Weapon of mass destruction
Background
- According to Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Title 18 United States Code (USC) § 2332a, a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) is “any destructive device defined in § 921” (2006). These weapons include any explosive, incendiary, poison gas, bomb, grenade, rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, mine, or device similar to the above. [1]
Classification of Agents
- Chemical
- Nerve Agents
- Sarin
- Soman
- Tabun
- VX
- Mustard agent (vesicants)
- Nerve Agents
- Biologic
- Anthrax
- Plague
- Smallpox
- Botulism
- Viral hemorrhagic fever (e.g. Marburg, Ebola)
- Tularemia
- Radiologic
- Simple device
- Dispersal device
Differential Diagnosis
Mass casualty incident
- Radiation exposure (disaster)
- Dirty bomb
- Bioterrorism
- Chemical weapons
- Mass shooting
- Natural Disaster (e.g. Hurricane, Earthquake, Tornado, Tsunami, etc)
- Unintentional large-scale incident (e.g. building collapse, train derailment, etc)
- Major pandemic
- Explosions
See Also
References
- ↑ Cornell University School of Law https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2332a
- ↑ Marx, J. A., & Rosen, P. (2014). Rosen's emergency medicine: Concepts and clinical practice (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders.