W-18 is hitting the Streets - a high alert danger?

[Bob]

10,000 Times Stronger Than Morphine and able to kill with a pinch being consumed..

The University of Alberta back in 1982, developed W-18.

It was intended to be a synthetic painkiller that could outperform existing opioid medications such as morphine and oxycodone. (see the thread in music and culture about performer/musician Prince about the dangers of opiode addiction and potential for death)..

When tested on mice, it acted in such a strong way that it sent some of the animals into a five-day coma.

A Chinese Gift to Canada?

The first sign of W-18 in Canada, as a street drug came in August 2015, when police in Calgary busted a shipment of 110 pills thought to contain fentanyl

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used in Emergency Rooms, and is rated to be around 10 times stronger than heroin.

Chemical analysis of the pills showed that a small number of these pills actually contained traces of W-18. The source of the W-18 was said to have been produced in Chinese laboratories.

Chemically it is known as:

1-(4-Nitrophenylethyl)piperidylidene-2-(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonamide

Health Canada says it is moving to treat W-18 as a Schedule 1 drug. The slang term for illicit products containing fentanyl or W-18 are called "beans" or "shady 80s".

The University of Alberta came up with a "product line" called the W series, W1-W32.

DEATH, not "high" is the result

W-18 is not an analogue of fentanyl, and as such, it's not regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act in Canada.

"It comes down to availability, accessibility... Here's a drug that's 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, but [dealers] really have no idea what they're dealing with," Schiavetta told VICE. "I don't think the criminal element has that much foresight [to think about killing off customer base].

I think it's about making money here and now, and they have no regard for the customers who they're selling the drugs to."

In 2014, 120 people died in Alberta due to fentanyl.

In 2015, when that fatality number nearly doubled, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team deemed fentanyl the "biggest drug trend" of the year.

Not Just Canada

Some cities in North America are now seeing Heroin cut with a synthetic drug named W-18. (link)

W-18 is very similar in chemical structure and effects to Carfentanil, an analgesic used for large animals such as moose, elk, bears, elephants and rhinoceroses.

The W-18 drug is deadly to humans and one dose could be immediately fatal.

Most drug users do not always know the specific compounds they are using and would not know if this drug was present.

Did Prince bump into this when the opiode within the Percocet wasn't working well enough?

(source for above image: LINK)

[Bob]

"We are not given a short life but we make it short...

Life is long if you know how to use it."
Seneca

In March, a Miramar, Florida man who was arrested for sales of fentanyl pills was also found to have two and a half pounds of W-18, procured from China with the help of a Canadian man imprisoned near Montreal.

Then in mid-April, authorities announced that they had seized four kilograms of pure W-18 in Edmonton last December.

most feel that fentanyl, its analogues and related drugs like AH-7921 and U-47700 present the greatest public health risks along with opioids like heroin and prescription drugs oxycodone, morphine and hydrocodone.

Still, even otherwise adventurous recreational drug enthusiasts who post at the Bluelight forum have been warning since 2012 not to even think of experimenting with pure W-18 powder.

The “W” comes from the then-graduate student who made them with two of his professors. The number denotes that it was the 18th chemical in the patent.

W-18 Bears No Relation To The Synthetic Marijuana Chemical JWH-018..

The University of Alberta group did test one of the W compounds (W-3) to see if its analgesic effects could be reversed by the opioid blocker and emergency antidote, naloxone. While there was partial reversal of its painkilling effects, it wasn’t complete. That means that the Naloxone given to reverse opiod overdose (heroin, morphine, percocet...) may NOT WORK..

The US manufacturer, reports this:

Kirk Maxey, MD, PhD, the founder and CEO of Cayman Chemical Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says that if W-18 turns out to be an opioid or is otherwise lethal at low doses, “we’re going to see deaths among the people who mix it up and sell it.”

Maxey’s company is one of a few that sell W-18 as a “reference standard,” an authenticated version of the molecule that allows forensic and analytical chemists to compare and confirm the identity of a chemical found in an illicit substance or a deceased person.

“We use all the same precautions in handling chemicals like W-18 that we would for a cyanobacterial toxin or aflatoxin (a fungal chemical that attacks the liver and can cause liver cancer),” says Maxey.

ISSUES coming from CHINA (again)

Laboratories in China and Japan appear to be a major source for designer synthetic recreational drugs. While researching this article, Forbes writers found a Chinese supplier who could provide up to 50 kilograms of W-18 a month.

