EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO A NERVE AGENT ATTACK: TRAIN THE TRAINER

摘要

Responding to a terrorist attack involving chemical nerve agents is one of the most challenging situations emergency response personnel may face. A dramatic example of the consequences of a terrorist chemical attack occurred in Japan in 1995 when members of a doomsday cult released the nerve agent sarin in the Tokyo subway system. Terrorists transported the sarin onto subway trains in lunch boxes and soda bottles and released the agent by puncturing the containers using umbrellas with sharpened tips. In this terrorist attack, 12 people were killed, 5,500 were exposed, 3,227 patients went to the 41 hospitals in the Tokyo area, and more than 100 first responders were treated for chemical exposure. Eight hours elapsed before the incident was identified as a terrorist attack. This incident illustrates the critical need for first responders to be prepared should they respond to a chemical attack involving nerve agents.