1. Wherever you are, be aware of your surroundings. The very nature of terrorism suggests there may be little or no warning.

2. Take precautions when traveling. Be aware of conspicuous or unusual behavior. Do not accept packages from strangers. Do not leave luggage unattended. Unusual behavior, suspicious packages and strange devices should be promptly reported to the police or security personnel.

3. Do not be afraid to move or leave if you feel uncomfortable or if something does not seem right.

4. Learn where emergency exits are located in buildings you frequent. Notice where exits are when you enter unfamiliar buildings. Plan how to get out of a building, subway or congested public area or traffic. Note where staircases are located. Notice heavy or breakable objects that could move, fall or break in an explosion.

5. Assemble a disaster supply kit at home and learn first aid. Separate the supplies you would take if you had to evacuate quickly, and put them in a backpack or container, ready to go.

6. Be familiar with different types of fire extinguishers and how to locate them. Know the location and availability of hard hats in buildings in which you spend a lot of time.

Protection against cyber attacks

Cyber attacks target computer or telecommunication networks of critical infrastructures such as power systems, traffic control systems, or financial systems.

Cyber attacks target information technologies (IT) in three different ways:

1. A direct attack against an information system “through the wires” alone (hacking).
2. The attack can be a physical assault against a critical IT element.
3. The attack can be from the inside as a result of compromising a trusted party withaccess to the system.

1. Be prepared to do without services you normally depend on that could be disrupted—electricity, telephone, natural gas, gasoline pumps, cash registers, ATM machines, and internet transactions.

2. Be prepared to respond to official instructions if a cyber attack triggers other hazards, for example, general evacuation, evacuation to shelter, or shelter-in-place, because of hazardous materials releases, nuclear power plant incident, dam or flood control system failures.

Preparing for a building explosion

Explosions can collapse buildings and cause fires. People who live or work in a multi-level building can do the following:

1. Review emergency evacuation procedures. Know where emergency exits are located.

2. Keep fire extinguishers in working order. Know where they are located, and learn how to use them.

3. Learn first aid. Contact the local chapter of the American Red Cross for information and training.

4. Building owners should keep the following items in a designated place on each floor of the building:
   1. Portable, battery-operated radio and extra batteries
   2. Several flashlights and extra batteries
   3. First aid kit and manual
   4. Several hard hats
   5. Fluorescent tape to rope off dangerous areas

Bomb threats

If you receive a bomb threat, get as much information from the caller as possible. Keep the caller on the line and record everything that is said. Then notify the police and the building management.

If you are notified of a bomb threat, do not touch any suspicious packages. Clear the area around suspicious packages and notify the police immediately. In evacuating a building, don’t stand in front of windows, glass doors or other potentially hazardous areas. Do not block sidewalk or streets to be used by emergency officials or others still exiting the building.

Suspicious parcels and letters

Be wary of suspicious packages and letters. They can contain explosives, chemical or biological agents. Be particularly cautious at your place of employment. Some typical characteristics postal inspectors have detected over the years, which ought to trigger suspicion, include parcels that:

• Are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you.
• Have no return address, or have one that can’t be verified as legitimate.
• Are marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal,” “Confidential” or “Do not x-ray.”
• Have protruding wires or aluminum foil, strange odors or stains.
• Show a city or state in the postmark that doesn’t match the return address.
• Are of unusual weight, given their size, or are lopsided or oddly shaped.
• Are marked with any threatening language.
• Have inappropriate or unusual labeling.
• Have excessive postage or excessive packaging material such as masking tape and string.
• Have misspellings of common words.
• Are addressed to someone no longer
• with your organization or are otherwise outdated.
• Have incorrect titles or title without a name.
• Are not addressed to a specific person.
• Have handwritten or poorly typed addresses.

With suspicious envelopes and packages other than those that might contain explosives, take these additional steps against possible biological and chemical agents.

• Refrain from eating or drinking in a designated mail handling area.
• Place suspicious envelopes or packages in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage of contents. Never sniff or smell suspect mail.
• If you do not have a container, then cover the envelope or package with anything available (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove the cover.
• Leave the room and close the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering.
• Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any powder to your face.
• If you are at work, report the incident to your building security official or an available supervisor, who should notify police and other authorities without delay.
• List all people who were in the room or area when this suspicious letter or package was recognized. Give a copy of this list to both the local public health authorities and law enforcement officials for follow-up investigations and advice.
• If you are at home, report the incident to local police.