(Source - @DavidKroll - Forbes Magazine)

[ZooLife]

In its pure state, from what I read, it makes morphine or heroine look like codeine (maybe aspirin) in comparison.

If this get wide spread use on the streets it will no doubt be part of the culling of the heard. I wonder, could it play a part in the NWO depopulation efforts?

[Bob]

A mod on BlueLight forum said this stuff really IS WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) type of stuff. To put it in perspective, 100 micrograms can kill, paralyzing the breathing apparatus, similar to what the opiates do..

I'm well aware of what's in labs, I tend to spend my day to day life in one.

You really don't get it, do you?

100 times more potent than Fentanyl itself - an amount of powder invisible to the naked eye will kill you dozens of times over.

If it doesn't enter your lungs your eyeballs are great for dissolving airborne particulate matter, you'd be dead before you even realised.

Microscopic death sentences just floating in the ether, settling all over your Hazmat suit - you'd better be real careful decontaminating or you're gonna kill everybody in the immediate vicinity.

This a chemical WMD, nothing more.

There is no safe way to handle, move or, for the completely retarded, consume such a compound.

Opening the container, microscopic dust sized particles present, plus travel into the air..

AND there were POUNDS of this stuff - hundreds of thousands of LETHAL DOSES coming into the Countries, freely produced by China and shipped in.

Millions of lethal doses are in a kilogram. 40,000,000 lethal doses in 4 kg.

OMG doesn't describe the hazard.

Posted by ZooLife (here)
In its pure state, from what I read, it makes morphine or heroine look like codeine (maybe aspirin) in comparison.

If this get wide spread use on the streets it will no doubt be part of the culling of the heard. I wonder, could it play a part in the NWO depopulation efforts?

[Carmody]

A mod on BlueLight forum said this stuff really IS WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) type of stuff. To put it in perspective, 100 micrograms can kill, paralyzing the breathing apparatus, similar to what the opiates do..

To help with perspective, 50-150 micrograms is an 'average' LSD dose.

And this W-18 is a powder, so the microdust really is - lethal.



10-20kg , ground down exceedingly fine, and then aerosol dumped over a city from a Cessna.

WMD indeed.

[DeDukshyn]

 


Four kgs were recovered in a drug bust in Alberta recently -- experts did some quick math and determined that that qty could kill every single Albertan. ADD - (as Bob points out below that should be every one in Canada)

Knibbs said four kilograms of powder would be enough to produce millions of tablets. Investigators intercepted the batch before it was processed and put on the streets.
W-18 is not yet a controlled substance in Canada. ​

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...warn-1.3544662

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Posted by ZooLife (here)
In its pure state, from what I read, it makes morphine or heroine look like codeine (maybe aspirin) in comparison.

If this get wide spread use on the streets it will no doubt be part of the culling of the heard. I wonder, could it play a part in the NWO depopulation efforts?

That would be true if morphine was 10,000 times more potent than codeine -- which it isn't. W18 is 10,000x more potent than morphine.

[Bob]

Perspective of WMD's

When the Russians hit the movie theatre with the "anesthetic gas" they were using a Fentanyl based gas - something which paralyzes the lungs, the ability to breath.. A very fine line between simple pain killing, and body killing...

ONE SALT GRAIN (go to the kitchen take out some simple white kitchen grade table-salt, and measure out and then put 1/4 of a teaspoon full on a dark sheet of paper)...

That 1/4 teaspoon of table salt weighs like 1.42 grams...

in a quarter teaspoon one could then say there are 14,200 lethal doses of W-18..

Take out the magnifying glass.

The weight of 1 salt grain is about .650 milligrams, or 650 micrograms - take a close look at that single salt crystal.. Imagine now breaking that crystal up 6 times.. you can see what almost 7 lethal doses of the W-18 substance would look like... pretty small...

The shipments were coming into Canada and the US in 4 kilogram sizes shipped from China ...

100 micrograms = 0.0001 grams.. (the lethal dose amount) or 4000 grams / .0001 = 40,000,000

40,000,000 lethal doses... hmmm

WHY is that being shipped in?

[Carmody]

why does this stuff even have any form of potential use?

From my feeble understanding (and I have researched such things in the past), this stuff, pound for pound, is the most lethal substance I know of.

If a casual inquiry states that one can obtain 50kg per month from a given supplier ..what the hell just happened out there in the world?

