics. The increases in the few examined cases were due to an increased production of broad-spectrum deterrents and the relative scarcity of specialized deterrents perhaps reflects the circumstance that seaweed consumers and epibionts are overwhelmingly generalists.

步平先生与日本化学战研究

步平先生是中国学界最早开展日军化学战研究的学者之一。他坚持实证研究,调查过中日各地化学战相关遗址,收集大量确凿的文献史料和人证物证。他有关化学战的研究成果丰硕,填补了中国学界的空白。他的研究成果是该领域最有影响力的论著。步平先生不仅是一位卓有成就的学者,还是一位胸怀现实、热爱和平的社会活动家。他通过对化学战的研究,推动日本政府承担战争责任,处理战后遗弃在中国的化学武器。他热心奔走,为向日本提出诉讼赔偿的受害者提供帮助。他与日本进步人士开展共同研究,敦促日本正视侵略史实,寻求在中日之间建立超越国境的历史认识。他还呼吁为了人类和平,全世界应共同反对、抵制核武器、生物武器、化学武器等大规模杀伤性武器的使用。

军事舞台上化学武器的群魔乱舞与降魔之盾

本文深入探讨了化学武器在军事历史中的应用及其带来的挑战,同时详细分析了为防止和应对化学武器威胁所采取的策略和技术。化学武器,以其独特的杀伤方式和残酷的后果,曾在世界军事舞台上“群魔乱舞”。然而,随着科技的发展和国际社会的共同努力,一系列防护措施和应对策略逐渐形成,构筑了“降魔之盾”。该文回顾了化学武器的历史和应用,揭示了其在战争中的破坏性和人道主义危机。然后,阐述了国际社会如何通过法规和国际公约来限制和禁止化学武器的使用,特别是《化学武器公约》的签订和实施。降魔之盾主要由两个方面构成:一是防护技术和装备的发展,包括个人防护装备、集体防护设施以及医疗救治体系的完善;二是检测和销毁技术的创新,包括化学战剂的快速检测技术、化学武器库存的销毁技术以及应对化学恐怖主义的能力建设。尽管国际社会在禁止和防范化学武器方面取得了显著成就,但仍面临诸多挑战。非国家行为体获取和使用化学武器的风险、化学工业与民用化学品可能被滥用的问题,以及科技进步可能带来的新型化学威胁等,都需要国际社会持续关注和合作解决。通过对化学武器及其防护的全面研究,希望提高人们对这一问题的认识,促进国际社会在禁止和防范化学武器方面的进一步合作和努力。只有将科技与国际法规相结合,构筑起坚实而多面的“降魔之盾”,人类才能有效应对化学武器的威胁,维护世界和平与安全。

反化学恐怖危害评估

针对恐怖分子袭击化工厂及储存库等设施 ,建立了复杂地形上三维大气扩散模式 ,模拟流场、浓度场和各种剂量场 ,对事故目标进行危害评估 ,确定危害区域和危害程度 ,为制定反化学恐怖预案及应急救援提供技术指标。并可用于危害性质相同的化学突发事件应急救援系统和履行《禁止化学武器公约》对遗留化学武器处理的风险评估。

常规兵器在热带海岛地区腐蚀问题的探讨

通过介绍热带海岛地区气候特征及其腐蚀影响的因素,分析这种气候条件对常规兵器腐蚀损伤的特点及类型,并概述目前我国常规兵器防腐蚀技术应用的现状,对进一步加强热带海岛地区用常规兵器的腐蚀防护技术的研究和开发提出了建设性的建议。

化学恐怖及其医学防护研究

化学恐怖是恐怖活动的一种重要方式 ,化学武器的扩散和化学毒物的泛滥使化学恐怖更为频发和多样化。化学恐怖具有突发性、隐蔽性、中毒途径多、伤害规模大和社会影响广的特点。医学防护是控制化学恐怖伤害的中心环节。反化学恐怖医学研究将赋予防化医学研究以新的重要内容 ,防化医学研究为反化学恐怖医学研究奠定了基础。应及早确立反化学恐怖医学研究原则、主题和研究战略。

一种基于快中子的化学战剂无损检测技术

为了检测标识不清的弹体内的装药成分是否含有化学战剂,建立了一套基于伴随α粒子技术的快中子化学战剂无损检测系统。系统的主要部分包括D-T中子源、α粒子探测器、γ探测器及其屏蔽体以及相应的电子学处理系统等。利用该系统对沙林、VX、芥子气和亚当氏剂四种具有代表性的化学战剂进行测量,获得了四种化学战剂的14 MeV中子诱发的特征γ谱。谱分析的结果表明,除了As元素外,P,F,S,Cl元素的特征γ峰清晰可见,说明采用这种方法可以实现化学战剂的无损检测。