What to do if there is an explosion

Leave the building as quickly as possible. Do not stop to retrieve personal possessions or make phone calls. If things are falling around you, get under a sturdy table or desk until they stop falling. Then leave quickly, watching for weakened floors and stairs and falling debris as you exit.

1. If there is a fire:
   1. Stay low to the floor and exit the building as quickly as possible.
   2. Cover your nose and mouth with a wet cloth.
   3. When approaching a closed door, use the back of your hand to feel the lower, middle and upper parts of the door. Never use the palm of your hand or fingers to test for heat: burning those areas could impair your ability to escape a fire (i.e., ladders and crawling).
      1. If the door is NOT hot, open slowly and ensure fire and/or smoke is not blocking your escape route. If your escape route is blocked, shut the door immediately and use an alternate escape route, such as a window. If clear, leave immediately through the door. Be prepared to crawl. Smoke and heat rise. The air is clearer and cooler near the floor.
      2. If the door is hot, do not open it. Escape through a window. If you cannot escape, hang a white or light-colored sheet outside the window, alerting fire fighters to your presence.

   4. Heavy smoke and poisonous gases collect first along the ceiling. Stay below the smoke at all times.

2. If you are trapped in debris:

   1. Do not light a match.
   2. Do not move about or kick up dust. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
   3. Rhythmically tap on a pipe or wall so that rescuers can hear where you are. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort when you hear sounds and think someone will hear you—shouting can cause a person to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

Chemical and Biological Weapons

In case of a chemical or biological weapon attack near you, authorities will instruct you on the best course of action. This may be to evacuate the area immediately, to seek shelter at a designated location, or to take immediate shelter where you are and seal the premises. The best way to protect yourself is to take emergency preparedness measures ahead of time and to get medical attention as soon as possible, if needed.

Chemical Weapons

Chemical warfare agents are poisonous vapors, aerosols, liquids or solids that have toxic effects on people, animals or plants. They can be released by bombs, sprayed from aircraft, boats, or vehicles, or used as a liquid to create a hazard to people and the environment. Some chemical agents may be odorless and tasteless. They can have an immediate effect (a few seconds to a few minutes) or a delayed effect (several hours to several days). While potentially lethal, chemical agents are difficult to deliver in lethal concentrations.

Outdoors, the agents often dissipate rapidly. Chemical agents are also difficult to produce.

There are six types of agents:

1. Lung-damaging (pulmonary) agents such as phosgene,
2. Cyanide,
3. Vesicants or blister agents such as mustard,
4. Nerve agents such as GA (tabun), GB (sarin), GD (soman), GF, and VX,
5. Incapacitating agents such as BZ, and
6. Riot-control agents (similar to MACE).

Biological

Biological agents are organisms or toxins that can kill or incapacitate people, livestock and crops. The three basic groups of biological agents which would likely be used as weapons are bacteria, viruses, and toxins.

1. Bacteria. Bacteria are small free-living organisms that reproduce by simple division and are easy to grow. The diseases they produce often respond to treatment with antibiotics.
2. Viruses. Viruses are organisms which require living cells in which to reproduce and are intimately dependent upon the body they infect. Viruses produce diseases which generally do not respond to antibiotics. However, antiviral drugs are sometimes effective.
3. Toxins. Toxins are poisonous substances found in, and extracted from, living plants, animals, or microorganisms; some toxins can be produced or altered by chemical means. Some toxins can be treated with specific antitoxins and selected drugs.

Most biological agents are difficult to grow and maintain. Many break down quickly when exposed to sunlight and other environmental factors, while others such as anthrax spores are very long lived. They can be dispersed by spraying them in the air, or infecting animals which carry the disease to humans as well through food and water contamination.

• Aerosols - Biological agents are dispersed into the air, forming a fine mist that may drift for miles. Inhaling the agent may cause disease in people or animals.

• Animals - Some diseases are spread by insects and animals, such as fleas, mice, flies, and mosquitoes. Deliberately spreading diseases through livestock is also referred to as agroterrorism.

• Food and water contamination - Some pathogenic organisms and toxins may persist in food and water supplies. Most microbes can be killed, and toxins deactivated, by cooking food and boiling water.

Anthrax spores formulated as a white powder were mailed to individuals in the government and media in the fall of 2001. Postal sorting machines and the opening of letters dispersed the spores as aerosols. Several deaths resulted. The effect was to disrupt mail service and to cause a widespread fear of handling delivered mail among the public.

Person-to-person spread of a few infectious agents is also possible. Humans have been the source of infection for smallpox, plague, and the Lassa viruses. please read the "Preparing for Terrorism" section.

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