This has nothing do do with drugs or entertainment, or people 'getting off'.

This is biological warfare run rampant. It makes things like anthrax and nukes look like a joke.

The formulation is obviously out there, it can be made in factories in china..which indicates easy manufacture...

The fact that it is in pill form, means it is stable. It has a shelf life. Which means it can be moved around and translated from state to state, ie powder to dilution.

Thus, no controls, no taking it back. That genie ain't getting back in the bottle.

Who screwed up and let it out in the wild?

A nuke the size of a small car, taking out new york city? Not gonna happen.

This w-18 stuff? It's far far worse. And far easier to implement, by any possible form of calculation, by magnitudes.

[Bob]

If DTRA (Defense Threat Reduction Agency) Pentagon isn't aware of this stuff AND it is being let in, AND the patents very clearly explain how to make it (HECK a kid and his two prof's working in the Alberta Lab in the University made it and 31 other grades....)..




Apparently it is on the "radar" so to speak.. Reading those news media articles gives me the shivers. I wish DTRA on their website would announce this chemical warfare substance IS being addressed, that HSA has it solved. From the news articles, the LEO's on the east coast are/have(?) been notified.. but again, how can one safely test for it? Such small levels of substance are so dangerously lethal.

This w-18 stuff absolutely needs to be addressed.. WMD's being shipped around the globe under the guise of an unregistered "pain killer" is just not right (IMHO)

[KiwiElf]

Meth (or "P"/Yuppa - what ever it's called in different countries) has already reached epidemic proportions, but then it doesn't kill you straight away and does give it's users a deluded and dangerous high. If this gets on the street... I hate to think of the consequences (but then I can't imagine why anyone would knowingly take it).

It's not in the elite's interests to give us the "good" drugs, the likes of which we saw in "Lucy" (without killing you over a 72-hr period), or "Unlimited", and apparently, the bistaards have them (with the bonus of being able to de-age you back to around your late 20's or early 30's!)

[Bob]

I thought I would point out this from the Keeping All safe section (paraphrased) the DTRA website - the section on chemical and biological threats - (their emphasis lately it seems reading their webpage, has been on the biological threats, viri, anthrax and things like that due to the scares that some thing may strike at the homeland unexpected). See the link in the QUOTE below.

That shipments of W-18 the size of a 5 pound sack of FLOUR can make it in, it is so compact, and apparently it seem that there are foreign powers willing to ship it wherever...

Who is going to risk doing a quick sample test at an airport, or Port of Call? Customs? TSA? Do those folks have any idea, are they trained, do they have the equipment to safely deal with stuff like this?

And folks had been concerned about ISIS having WMD chemical weapons...

How did W-18 fall through the cracks? was this stuff somehow missed or WHAT? Is this even in the portable sensing system's database?

Safeguarding the Homeland from Chemical and Biological Threats

Not only do chemical and biological threats imperil our nation’s warfighters and our allies; they are a danger to innocent civilians in the homeland and throughout the world.

Defending the country against chemical and biological threats presents a wide variety of challenges.

DTRA works to tackle these challenges by partnering with interagency organizations such as the Department of Health and Human Services, to prepare for biological and chemical events.

In cooperation with DoD and HHS, DTRA is using state-of-the-art technology and executing our first agent-based, high performance computational analysis system, which has resulted in a revolutionary pandemic influenza modeling capability.

DTRA recently completed part of a significant study that looked at a nine region response effort with multiple interventions.

The result of this study will help the U.S. prepare for a possible pandemic, and is a perfect example of DTRA’s Reachback capabilities, technical expertise and the value DTRA provides to other departments and agencies.

It is worrisome - This stuff it seems isn't the " LSD in the water-reservoir type of threat ", or the BZ of the modern era.. As the Mod from BlueLight commented, having this stuff on one's hazmat suit during a washdown is risky business, for the military, first responders, the public.. how would one know they need a hazmat suit similar to a class IV bio-lab to deal with this stuff? This would it seems even make it past the precautions that are used by field doctors dealing with Ebola.. How would they have proper disposal of contamination?

IS there a decontamination chemical that takes apart this molecule?

[Carmody]

that 'homeland' thing is pure nazispeak.

[ZooLife]

I think we are only seeing the tip of the berg when it come to 'designer drugs/ chemicals' in this world. Like all the major physical sciences, I am sure chemistry is making advances at an ever increasing rate as well. Mix in a few rogue chemist and it's anyone's guess what's coming down the pike.

