Beyond the Molecular Frontier Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (2003) / Chapter Skim
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11 National and Personal Security
11 National and Personal Security
Pages 171-179
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From page 171... ...
11 National and Personal Security iAs part of the overall project on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, a workshop on National Security and Homeland Defense has led to a separate report: Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century: National Security & Homeland Defense, National Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2002. The reader is urged to consult that report for further information.
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From page 172... ...
The very real threat of future acts of catastrophic terrorism has become a significant force for shaping research directions in chemistry and chemical engineering. The most critical needs for national security are inherently chemical capabilities, such as the means to analyze and detect threats by providing intelligence and warning, and the ability to respond to an attack by mitigating damage and decontaminating a site.
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From page 173... ...
military has put considerable effort into developing protective clothing and procedures to protect troops against chemical and biological weapons. The protective materials, and detoxifying procedures and substances, are the products of modern chemistry and chemical engineering.
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From page 174... ...
Of course our national security also depends on deterring problems before they arise. We need to develop new analytical chemistry techniques that are capable of detecting the production of materials in violation of the chemical and biological weapons treaties.
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From page 175... ...
Rapid and reliable methods of decontamination are needed in the event that a chemical agent is detected. One concept, the "lab on a chip," involves producing complete analytical systems in a compact electronic form; such small devices could then be deployed by airdrop and allow remote inspection.
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From page 176... ...
Two earlier reports from the National Research Council outlined a number of opportunities for technical contributions by chemical scientists.3 The recommen3Containing the Threat of Illegal Bombings: An Integrated National Strategy for Marking, Tagging, Rendering Inert, and Licensing Explosives and Their Precursors, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998; Black and Smokeless Powders: Technologies for Finding Bombs and the Bomb Makers, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1998.
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From page 177... ...
A task for chemistry and chemical engineering is to improve the means to feed and shelter the world, to extend to less-wealthy nations some fraction of the benefits we enjoy. Personal Security In most respects, the terrorist threats to civilian populations are parallel to the military threats from chemical and biological agents, radiological materials, and explosives.
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From page 178... ...
Chemistry and chemical engineering have major roles to play in furthering our defensive capabilities against both military opponents and terrorists. All of the areas of research discussed in this chapter will require interdisciplinary collaborations among chemists, engineers, biologists, physicists, and materials scientists.
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From page 179... ...
The very real threat of virulent biological agents will drive chemists, biochemists, and chemical engineers to seek new prophylactic treatments, therapies, and protective vaccines. The need to protect millions of civilians in our own communities against acts of catastrophic terrorism must be a central priority for those working with analytical sensors and detectors, and for those working with genomics and analysis of pathogenesis.
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