What is a mass-casualty weapon?
Mass-casualty weapons are weapons that can produce a serious event where many people are hurt or become very ill all at once (called a mass-casualty event). Mass-casualty events overwhelm available medical and rescue resources because they involve so many injured or sick people (casualties).
A mass-casualty event can be a big accident, such as an airplane crash, a bad train crash, a collapsed building, or a chemical spill. A mass-casualty event can also be caused by the intentional use of mass-casualty weapons, such as explosives, chemicals, and germs.
Mass-casualty weapons are sometimes called weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
What are types of mass-casualty weapons?
Types of mass-casualty weapons include:
Contamination is a problem with many types of mass-casualty weapons.
Contamination is when people or the area they're in are covered with a dangerous substance, such as a chemical or radioactive material
The dangerous substance might continue to affect the person until it is removed (a process called decontamination). Also, the dangerous substance can spread to rescuers and sometimes to nearby areas in the community.
How do doctors know an event involving mass-casualty weapons has taken place?
Sometimes the event is obvious, such as an explosion or chemical spill. Other times doctors don't realize mass-casualty weapons have been used until many people get sick at the same time in the same place. Doctors come to realize mass-casualty weapons were used because:
Many different people all have the same unusual symptoms
The people who created the attack announce it
Environmental changes (such as unusual smells or dying animals) offer clues and raise suspicions
How do doctors and first responders deal with mass-casualty weapon attacks?
Preparation is critical. Before any event, communities and hospitals:
Create a written disaster plan and do practice drills on how to respond so everyone knows what to do
Make sure there are ways to quickly bring in extra personnel, including police, paramedics, and doctors
Make sure there are plenty of medical supplies and protective equipment that can be easily accessed
Have arrangements in place with nearby hospitals and communities to provide help if needed
State and federal governments also have plans for helping communities respond to a mass-casualty weapon attack.
Right after an attack, emergency responders first check to see if the scene is still dangerous, such as with:
Attackers on the scene
Unexploded bombs
Dangerous chemicals, germs, or radioactive materials on the ground or in the air
Checking for continued threats lets responders know what protective gear and personnel are required to make it safe to look for and treat injured and sick people.
If contaminating substances were involved, first responders:
Estimate how big the danger zone is
Protect themselves from injury by staying out of contaminated areas unless they are wearing protective gear
Establish an area outside the danger zone for decontaminating people and another area for treating them
When it is safe to go to the injured people, first responders:
Do triage, which is quickly checking each injured or sick person to decide how soon they need medical care in order to prioritize resource utilization
Begin removing people who need immediate medical care
Tell people who can walk to go to the treatment area on their own
It's important for first responders doing triage to check everyone first and not just start treating the first person they see. Checking everyone makes sure that they find all the people with reversible life-threatening injuries who might be saved with immediate treatment.
If many people are seriously injured and near death, some who might be saved if they were the only injured person may have to be left until there's time to treat them so doctors can work on people who are more likely to live.