[Sierra]

Posted by Carmody (here)

A mod on BlueLight forum said this stuff really IS WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) type of stuff. To put it in perspective, 100 micrograms can kill, paralyzing the breathing apparatus, similar to what the opiates do..

To help with perspective, 50-150 micrograms is an 'average' LSD dose.

And this W-18 is a powder, so the microdust really is - lethal.



10-20kg , ground down exceedingly fine, and then aerosol dumped over a city from a Cessna.

WMD indeed.

Chemtrails, anyone?

There is no defense, if they want to take us out with this.

[shaberon]

More upswings from the lovely international ban of 1937.

When we could buy opiates over the counter, was it such a huge problem?

Most of the "legal" morphine comes from India, where ordinary farmers enjoy decent income from their poppies. Some other places grow their own, but nowhere near as much. As with most things, if you were allowed to cultivate poppies, there wouldn't be much need for an international black market.

It's an economy of scale, since it takes a lot of poppies to make much concentrate. Instead of seeking a balanced relationship with a plant that's been used for thousands of years, it's sealed off and then left in the hands of "experts" to make these superior synthetics--to "outperform" other products in this case, which can have little motivation besides finance.

Fentanyl has long been a user's favorite. But that's true that many of them have no way to know what they're really using, and a moose painkiller probably sounds really good. Unfortunately some, like with krokodil in Russia, know full well what it is and they don't care since they plan on being dead next week.

Homegrown poppies and treating addiction as a health issue rather than criminal, sounds better than hundreds of Albertans dead from one synthetic, on their way to who knows what is going to come out of this. In Pakistan, heroin is cheaper than food. While that's not exactly a pretty sight, they...grew it right there, no need for synthetics.

That argument might not hold out if the W-18 dose is so small that it's practically free, but since it's superior they will charge more. Unless you crowd out their market by driving down the whole black market by putting the regular stuff back on the shelf cheaply. It's not out of the question that enough of this stuff already exists to either kill everyone in the world, or keep them dosed for however long they may live--in that sense, the manufacture may stifle itself.

[Bob]

Posted by Sierra (here)

Posted by Carmody (here)

Bob: "A mod on BlueLight forum said this stuff really IS WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction) type of stuff. To put it in perspective, 100 micrograms can kill, paralyzing the breathing apparatus, similar to what the opiates do.. "

To help with perspective, 50-150 micrograms is an 'average' LSD dose.

And this W-18 is a powder, so the microdust really is - lethal.



10-20kg , ground down exceedingly fine, and then aerosol dumped over a city from a Cessna.

WMD indeed.

Chemtrails, anyone?

There is no defense, if they want to take us out with this.

Aerosols in the ventilation system of any large gathering of people.. Too far up in the sky for chemtrails, but a potential not unheard of with smaller vehicles, like drones (hobbiest), or larger budgets helicopters - one would think the downdraft would disperse quickly.. the cropduster attachments come to mind if one is spraying, but they could be shot down I would assume as could a chopper.. I'd believe terrorist use would apply low cost relatively cheap "over-the-counter" drones to do the dastardly deeds.

25 minutes flight time is an awfully long time dispersing such a payload:

for instance if a terrorist did a mid-day noon over a city flight - CIA tested aerosol dispensing of bacteria in subways. Seems one should be more concerned about terrorist activity dropping a low altitude payload of W-18 than "them" flying at 50,000 feet putting minuscule sub-lethal doses in the air uncontrollably by the wind.

This stuff is not a recreational use drug, but I would expect to see data coming across to try to downplay the seriousness of this stuff, or that such be applied by terroristic activity.. It seems to clearly fall into the WMD chemical weapons category, as did the Russian use of modified fentanyl (chemical weapon). (one can do a search to see how the chemical aerosol was downplayed by most all MSM and the Russian's when it was revealed how many civilians died with their dosing the hostages and hostage takers)..

[Carmody]

well, I guess we'll really get to see if we can actually get along with one another. Real world tests have a way of doing that.

[Bob]

Looking at the NIOSH website -

I wanted to see if the First Responders understand enough about Opiate/Opioid Poisoning, and IF they have a way to SAFELY neutralize such substances. (Opioid = derivative, similar to ; Opiate = classical opium based)

(Like is there an antidote, or neutralizer to W-18 that doesn't kill everything in the vicinity - Their data is woefully lacking..)

