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Biological Weapons

Biological Weapons. Britney Wade Armida Picos Chelsea Snarr Michael Gancarz. Biological Weapons Background. Biological Warfare – the use of biological toxins or infectious agents to kill or harm humans, animals or plants. Five Categories of Biological Agents: -Bacteria

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Biological Weapons

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  1. Biological Weapons Britney Wade ArmidaPicos Chelsea Snarr Michael Gancarz

  2. Biological Weapons Background • Biological Warfare – the use of biological toxins or infectious agents to kill or harm humans, animals or plants. • Five Categories of Biological Agents: -Bacteria -Rickettsia -Viruses -Fungi -Toxins • Banned in over 180 states by the Biological Weapons Conference

  3. Pros of using Biological Weapons • They are effective • Biological warfare is reliable if you want to affect a large area. • Easy to store and inexpensive to make • It benefits the government.

  4. Pros of researching biological weapons • The benefits of researching biological warfare is that while researching you might find a cure.

  5. Cons of Using Biological Weapons • There are many cons to using Biological weapons • 1. Unpredictability: Biological weapons can be very unpredictable, and result in possibly infecting people that were not meant to be harmed • 2. Time: Of all weapons of mass destruction the lasting effects of biological weapons is a lot longer than that of the others • 3. Difficulty: The use of biological weapons is difficult in two ways: difficulty in defending against them and also the many ways of them being deployed.

  6. 4. Weather: The weather in an area can also effect the usage of these weapons. It can reduce the effectiveness of the weapon. Also the temperature, desiccation and sunlight effect how well that they survive. • 5. Aftermath: With using biological weapons there could be lingering agents in the air which could possibly cause more attacks on an already attacked area. In addition to that there is no definite way to know how the weapon will be, how it will work, and how effective it will be • 6 Tactfulness: All the time that it takes to create these weapons and make them toxic enough is an extensive period of time and could result in its usage not being tactical

  7. 7 Knowledge: The public has some knowledge on the subject and could have ways to avert the weapons effects

  8. Ethical cons of biological weapons

  9. Detrimental to living organisms Donald C. Hickman, Major, USAF, BSC. "Chem-Bio, USAF Water Systems at Risk." Chem-Bio, USAF Water Systems at Risk. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cpc-pubs/hickman.htm>.

  10. Detrimental to living organisms Donald C. Hickman, Major, USAF, BSC. "Chem-Bio, USAF Water Systems at Risk." Chem-Bio, USAF Water Systems at Risk. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/cpc-pubs/hickman.htm>.

  11. Unethical due to ecological damages • From previous slides: • Many of these survive long periods of time in water • Potential harm to organisms living in water • Potential harm to anything that ingests water • Once water is infected, some are hard to kill

  12. Anthrax • Acute disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis • Discovered in 1875 by German scientist Robert Koch • Anthrax was used as a weapon as early as 1916 • Part of the U.S. stockpile prior to 1972 • Can be in the form of an aerosol or concentrated spores • 2001 - concentrated spores were sent in the mail to several members of the media.

  13. Pros of Anthrax Cheap Easy to make Effective (but with many side affects)

  14. Cons of Using Anthrax • Time: Anthrax has long lasting effects and can remain in an area after being used for about 50 years and can leave an area uninhabitable • Detection: Anthrax is like a silent bomb. It could take months for symptoms to appear • Knowledge: There are a lot of things that are unknown about Anthrax and the ways to treat it and help the people that are affected • Victims: Using Anthrax can hurt more people and do more damage than what is intended. For example, it causes damage to the environment and potentially those administering it and those helping in the aftermath.

  15. Ethical cons of anthrax research

  16. Unit 731 (Japan) • Manufactured over 5 tons of anthrax for bombs • Developed a porcelain bomb that shattered on impact to spread the spores further • Hot air balloons sent across ocean containing anthrax lading in western U.S. (at least 12 killed from exposure) "Biological Weapons Program." - Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/japan/bw/>.

  17. Unit 731 (Japan) • Over 3,000 human deaths at this facility • Living autopsies to see effects of disease • No anesthesia was given "Biological Weapons Program." - Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/japan/bw/>.

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