Chemical Weapons: Are We Ready?

The "Arab Spring" has increased the probability of chemical or biological weapons finding their way into the hands of terrorist organizations. Are we ready for an unconventional war?

Chemical Weapons: Are We Ready?

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When one speaks about the threat of an attack with chemical or biological weapons, one should be aware of the protection and decontamination challenge. Furthermore, a clear distinction should be made between threats with strategic aspects, which could neutralize complete districts in Israel, and pin-point attacks against strategic installations, intended to damage the functional continuity of the IDF and Israel’s critical infrastructure systems. Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Avigdor Klein, formerly the IDF Chief Armored Corps Officer (2001-2004), explains how to deal with the most horrible threat of all.

 

Chemical & Biological First
Contrary to the opinion that prevails among some of the decision makers, Klein claims that the threat of chemical or biological warfare weapons will be relevant at the outset of the war, rather than toward the end of it. "If someone wants to employ such a weapon, they do not do it for lack of other alternatives, as most people think. This is not the doomsday weapon. That is an outdated way of thinking that is no longer compatible with reality – and definitely not compatible with the character of our enemies.

"If someone understands that we have a strategic advantage and wants to neutralize it, they will do it at the outset of the campaign. Evidently, Syria has no moral qualms about the use of force, even against its own citizens. This means that if we engage in a confrontation with Syria, they will not wait for the moment of 'no choice'. Instead, the will employ these weapons at the outset of the war. Our strength relies on the airbases of the Israeli Air Force. Damaging the functional continuity of the IAF is the dream of every Arab strategist. The same applies to the Israeli Navy’s shipyards. These are the areas they would like to neutralize at the beginning of the fighting."

 

A Terrorist Attack can be More Dangerous than a Missile
Klein explains that the focus on attacks by missiles carrying chemical or biological warheads notwithstanding, the threat of terrorism – the ability to release industrial chemicals and pollute the environment - is regarded as more dangerous than any military threat. "In the event of a terrorist attack where the national ammonia storage facilities are damaged, we are talking about the death of hundreds of thousands within a very short time. If the attack takes us by surprise, without warning, we are talking about less than one hour of dispersal time, and anyone who fails to acquire protection by immediately wearing gas masks will be in mortal danger.

"If you take the Haifa area, for example, the threat will apply to the entire northern region, including metropolitan Haifa, the Krayot and even further east, if the wind is westerly. No chemical event generated by a missile can reach such proportions. This threat is more dangerous and easier to accomplish, and the event would have extreme consequences as there will be nothing to decontaminate. The best solution, in such a case, will be provided by Mother Nature. No technology can restore the situation within a short time."

Klein points to another form of terrorist attack: contaminating the water supply sources. If this is done in a planned and methodical manner at multiple locations – it will also be more dangerous than a missile carrying a chemical warhead. "This threat can wipe out a whole municipality," explains Klein. "Dealing with the threat of water supply contamination involves continuous inspection and monitoring. I have the impression that this is not done often enough, and that the authorities rely on an intelligence alert instead. Possibly because this threat does not distinguish between population segments, the probability for it materializing is lower."

Klein says that terrorism also threatens strategic installations which could neutralize the entire country, if damaged by chemical or biological contamination. If an attack should be staged against the national energy production facilities using a biological agent - not using a missile or rocket, but by inflicting a permanent biological contamination – the entire country will be neutralized. "Some biological contaminants can never be decontaminated. You will never be able to use the facility again. Spores of such biological agents had found their way into the hands of terrorists in the past, and there were attempts to mail contaminated envelopes as well other incidents. Certain islands around the world, where experiments were performed with the use of such biological weapons, remain desolate and uninhabited to this day. No one can get close to them."

 

The Target: Civilians
"Contrary to the threat to strategic installations, intentional attacks against the civilian population, as an objective, are not highly probable. The threat primarily involves collateral damage as a result of the attacks against those strategic installations," says Klein. "If they wish to attack the Kirya compound, then obviously all the civilians around it will be hit. One should bear in mind that during a war, no decontamination activities will take place in areas that are not vital to the functional continuity of the state or the military, such as airbases, power stations or food manufacturing plants. The authorities will instruct the civilians to remain indoors and put on their gas masks."

As opposed to terrorism, one of the most prominent disadvantages of ballistic missiles is the marginal effect of the damage inflicted on civilians as a result of inaccurate hits. According to Klein, dealing with this threat involves supplying gas masks and enforcing construction regulations prescribing the installation of ventilation systems in apartment buildings. "They distributed gas masks and think they solved the problem, but the need to be isolated from the chemical threat, be it permanent or volatile, is critical. A few milligrams of the agent touching the skin will kill a person."

"The danger is not confined to breathing, but applies to contact as well. For this reason, the State of Israel had residential protected space units (MAMADs) installed everywhere. Unfortunately, the regulation compelling all construction contractors to build such units was enacted only about a year ago, so only a small percentage of houses and apartments in Israel have such units. The standard method for dealing with the threat is a gas mask and a protected space unit fitted with a decontamination system. Anyone who does not possess these resources will be in mortal danger in the event of an attack. The state takes the cost-benefit consideration into account. If a chemical missile landed on Zichron-Yakov, the damage would be confined to the area around the point where the missile landed, according to the wind regime, and only a small percentage of the population would be hit."

 

A Matter of Priorities
To emphasize the point that maintains that the issue in question involves the cost-benefit considerations of the state, Klein borrows from the scenario of an earthquake. "An earthquake occurs in our region every 90 years. We are already within range and know that much should be done, but about 50% of all buildings throughout the country still do not comply with the relevant standards. In other words, at least one-half of the population is in mortal danger, and the state does not invest all of its resources in it. In the event of an ABC attack, cost-benefit considerations should be taken into account as well. Nothing would happen to the state if a few points were hit. But is it just? At the state level, you must prioritize.