LINK: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emer..._29750022.html for emergency response, how would a first responder tackle an "opiate" such as the 100X weaker FENTANYL substance being used as a weapon.

They make it clear to make a proper MORGUE and understand how to handle the deceased carefully and properly..

IT IS SHOCKING that the response methods are so lacking, with so many UNKNOWNS in how to deal with it..


They start with put on the full class 4 hazmat suit..

BUT the detectors are lacking apparently.. for even fentanyl.. W-18 is unheard of..

--------------------

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

FENTANYL : Incapacitating Agent

Agent Characteristics

APPEARANCE: Crystals or crystalline powder.

DESCRIPTION: Fentanyl is a member of the class of drugs known as fentanyls, rapid-acting opioid (synthetic opiate) drugs that alleviate pain without causing loss of consciousness (analgesic). Fentanyl depresses central nervous system (CNS) and respiratory function. Exposure to fentanyl may be fatal.

Fentanyl is estimated to be 80 times as potent as morphine and hundreds of times more potent than heroin. It is a drug of abuse. Fentanyl (and other opioids) could possibly be used as an incapacitating agent to impair a person's ability to function. In October 2002, the Russian military reportedly used “a fentanyl derivative” against terrorists holding hostages in a Moscow theater; 127 of the hostages died. (It is unclear whether the gas used also included other chemical agent(s).) Fentanyl is odorless.

METHODS OF DISSEMINATION:

• Indoor Air: Fentanyl can be released into indoor air as fine particles or liquid spray (aerosol).
• Water: Fentanyl can be used to contaminate water.
• Food: Fentanyl can be used to contaminate food.
• Outdoor Air: Fentanyl can be released into outdoor air as fine particles or liquid spray (aerosol).
• Agricultural: If fentanyl is released into the air as fine particles or liquid spray (aerosol), it has the potential to contaminate agricultural products.

ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: Fentanyl can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion, or skin contact. It is not known whether fentanyl can be absorbed systemically through the eye. Fentanyl can be administered intravenously (IV), intramuscularly (IM), or as a skin patch (transdermally).

Personal Protective Equipment

GENERAL INFORMATION: First Responders should use a NIOSH-certified Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) with a Level A protective suit when entering an area with an unknown contaminant or when entering an area where the concentration of the contaminant is unknown. Level A protection should be used until monitoring results confirm the contaminant and the concentration of the contaminant.

NOTE: Safe use of protective clothing and equipment requires specific skills developed through training and experience.

LEVEL A: (RED ZONE): Select when the greatest level of skin, respiratory, and eye protection is required.

This is the maximum protection for workers in danger of exposure to unknown chemical hazards or levels above the IDLH or greater than the AEGL-2.

A NIOSH-certified CBRN full-face-piece SCBA operated in a pressure-demand mode or a pressure-demand supplied air hose respirator with an auxiliary escape bottle.

• A Totally-Encapsulating Chemical Protective (TECP) suit that provides protection against CBRN agents.
• Chemical-resistant gloves (outer).
• Chemical-resistant gloves (inner).
• Chemical-resistant boots with a steel toe and shank.
• Coveralls, long underwear, and a hard hat worn under the TECP suit are optional items.

LEVEL B: (RED ZONE): Select when the highest level of respiratory protection is necessary but a lesser level of skin protection is required. This is the minimum protection for workers in danger of exposure to unknown chemical hazards or levels above the IDLH or greater than AEGL-2. It differs from Level A in that it incorporates a non-encapsulating, splash-protective, chemical-resistant splash suit that provides Level A protection against liquids but is not airtight.

A NIOSH-certified CBRN full-face-piece SCBA operated in a pressure-demand mode or a pressure-demand supplied air hose respirator with an auxiliary escape bottle.

• A hooded chemical-resistant suit that provides protection against CBRN agents.
• Chemical-resistant gloves (outer).
• Chemical-resistant gloves (inner).
• Chemical-resistant boots with a steel toe and shank.
• Coveralls, long underwear, a hard hat worn under the chemical-resistant suit, and chemical-resistant disposable boot-covers worn over the chemical-resistant suit are optional items.

LEVEL C: (YELLOW ZONE): Select when the contaminant and concentration of the contaminant are known and the respiratory protection criteria factors for using Air Purifying Respirators (APR) or Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) are met.