机载激光武器的发展现状与未来

机载激光是迄今美国最雄心勃勃的定向能武器计划。本文首先介绍和分析了计划费用不断攀升和进展拖后及其原因,以及再次进行的重大调整。然后评述了2004年底实现的两项关键里程碑和2005年的计划目标。最后讨论了机载激光计划存在的问题和未来的技术发展。

日本在华遗弃化学武器埋藏地调查及其污染处置方法研究

日军二战期间在中国遗弃(留)了大量化学武器,随着埋藏时间的推移,化学武器的弹体腐蚀程度越来越严重,毒气和毒剂泄漏的几率不断增加,因此而造成土壤、水体等环境污染、进而威胁居民生命健康甚至突发性人员伤亡的危险性也在不断加大。本文提出利用低空热红外遥感与三维高密度电法、三维地质雷达等浅层高精度综合物探方法、结合小口径探孔取样分析进行精细探测,查清已大致确定化学武器埋藏区的具体地点、空间分布和污染程度等,据此进行安全性评估,并分类制定有针对性的避让与处置方案,逐步建立适合不同条件和污染程度的调查与污染处置技术方法体系。

空气传播的生化袭击与建筑环境安全(2):典型生化袭击场景的分析与评价

介绍了针对建筑物的生化袭击中常用的生化战剂。根据恐怖分子可能采用的生化战剂种类、释放方式和释放位置,归纳出各种可能的生化袭击场景。从袭击发生的可能性、隐蔽性、生化战剂的释放速度和危害性这四个方面,对典型生化袭击场景的特性进行了分析和评价。

热等离子体技术销毁日本遗弃化武红弹装填物研究

针对二战期间日本侵略军在我国遗弃的大量化学武器的危害性,进行了热等离子体技术销毁含砷毒剂的实验,旨在为评价日本遗弃化武的销毁技术选择提供技术支持。所采用的热等离子体处理固体废弃物的实验装置主要由等离子体发生器、等离子体旋转炉、二次燃烧炉、冷却器、文丘里喷淋塔和洗涤喷淋塔等设备组成。利用该装置对日本遗弃化武红弹和红筒装填物二苯氰砷和二苯氯砷进行了销毁实验,并用GC-MS法对销毁产物进行分析。结果显示,经处理后未检测出二苯氯砷和二苯氰砷,根据分析方法的检出下限计算出的二苯氯砷和二苯氰砷的销毁去除率均高达99.999 9%。对熔渣进行砷的浸出毒性实验显示,浸出液中砷的质量浓度均低于0.03 mg/L,远低于我国固体废物砷的浸出毒性鉴别标准值1.5 mg/L。但是,等离子体炉在销毁含砷有机毒剂时,固砷效率很差,因此要发挥等离子体技术的优势,还必须加强固砷方法的研究。

高技术武器伤害的宏观探讨

军事医学首先需要研究解决的是武器伤害问题。本文主要从宏观上对高技术武器伤害的几个问题进行探讨。 (1 )将高技术武器试分为特种武器、高技术常规武器和新概念武器 3大类 ,阐述了高技术武器的主要特点。 (2 )从多方面论证了加强核、化、生特种武器伤害的研究仍然是重要而迫切的任务。 (3)高技术常规武器层出不穷 ,从对人员的杀伤作用出发 ,常规武器的“高技术化”主要体现在 4个方面 :高速投射物 ;众多投射物 ;多种杀伤因素 ;高强度杀伤力。所造成的伤害中 ,将是多发伤、多部位伤多 ,复合伤多 ,重伤多。 (4 )对新概念武器 ,主要探讨了定向能武器 (激光、微波、次声等 )和非致命性武器的伤害。 (5 )提出了未来高技术武器的空间对抗。 (6 )从 4个层次探讨了对高技术武器的防护 ,从学术领域。

化学武器个体防护装备数字化研究现状及发展展望

主要介绍了化学武器个体防护装备数字化研究的主要内容、现状及未来发展趋势,提出加强化学武器个体防护装备数字化研究对确保核生化条件下作战人员生命安全具有重要意义。

华南地区日遗化武作业医疗保障特点分析

处理二次世界大战期间遗留化学武器是履行日内瓦化武公约的重大国际事务,是解决中日历史遗留问题的重要内容,是关系到区域内民众生命安全的重要工作。本文就医院做好日遗化武作业医疗保障进行探讨,对华南地区的医疗保障特点进行分析,目的是不断提高医疗保障水平,促进日遗化武保障作业更好完成。