"The individual citizen should be aware of this. Some civilians will acquire protection privately. This is similar to the case of National Land Planning Program 38 (TMA-38). The state does not finance this activity directly, but explains the dangers to the citizens, so that they may decide what to do. In addition to encouraging the investment in residential filtration systems, the state can also inoculate the population against known biological weapon threats. This can be done according to intelligence alerts."

 

Military Threats
One of the questions in the context of a biological or chemical contamination event on the battlefield is how to cause the combat element to press on with the mission – both personnel and weaponry. "Today, just like during WWI, the assumption is that a chemical weapon is not a decisive weapon. It is a weapon capable of disrupting operations in a given sector, especially with regard to morale, and if it hinders the tactical effort in that sector it will be able to delay or block even operational moves, but it would not change the course of the entire war," says Klein.

"A distinction should be made between acquiring protection against such a threat, and making the equipment serviceable again after an event. In the case of soldiers, the rule of complete isolation from the threat applies to them, too – with regard to both breathing and clothing. A soldier can be isolated by an over-pressure chamber, like the one in tanks, in which case no masks will be required. The entire armored vehicle may be contaminated, but the soldiers inside it will continue to function normally. At some point, when the crew has to exit the vehicle, the exit path is decontaminated and then they can exit."

"Any soldier other than those operating inside a collective protection system like a tank must wear activated carbon protective clothing. One should bear in mind that this type of equipment is usable for a period of five to ten years, and if you need to supply such equipment to an entire army – it will be a huge expense for the national defense system. The State of Israel and the IDF invest considerable resources in this field – but the investment could be more substantial.

"If you face a chemical threat, activated carbon protective clothing is not enough. Once the particles are airborne and you are wearing a mask, an activated carbon suit, gloves and overshoes, you will not be able to function for an extended period of time. Another problem concerns the make-up of the clothing. As everything is made up of layers, you have a structure similar to a shingled roof with the shirt over the trousers. If you raise one arm, you will create bellows that would pump air inside. If you raise both arms, air will enter your leg area. At the central point of the event there is a high concentration of particles, and if you do not have the benefit of a collective protection system like the one in a MERKAVA tank or APC – you will have a serious problem. We cannot look the soldier's mother in the eye and tell her that her son is protected if he is not operating inside a vehicle fitted with an integral filtration system.

"Today there are two main technologies for filtering toxic gases in vehicles: the older (Generation I) systems, which have an operational life of six hours from the moment they are activated, and the newer (Generation II) systems, which enable one to two years of continuous operation. Some of the vehicles of the multinational force operating in Afghanistan are fitted with the new vehicle filtration systems by Beth-El Industries of Israel. They face extreme dust and humidity conditions over there, and everything works fine. For unexplained reasons, the IDF decided not to purchase these advanced filtration systems, although they cost the same as the existing Generation I systems currently in use.

"At the same time, we should all remember that war is an unpleasant business and there are always casualties. If the State of Israel is at war and a unit is hit – it is a part of the scenario. Masks and protective clothing are not enough."

Decontamination of Weapon Systems
Another challenge associated with chemical and biological warfare is the need to decontaminate weapon systems and make them serviceable again during the actual fighting. "In most situations, platforms that were contaminated cannot be 100% decontaminated, but the occupants can be extricated," explains Klein. "You place the vehicle itself in quarantine for six months up to a year and let nature take its course, and then there may be a chance that the vehicle would return to service.

"If no contaminating particles had entered the vehicle, there are materials you would be able to use to decontaminate the vehicle faster. Using these liquid materials, you can reach a decontamination level of more than 90%. These are highly aggressive alkaline compounds. Once you have applied them to the vehicle, you will corrode its external layer and render the engine unserviceable. On the other hand, some materials used by NATO are inert compounds. They are equally effective, but less aggressive. I am not sure whether these compounds are available in Israel, as they are more expensive.

"If you want to use decontamination materials to treat such platforms as aircraft or tanks during a war, you must keep materials on one hand for decontaminating aircraft and pilot gear. On the other hand, if an armored battalion is hit during a war, their vehicles may not be treated. You do not need such a capability for your entire fighting OrBat. All you need is the ability to treat critical elements."

What about the possibility of decontaminating a complete area that had been hit? "There is no such thing," says Klein. "There is no concept of decontaminating spaces. You decontaminate in order to evacuate casualties and return platforms to a serviceable state. If a chemical missile lands on the civilian side, then within a radius of two kilometers from the point of impact, plus the wind funnel in effect at the time of impact, everyone should remain inside the residential protective units, and they will be ordered to remain there for three or four days, until the chemical agent has evaporated.

"If you wish to evacuate as the biological or chemical agent is non-volatile, you should decontaminate the entrance area, delineate the evacuation area and enter it with a vehicle fitted with a collective filtration system, to handle one house after the other. One of the most complex issues is what to do with an ambulance that entered a contaminated area. It has no materials for decontaminating its wheels when exiting the area and entering the clean area, so it becomes a contaminating element, and even an ambulance can become disposable as it cannot be decontaminated."

The Best Defense is a Good Offense
Despite the difficulties associated with acquiring protection against and decontaminating chemical and biological warfare agents, Klein emphasizes that the State of Israel is not a naïve country, and will not sit idly by when a war is imminent. "A part of the way to cope with chemical or biological warfare threats is not just through defensive measures, but also through a preemptive attack. Such an attack will not eliminate all the threats, but it is a part of the solution, and it is also cheaper than the protective measures."