This level is appropriate when decontaminating patient/victims.

• A NIOSH-certified CBRN tight-fitting APR with a canister-type gas mask or CBRN PAPR for air levels greater than AEGL-2.
• A NIOSH-certified CBRN PAPR with a loose-fitting face-piece, hood, or helmet and a filter or a combination organic vapor, acid gas, and particulate cartridge/filter combination or a continuous flow respirator for air levels greater than AEGL-1.
• A hooded chemical-resistant suit that provides protection against CBRN agents.
• Chemical-resistant gloves (outer).
• Chemical-resistant gloves (inner).
• Chemical-resistant boots with a steel toe and shank.
• Escape mask, face shield, coveralls, long underwear, a hard hat worn under the chemical-resistant suit, and chemical-resistant disposable boot-covers worn over the chemical-resistant suit are optional items.

LEVEL D: (GREEN ZONE): Select when the contaminant and concentration of the contaminant are known and the concentration is below the appropriate occupational exposure limit or less than AEGL-1 for the stated duration times.

Limited to coveralls or other work clothes, boots, and gloves.

Emergency Response

CHEMICAL DANGERS:

Hazardous polymerization will not occur.

EXPLOSION HAZARDS:
Not established/determined

FIRE FIGHTING INFORMATION:
Burning may produce carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.

INITIAL ISOLATION AND PROTECTIVE ACTION DISTANCES:
If a tank, rail car, or tank truck is involved in a fire, isolate it for 0.5 mi (800 m) in all directions; also consider initial evacuations for 0.5 mi (800 m) in all directions.

This agent is not included in the DOT ERG 2004 Table of Initial Isolation and Protective Action Distances.

In the DOT ERG 2004 orange-bordered section of the guidebook, there are public safety recommendations to isolate a fentanyl (Guide 111) spill or leak area immediately for at least 330 ft (100 m) in all directions.

PHYSICAL DANGERS:
Not established/determined

SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS:
OSHA: Not established/determined
NIOSH: Not established/determined

Signs/Symptoms

TIME COURSE: Peak analgesia occurs within several minutes of intravenous (IV) administration.

The duration of analgesia is 30 to 60 minutes after a single dose of up to 100 µg.

Dermal exposure to fentanyl results in absorption over hours to days. Oral exposure occurs in two phases.

Initial exposure will occur within in a few minutes, with absorption through the intestinal tract occurring over 2 hours.

Inhalation of fentanyl results in rapid absorption.

EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM (LESS THAN 8-HOURS) EXPOSURE:

Fentanyl can produce delayed reduced respiratory function (respiratory depression) and respiratory arrest.

With rapid intravenous (IV) administration, rigidity of the chest muscles ("wooden chest syndrome") may be produced, which interferes with normal breathing.

A rise of blood pressure within the brain (intracranial hypertension) and muscle rigidity and spasms have been reported following fentanyl use.

EYE EXPOSURE:
Irritation may occur.

INGESTION EXPOSURE:
Contracted or pinpoint pupils (miosis) (may later become dilated), reduced level of consciousness (CNS depression), reduced respiratory function (respiratory depression), reduced blood oxygen content (hypoxia), accumulation of acid in the blood (acidosis), low blood pressure (hypotension), slow heart rate (bradycardia), shock, slowing of muscular movement of the stomach (gastric hypomotility) with intestinal obstruction due to lack of normal muscle function (ileus), accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), lethargy, coma, and death.


INHALATION EXPOSURE:
See Ingestion Exposure.

SKIN EXPOSURE:
See Ingestion Exposure.

Absorption through the skin may contribute to whole-body (systemic) toxicity.
Absorption increases with skin temperature (based on medical use of transdermal patch).

Decontamination

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of decontamination is to make an individual and/or their equipment safe by physically removing toxic substances quickly and effectively.

Care should be taken during decontamination, because absorbed agent can be released from clothing and skin as a gas.

Your Incident Commander will provide you with decontaminants specific for the agent released or the agent believed to have been released.

(In other words, they DO NOT HAVE A NEUTRALIZING AGENT, NOT FOR FENTANYL nor W-18.)

DECONTAMINATION CORRIDOR: The following are recommendations to protect the first responders from the release area:

Position the decontamination corridor upwind and uphill of the hot zone. (they are talking about the wind carrying the substance)

The warm zone should include two decontamination corridors.

