posted 11-03-2002 08:38 PM            

U.S. to Stage Mock Bioweapon Attack

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The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 30, 2002; 2:36 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY –– Federal agencies plan to release harmless gases in Oklahoma City next summer to test how chemical and biological weapons would work in a terrorist attack.

"The goal of this program is in domestic terrorism preparedness," said Jerry Allwine, a scientist with the Environmental Technology Division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "It's important to the protection of the homeland against chemical and biological threats."

A similar study was conducted in 2000 in Salt Lake City.

The $4 million test, discussed at Tuesday's City Council meeting, is a project of the departments of energy and defense. It will also involve the University of Oklahoma and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The study test for July will use sulfur hexafluoride and perfluorocarbon tracer gases. Allwine said the gases are innocuous and are used to inflate athletic shoes and tennis balls. They have also been used to study atmospheric conditions since the 1960s.

© 2002 The Associated Press

posted 11-03-2002 09:35 PM            

Federal agencies plan to release harmless gases... Allwine said the gases are innocuous and are used to inflate athletic shoes and tennis balls.

Allwine and the AP are spinning this story so fast I'm getting dizzy. Nike used to use SF6 in their 'Air' product line, but I do believe this was discontinued. Now for the facts:

Sulfur hexafluoride is extremely stable and long-lasting, with an estimated atmospheric lifetime of 3,200 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international group of scientists set up by the United Nations, has calculated the global warming potential of SF 6 to be 23,900 over 100 years. This contrasts with carbon dioxide's global warming potential of 1 over a century.
http://www.rvi.net/~fluoride/mag.htm

Yep, this 'harmless' gas is about 24,000 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2. It has also been used in experiments into (wait for it) visual invisibility systems for aircraft.

Well, what's old is new again. Cross-linking to a two year-old thread at the Carnicom board that has somehow managed to escape the abyss...
http://pub8.ezboard.com/fchemtrailschemtrails.showMessage?topicID=3518.topic

posted 11-05-2002 10:37 PM            

something interesting aboot sf6...

http://www.chemtrailcentral.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000059.html

posted 11-05-2002 11:02 PM            

I guess my Mike Tyson analogy over at Mega is what inspired theseeker to become a cigar aficianado.

Well, I don't like fat guys who blow smoke in my face, and that's exactly what Allwine and the AP are doing here.

I have to admit, though.. terraforming is an application that hadn't occured to me previously.

posted 11-06-2002 01:54 AM            

really had not read it chem...

I have a good smoke occasionally...during your favorite sport...Golf...the only reason you hate it is because you probably suck at it...admit it....

2 the topic, it's not a bad gas guys...in mass quantities could turn this planet into venus...but hell sf6 has been used in weather tracking experiments for a longtime...

congrads on re-electing Jeb Bush...I'm happy 4 u

btw...I heard that early voting areas open in florida wednesday morning...

dangling chad grins

posted 11-06-2002 01:26 PM            

from the Internet (Details)

Thanks for your interest in the study to be conducted next summer in Oklahoma City. You ask a good and prudent question about safety. Sulfur hexafluoride and perfluorocarbon tracer gases are completely safe and have been used internationally for decades in industrial applications (e.g., used inside of tennis balls, loudspeakers, foam insulation, gas-filled athletic shoes, sound-insulating windows, production of aluminum and magnesium, etc.) as well as conducting atmospheric studies. There are also biomedical applications as well (e.g., certain eye to fill the interior of the eye to hold the retina or other membranes in place to heal properly). These are biologically inert, non-toxic, non-combustible gases. The scientists who will work directly with the gas need no special clothing, masks or other protection. Likewise, residents are completely safe.

Only small amounts (measured in grams) of these tracers will be released during the tests from the southern part of Oklahoma City (downwind). Several hundred air samplers (programmable, battery-operated boxes with a pump that fills 12 small sample bags with air sequentially based on a specified sampling program) placed throughout the city will then collect samples of air during the test. The samplers are analyzed for presence of the tracer gases collected.

You are correct in stating that a similar, yet not nearly as detailed, study was conducted in Salt Lake City in 2000. The Oklahoma City test is an important study that will help us advance our knowledge about movement of contaminants in and around cities. The findings will also be used to improve and verify the nation's computer models that simulate the atmospheric transport of contaminants in urban areas.

The attached PDF files will more fully explain the planned study. If you cannot read the files, I'd be happy to fax them.

Hope this answers your questions.
Geoff
Geoff Harvey
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Media Relations
(509) 372-6083
geoffrey.harvey@pnl.gov

posted 11-06-2002 07:20 PM            

I was very curious as to why it was deemed neccesary to conduct these experiments in heavily populated areas.

quote:

---

The findings will also be used to improve and verify the nation's computer models that simulate the atmospheric transport of contaminants in urban areas.

---

posted 11-11-2002 12:38 PM            

I think it would be quicker and easier to address your questions by phone rather than via e-mail.

You can either contact me at the number below, or provide a number and time you might be available via e-mail reply for me to call you.

Hope you're doing well this Veterans' Day.

Geoff

Geoff Harvey
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Media Relations
(509) 372-6083
geoffrey.harvey@pnl.gov www.pnl.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: OREILLY309@aol.com [mailtoREILLY309@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, November 08, 2002 11:13 AM
To: Harvey, Geoffrey L
Subject: Re: OKC study