CHLORINE REVISITED: Stealing swimming pool chlorine cylinders do not terror weapons make
"The Homeland Security Department is warning U.S. chemical plants and bomb squads to guard against a new form of terrorism: chlorine truck bombs," blared USA Today recently. (See here. Cross ref to Armchair Generalist.)
"At least five chlorine truck bombs have exploded in Iraq in recent months, killing scores of people and injuring many more after they breathed the toxic fumes," continues the newspaper deceptively.
Casualties have not been attributed to chlorine inhalations, for reasons your GlobalSecurity.Org Senior Fellow will explain in a moment.
"The Chlorine Institute, a trade group that represents more than 200 companies that make and distribute chlorine, recently alerted the FBI to several thefts or attempted thefts of 150-pound chlorine tanks from water treatment plants in California," adds the newspaper.
" 'This is now being used as a tactic against us in another part of the world,' says Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's infrastructure protection chief. 'We've got to be prepared for [it] . . .' "
However, stealing 150 pound swimming pool chlorine sources will not make a terror weapon. More accurately, it might -- if done up right -- make a nuisance that could send one or two people to the emergency room with tearing eyes and a cough, if they were near it and chose not to run away at the first whiff of trouble.
As manager of a swimming pool, one that used cylinders of chlorine of the approximate size mentioned in the USA Today story, it can be said there is simply not enough chlorine present to pose a threat in the classical sense of chemical weaponry.
In World War I, the Germans got militarily interesting results employing a volume release of 160 tons of chlorine. One recent release in Iraq, discussed here, involved the release of about one and a quarter ton. It did not appear to result in any fatalities.
And the reason for this is scale.
The bad actors in Iraq have run up against a wall in that the volume of gas needed to create the result they wish if greater than their present capability by two orders of magnitude.
This is a significant hurdle, one they have -- so far, shown no ability to cross.
If the scientific nomenclature "two orders of magnitude" confuses and puts you off, allow DD to illustrate it another way, with pictures.
This is not a militarily interesting amount of chlorine.
Now this is a militarily interesting amount of chlorine.
The bottom photo comes from a Homeland Security document from a few years ago. It is entitled "National Planning Scenarios" and is "Intended For Use in National, Federal, State and Local Homeland Security Preparedness Activities."
It's a 120,000 gallon storage cylinder, the type one would find at an industrial production facility which cracks chlorine electrolytically from brine. If one does the calculations on the number of tons of material in such cylinder, one arrives at the ballpark figure of 600-750. Which is still two full orders of magnitude away from the bad actors in Iraq.
In the meantime, DD will suggest that Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's infrastructure protection chief, brush up on the technical details included in his own organization's planning documents.
As to why small chlorine cylinders would be going missing (if indeed they are) in California, it would be better not to immediately jump the gun, entertaining the fancy that Iraqi insurgents and al Qaeda men are here.
On the other hand, California newspapers infrequently report upon the large number of white trash methamphetamine addicts in the state and their propensity for stealing everything not nailed down. And, if one is to believe such newspaper reports, meth heads have a special yen for copper because anything with copper in it can be taken to local scrap yards and turned in for two to three dollars a pound.
Local metal scrappers turn a blind eye to the source of the metal.
In any case, the control valves and tubing for small chlorine cylinders contain copper alloy. In fact, when I managed a swimming pool, much of the regulator the chlorine cylinder was attached to was made of copper.
And to see that this is so, simply peruse the fine print on chlorine cylinder valves at the Chlorine Institute, in .pdf form, here.
"The Homeland Security Department is warning U.S. chemical plants and bomb squads to guard against a new form of terrorism: chlorine truck bombs," blared USA Today recently. (See here. Cross ref to Armchair Generalist.)
"At least five chlorine truck bombs have exploded in Iraq in recent months, killing scores of people and injuring many more after they breathed the toxic fumes," continues the newspaper deceptively.
Casualties have not been attributed to chlorine inhalations, for reasons your GlobalSecurity.Org Senior Fellow will explain in a moment.
"The Chlorine Institute, a trade group that represents more than 200 companies that make and distribute chlorine, recently alerted the FBI to several thefts or attempted thefts of 150-pound chlorine tanks from water treatment plants in California," adds the newspaper.
" 'This is now being used as a tactic against us in another part of the world,' says Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's infrastructure protection chief. 'We've got to be prepared for [it] . . .' "
However, stealing 150 pound swimming pool chlorine sources will not make a terror weapon. More accurately, it might -- if done up right -- make a nuisance that could send one or two people to the emergency room with tearing eyes and a cough, if they were near it and chose not to run away at the first whiff of trouble.
As manager of a swimming pool, one that used cylinders of chlorine of the approximate size mentioned in the USA Today story, it can be said there is simply not enough chlorine present to pose a threat in the classical sense of chemical weaponry.
In World War I, the Germans got militarily interesting results employing a volume release of 160 tons of chlorine. One recent release in Iraq, discussed here, involved the release of about one and a quarter ton. It did not appear to result in any fatalities.
And the reason for this is scale.
The bad actors in Iraq have run up against a wall in that the volume of gas needed to create the result they wish if greater than their present capability by two orders of magnitude.
This is a significant hurdle, one they have -- so far, shown no ability to cross.
If the scientific nomenclature "two orders of magnitude" confuses and puts you off, allow DD to illustrate it another way, with pictures.
This is not a militarily interesting amount of chlorine.
Now this is a militarily interesting amount of chlorine.
The bottom photo comes from a Homeland Security document from a few years ago. It is entitled "National Planning Scenarios" and is "Intended For Use in National, Federal, State and Local Homeland Security Preparedness Activities."
It's a 120,000 gallon storage cylinder, the type one would find at an industrial production facility which cracks chlorine electrolytically from brine. If one does the calculations on the number of tons of material in such cylinder, one arrives at the ballpark figure of 600-750. Which is still two full orders of magnitude away from the bad actors in Iraq.
In the meantime, DD will suggest that Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's infrastructure protection chief, brush up on the technical details included in his own organization's planning documents.
As to why small chlorine cylinders would be going missing (if indeed they are) in California, it would be better not to immediately jump the gun, entertaining the fancy that Iraqi insurgents and al Qaeda men are here.
On the other hand, California newspapers infrequently report upon the large number of white trash methamphetamine addicts in the state and their propensity for stealing everything not nailed down. And, if one is to believe such newspaper reports, meth heads have a special yen for copper because anything with copper in it can be taken to local scrap yards and turned in for two to three dollars a pound.
Local metal scrappers turn a blind eye to the source of the metal.
In any case, the control valves and tubing for small chlorine cylinders contain copper alloy. In fact, when I managed a swimming pool, much of the regulator the chlorine cylinder was attached to was made of copper.
And to see that this is so, simply peruse the fine print on chlorine cylinder valves at the Chlorine Institute, in .pdf form, here.
posted by George Smith at 8:15 AM
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