One decontamination corridor is used to enter the warm zone and the other for exiting the warm zone into the cold zone.

The decontamination zone for exiting should be upwind and uphill from the zone used to enter.

Decontamination area workers should wear appropriate PPE. See the PPE section of this card for detailed information.

A solution of detergent and water (which should have a pH value of at least 8 but should not exceed a pH value of 10.5) should be available for use in decontamination procedures. (this is the standard try to wash it away protocol - the substances STILL remain bioactive).

Soft brushes should be available to remove contamination from the PPE.

Labeled, durable 6-mil polyethylene bags should be available for disposal of contaminated PPE.

INDIVIDUAL DECONTAMINATION: The following methods can be used to decontaminate an individual:


Decontamination of First Responder:

Begin washing PPE of the first responder using soap and water solution and a soft brush. Always move in a downward motion (from head to toe). Make sure to get into all areas, especially folds in the clothing. Wash and rinse (using cold or warm water) until the contaminant is thoroughly removed.

Remove PPE by rolling downward (from head to toe) and avoid pulling PPE off over the head. Remove the SCBA after other PPE has been removed.

Place all PPE in labeled durable 6-mil polyethylene bags.

Decontamination of Patient/Victim:

Remove the patient/victim from the contaminated area and into the decontamination corridor.

Remove all clothing (at least down to their undergarments) and place the clothing in a labeled durable 6-mil polyethylene bag.

Thoroughly wash and rinse (using cold or warm water) the contaminated skin of the patient/victim using a soap and water solution. Be careful not to break the patient/victim’s skin during the decontamination process, and cover all open wounds.

Cover the patient/victim to prevent shock and loss of body heat.

Move the patient/victim to an area where emergency medical treatment can be provided.

First Aid

GENERAL INFORMATION: Treatment consists of administration of the antidote and aggressive support of respiratory function.

ANTIDOTE: Naloxone (Narcan) in doses of 0.4 to 2.0 mg has been recommended for treatment of opioid overdose. (IT MUST BE POINTED OUT W-18 may NOT have a reversal antidote based on the University of Alberta tests).

Naloxone is commonly given intravenously.

The onset of effect following IV naloxone administration is 1 to 3 minutes; maximal effect is observed within 5 to 10 minutes. Doses may be repeated as needed to maintain effect. Administration of naloxone may also reverse the "wooden chest syndrome."

EYE:

Immediately remove the patient/victim from the source of exposure.
Immediately wash eyes with large amounts of tepid water for at least 15 minutes.
Seek medical attention immediately.

INGESTION:

Immediately remove the patient/victim from the source of exposure.
Ensure that the patient/victim has an unobstructed airway.
Do not induce vomiting (emesis).
Administer naloxone under physician’s direction or by following applicable EMS protocol. See Antidote section.
Administer charcoal as a slurry (240 mL water/30 g charcoal). Usual dose: 25 to 100 g in adults/adolescents, 25 to 50 g in children (1 to 12 years), and 1 g/kg in infants less than 1 year old.
Seek medical attention immediately.

INHALATION:

• Immediately remove the patient/victim from the source of exposure.
• Evaluate respiratory function and pulse.
• Ensure that the patient/victim has an unobstructed airway.
• If shortness of breath occurs or breathing is difficult (dyspnea), administer oxygen.
• Assist ventilation as required. Always use a barrier or bag-valve-mask device.
• If breathing has ceased (apnea), provide artificial respiration.
• Monitor the patient/victim for signs of whole-body (systemic) effects and administer symptomatic treatment as necessary.
• If signs of whole-body (systemic) poisoning appear, see the Ingestion section for treatment recommendations.
• Seek medical attention immediately.
  

SKIN:

Immediately remove the patient/victim from the source of exposure.
See the Decontamination section for patient/victim decontamination procedures.
Monitor the patient/victim for signs of whole-body (systemic) effects.
If signs of whole-body (systemic) poisoning appear, see the Ingestion section for treatment recommendations.
Seek medical attention immediately.

Long-Term Implications

MEDICAL TREATMENT: Patient/victims exhibiting significantly reduced respiratory function (respiratory depression), recurrent sedation, or any other complicating factors of opioid toxicity should be admitted for a minimum of 12 to 24 hours of observation. (Recall Prince refused to stay in the Hospital after the opiate antidote injection)..

