See also:
Nuclear Disaster Planning
Nuclear Waste Disposal
Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Warfare
The American Academy of Family Physicians endorses the concept of a worldwide, verifiable moratorium on testing, production and deployment of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.
Recognizing how inexpensive and easily manufactured and disseminated many of these weapons are, and that civilian as well as military populations have been targeted at home and abroad, the AAFP encourages members to:
Recognizing how inexpensive and easily manufactured and disseminated many of these weapons are, and that civilian as well as military populations have been targeted at home and abroad, the AAFP encourages members to:
- Become knowledgeable regarding the presentation of related illnesses and injuries, skilled in providing care to victims, and active in averting or mitigating casualties from terrorist attacks;
- Learn the availability, safety, and efficacy of drugs, vaccines, and other therapeutics useful in the event of NBC incidents;
- Encourage training of personnel in local emergency response teams, community health care facilities, state public health and emergency services departments, and federal agencies who may provide assistance (e.g., Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Defense, U.S. Public Health Service, and the U.S. Coast Guard);
- Recognize the importance of prevention and treatment of psychological effects.
Well known biological and chemical agents are nerve agents, cyanides, phosgene, and vesicants such as sulfur mustard; the bacteria-produced poisons staphylococcal enterotoxin B and the botulinal toxins; the plant-derived toxin ricin; the fungal metabolite T-2 mycotoxin; and the infectious microorganisms causing anthrax, brucellosis, plague, Q-fever, tularemia, smallpox, viral encephalitis, and hemorrhagic fever. (Institute of Medicine, National Research Council, Chemical and Biological Terrorism: Research and Development to Improve Civilian Medical Response, Washington, DC, 1999.) (1987) (2006)
