Item 26 - Adoption of the City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan

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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan Part I Basic Plan and freedoms in an irrevocable way - such as police enforcement actions, judicial rulings, or other government decisions or policies - SCEs can resort to violence. The US Department of Homeland Security defines militia extremists as groups or individuals who facilitate or engage in acts of violence directed at federal, state, or local government officials or infrastructure in response to their belief that the government deliberately is stripping Americans of their freedoms and is attempting to establish a totalitarian regime. These individuals consequently oppose many federal and state authorities' laws and regulations (particularly those related to firearms ownership), and often belong to armed paramilitary groups. They often conduct paramilitary training designed to violently resist perceived government oppression or to violently overthrow the US Government. Groups with Neo-Nazi or white supremacist ideologies have surged in membership and activity in recent years. Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVEs) use their belief in the superiority of the white race to justify use of violence against other races, ethnicities, religions or sexual orientations. Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorists commonly attempt to accomplish their aims by creating a mass casualty event using WMD or CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or Explosive) devices or agents. Title 18 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) defines WMD/CBRNE weapons as: • Any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, including the following: a bomb; grenade; rocket having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than four ounces; missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one -quarter ounce; mine; or device similar to any of the previously described devices; • Any weapon that is designed or intend to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors; • Any weapon involving a disease organism; and • Any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life. Chemical agents are intended to kill, seriously injure, or incapacitate people through destruction of human tissue or disruption of bodily functions. Chemical agents can be manufactured as military weapons or can be improvised from common industrial or household products. The onset of symptoms that result from chemical weapons can range from immediate to 18 hours following exposure. There are five categories of chemical weapons: • Blister agents cause blisters, burns, and other tissue damage. Exposure may be made through liquid or vapor contact with any exposed skin, or by inhalation or ingestion. The effects of blister agents may be similar to those experienced with riot -control agents like "tear" gas but do not clear upon movement into fresh air. In fact, the effects of most blister agents increase with time and may not reach their full impact for 12 to 18 hours. Blister agents include several families of chemicals, including mustard and lewisite, which were used during the chemical warfare attacks during World War I and burned the skin and lungs of exposed persons. • Blood agents are absorbed into the bloodstream and deprive blood cells of oxygen. Exposure may be made through liquid or vapor contact with any exposed skin, or by inhalation or ingestion. Blood agents include two main families of chemicals, including hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride. Those who are affected by blood agents may appear "bluish" across the nose and cheeks and around the mouth. As the symptoms of blood agents progress, the survivor will convulse and lose consciousness. • Choking agents attack the lungs. Following exposure through inhalation, the lungs fill with fluid, which prevents oxygen from being absorbed by, and carbon dioxide from being removed from, the blood. Death results from lack of oxygen and is similar to drowning. Two common examples of choking agents are phosgene and chlorine gas, also frequently used during World War 1. • Nerve agents affect the central nervous system. These agents act most quickly and are the most lethal of all chemical agents, acting within seconds of exposure. Victims of nerve agents experience constricted pupils, runny nose, shortness of breath, convulsions, and cessation of breathing. Sarin is an example of a nerve agent. In 1995, Aum Shinrikyo, a doomsday religious cult, released Sarin gas into the Tokyo, Japan subway system 53