Heart function should be monitored, and the patient/victim should be evaluated for low blood pressure (hypotension), abnormal heart rhythms (dysrhythmias), and reduced respiratory function (respiratory depression). Accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema) is a common aftereffect (sequela), and patient/victims should be monitored for its development and treated accordingly.

DELAYED EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE: Not established/determined

EFFECTS OF CHRONIC OR REPEATED EXPOSURE: It is unknown whether chronic or repeated exposure to fentanyl increases the risk of carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, or developmental toxicity.

On-Site Fatalities

INCIDENT SITE:

Consult with the Incident Commander regarding the agent dispersed, dissemination method, level of PPE required, location, geographic complications (if any), and the approximate number of remains. (How does a first responder deal with millions exposed to W-18?) Can one enter such an area hit by such a WMD attack?

Coordinate responsibilities and prepare to enter the scene as part of the evaluation team along with the FBI HazMat Technician, local law enforcement evidence technician, and other relevant personnel.

Begin tracking remains using waterproof body-tags.

RECOVERY AND ON-SITE MORGUE:

• Wear PPE until all remains are deemed free of contamination.
• Establish a preliminary (holding) morgue.
• Gather evidence, and place it in a clearly labeled impervious container. Hand any evidence over to the FBI.
• Remove and tag personal effects.
• Perform a thorough external evaluation and a preliminary identification check.
• See the Decontamination section for decontamination procedures.
• Decontaminate remains before they are removed from the incident site.

See Guidelines for Mass Fatality Management During Terrorist Incidents Involving Chemical Agents, U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM), November, 2001 for detailed recommendations.

General Notes:
Opioids include opiates, an older term that refers to such drugs derived from opium, including morphine itself. Other opioids are semi-synthetic and synthetic drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone and fentanyl.

[kirolak]

Such bad news . .

[Hervé]

As it happens:

The Department of Homeland Security Will Test Bioterror Airflow in New York Subway System

By James D. Walsh May 8, 2016 11:20 a.m

There will be something extra in the air this week. Photo: Radu Negru/Flickr/CC Monday morning, scientists working for the Department of Homeland Security will begin releasing (nontoxic) gases and particles on crowded subway platforms, beginning a week-long airflow study aimed at measuring the impact of a nightmarish chemical or biological terrorist attack.

It’s not the first such study — most recently the NYPD gassed the subway system in 2013 (also nontoxic) — but this is the first large-scale use of particles, in addition to gases. While gas tests help scientists, counter-terrorism specialists, and emergency responders understand the impact of chemical weapons like sarin gas or mustard gas, the particle test will measure the fallout from aerosol-dispensed biological agents like anthrax or ricin.

Every day this week, particles will be released from machines at busy stations like Grand Central, Times Square, 34th St.–Penn Station. Special machines and filters on platforms and subway cars will gather the particles. Researchers working throughout the system will also wear small patches designed to collect them.

The Department of Homeland Security, along with a MTA and a slew of other agencies, assured New Yorkers that neither the gases nor the particles are a health risk. The study won’t significantly increase the level of particle matter wafting through the air, in part, because New York City subway stations are already brimming with particulate. In fact, as the project’s assessment report noted, the levels of steel, manganese, and chromium in the subway system are 100 times higher than outdoors.

So how will researchers delineate between their particles and the dust cloud of iron, rubber, and God-knows-what floating around the platforms? A recent technology called DNATrax gives particles a kind of barcode, which enables researchers to identify their own particles. (DNATrax may soon be used to track food sourcing. The barcode can tell you exactly which tree your bad apple came from.) Because of this new technology, scientists can use their own particulate — sugar based (made from the same stuff as Splenda, in fact) with a diameter no bigger than one tenth of a human hair — instead of some other, more nefarious, substance.

In 1966, as part of a similar test, US Army scientists smashed light bulbs filled with charcoal and Bacillus subtilis, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. A mere five minutes after the bulbs were smashed at the 23rd Street Station, the bacteria could be detected at every station between 14th Street and 59th Street. After four days of testing, scientists concluded that more than a million people had been exposed. While the Army scientists noted no adverse affects on passengers, there was no data to prove it. It’s safe to assume they didn’t test a million people for food poisoning. By the researchers’ account, New Yorkers dealt with the cloud of charcoal and Bacillus subtilis, a literal biological attack, the same way they dealt with any other hazard on the commute. “When the cloud engulfed people, they brushed their clothing, looked up at the grating apron and walked on.”