PART I. ORIENTATION TO CIVIL DEFENSE PLANNING IN THE FOOD 

 INDUSTRY 



EFFECTS OF ATTACK BY MODERN WEAPONS 



While fallout radiation from nuclear weapons is 

 considered to be by far the major threat, the range 

 and versatility of modern weaponry are greater than 

 at any time in history. Potential enemies have capa- 

 bility in biological and chemical weapons as well. 

 Should all-out war occur, these might be used against 

 this country in conjunction with a nuclear attack. 



In industrial defense planning, consideration should 

 be given to the full range of possibilities in an attack, 

 even though such consideration becomes increasingly 

 difficult as delivery systems grow more efficient and 

 penetrating year by year. The fact that such efficiency 

 does exist makes the planning steps outlined in this 

 Guide more urgent for the individual and collective 

 security of the American food industry. 



An all-out nuclear attack upon this Nation most 

 probably would be launched by intercontinental ballis- 

 tic missiles, long-range bombers, and possibly sub- 

 marine-based missiles. These direct attacks probably 

 would be combined with subversive or sabotage opera- 

 tions, the possible use of biological or chemical war- 

 fare agents and psychological warfare. 



Although the dangers of attack from biological or 

 chemical agents have increased substantially in recent 

 years because of the increasingly insidious types of 

 agents available, the means by which food plant man- 

 agers can protect their personnel and their products 

 remain standardized. 



The new dimension which has added an uncertain 

 and awesome element to the prospect of all-out war is 

 the threat of nuclear attack. The tremendous damage 

 created by nuclear weapons, plus the fact that scien- 

 tists still are learning about the weapons and their 

 effects, underscores the need for organized prepara- 

 tions to defend the Nation's jjeople and industries 

 against such an attack. An intelligent defense against 

 the threat of nuclear attack must be preceded by an 

 understanding of the threat. 



A nuclear explosion produces four tyjjes of destruc- 

 tive forces — blast, heat, initial radiation, and residual 

 radiation, generally called radioactive fallout. The 

 first three occur almost instantaneously at the moment 

 of explosion. While protective measures can reduce 

 the area of damage from these phenomena, little can be 

 done to avoid them at very close range. These initieJ 

 effects are devastating, but they are geographically 

 limited. The delayed effect, radioactive fallout, in an 

 all-out nuclear attack could blanket much larger areas 

 of the country. Thus, it poses a broader, longer last- 

 ing threat to the Nation as a whole. Fallout can be 

 just as deadly as the initial effects of the bomb, but 

 a variety of measures can be taken to protect the people 

 until the hazard has dissipated by the decline of radio- 

 activity with the passage of time. 



