Emergencies
Emergency Planning Guide

Chemical Agents

Cyanide:

• A fast-acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms.
• Gas sometimes is described as having a ‘bitter almond” smell, but not always.
• Breathing gas causes the most harm, but ingesting cyanide can be toxic as well.
• Most dangerous in enclosed places where the gas will be trapped.
• Gas evaporates and disperses quickly in open spaces-less harmful outdoors.
• Cyanide gas is less dense than air, so it will rise.
• Exposure may lead to some or all of the following symptoms within minutes:
  • Rapid breathing
  • Restlessness
  • Dizziness
  • Weakness
  • Headache
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Rapid heart rate
• Exposure to large amount of cyanide by any route my cause:
  • Convulsions
  • Low blood pressure
  • Slow heart rate
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Lung injury
  • Respiratory failure leading to death
• If exposed to cyanide:
  • Stay calm. Dial 911 and explain what has happened.
  • Get fresh air by leaving the area where the cyanide was released.
  • If leaving the area is not an option, stay as low to the ground as possible.
  • Remove any clothing that has liquid cyanide on it. Double seal clothing in plastic bags.
  • Rinse eyes with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes if they are burning or vision is blurred.
  • Wash any liquid cyanide from the skin thoroughly with soap and water.
  • If cyanide was swallowed, do not induce vomiting or give fluids to drink. Seek medical attention right away.
  • Wait for emergency personnel to arrive.

Ricin:

• A poison made from the waste left over from processing castor beans.
• Can be in a powder, mist, or pellet, or can be dissolved in water or weak acid.
• A stable substance, not affected much by extreme heat or cold
• Can be inhaled (mist or powder), ingested in food, or injected
• Injection of a pellet the size of the head of a pin (500 micrograms) is lethal. Much larger amounts would be needed to kill people through inhalation or ingestion.
• Ricin poisoning is not contagious.
• Signs and symptoms
  • Inhalation: Within a few hours symptoms will include:
    • Coughing
    • Tightness in the chest
    • Difficulty breathing
    • Nausea
    • Aching muscles
    • Within the next few hours, the body’s airways (such as lungs) will become severely inflamed (swollen and hot), excess fluid will build up in the lungs, breathing would become even more difficult, and the skin might turn blue.
  • Ingestion: Symptoms include
    • Internal bleeding leading to vomiting and bloody diarrhea.
    • The liver, spleen, and kidneys stop working, and the person could die.
  • Injection: Symptoms include
    • Muscles and lymph nodes near the injection site will die.
    • The liver, kidneys, and spleen stop working,
    • Massive bleeding from the stomach and intestines.
    • The person dies from multiple organ failure.
• Death can take place within 36 to 48 hours of exposure. If the person lives longer than 5 days without complications, he or she will probably not die.

Sarin:

• The fastest acting, most volatile man-made chemical warfare nerve agent
• Can easily and quickly evaporate into a vapor and spread into the environment
• Exposure may occur through inhalation, skin contact, eye contact, touching or drinking contaminated water, or eating contaminated food.
• Contaminated clothing can release sarin for about 30 minutes after exposure. Other people can be exposed to sarin if they breathe this sarin gas.
• Vapor is heavier than air, so it would be more likely to settle in low-lying areas.
• Because it evaporates quickly, sarin presents an immediate, but short-lived, threat.
• Exposure will produce the following symptoms within seconds to hours:
  • Runny nose
  • Watery eyes
  • Small, pinpoint pupils
  • Eye pain
  • Blurred vision
  • Drooling and excessive sweating
  • Cough
  • Chest tightness
  • Rapid breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • Increased urination
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness
  • Weakness
  • Headache
  • Nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain
  • Slow or fast heart rate
  • Low or high blood pressure
• Exposure to large doses of sarin may cause the following harmful health effects:
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Convulsions
  • Paralysis
  • Respiratory failure possibly leading to death
• If exposed, rapidly decontaminate and get medical care as quickly as possible
  • Stay clam. Dial 911 and explain what has happened
  • Leave the area where the sarin was released and get to fresh air
  • Go to the highest ground possible, as sarin is heavier than air
  • Remove any clothing that has liquid sarin on it, double seal the clothing in plastic bags
  • Rinse eyes with plain water for 10 to 15 minutes if they are burning or if vision is blurred
  • Immediately wash liquid sarin from skin with large amounts of soap and water
  • If sarin has been swallowed, do not induce vomiting or give fluids to drink
  • Seek medical attention immediately

VX:

• VX is the most potent, least volatile of all nerve agents. Compared to sarin, VX is much more toxic by entry through the skin and somewhat more toxic if inhaled
• An odorless, tasteless, oily, amber colored liquid, that evaporates very slowly
• Exposure can occur through skin contact, eye contact, inhalation, drinking or touching contaminated water, or eating contaminated food.
• Primarily a liquid exposure hazard, but if heated, can become vapor (gas).
• Vapor is heavier than air.
• Repeated exposure can have a cumulative effect.
• Symptoms appear within seconds after exposure to vapor, within minutes to up to 18 hours after exposure to liquid
• A droplet of liquid VX the size of the head of a pin can be lethal
• Under average weather conditions, VX can last for days on objects that it has come in contact with. Under very cold conditions, VX can last for months.
• Because it evaporates so slowly, VX can be a long-term threat as well as a short-term threat. Surfaces contaminated with VX should therefore be considered a long-term hazard.
• Symptoms may occur with seconds to hours of exposure:
  • Runny nose
  • Watery eyes
  • Small, pinpoint pupils
  • Eye pain
  • Blurred vision
  • Drooling and excessive sweating
  • Cough
  • Chest tightness
  • Rapid breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • Increased urination
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness
  • Weakness
  • Headache
  • Nausea, vomiting, and/or abdominal pain
  • Slow or fast heart rate
  • Abnormally low or high blood pressure
• Exposure to a large dose of VX by any route may result in these additional health effects:
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Convulsions
  • Paralysis
  • Respiratory failure possibly leading to death