

The term ‘Mass Destruction Weapons’ encompasses any intentionally negative event caused by biological, chemical and nuclear agents. A more specific definition could be: all those harmful agents which cause death or injury to people in a non-conventional way and which damage, often irreversibly, the environment. There are similarities between non-conventional biological, chemical and nuclear agents and the spreading of pandemics. CBRN agents cause a psychological effect, such as fear and anxiety. The psychological impact gets a maximum after a terrorist attack or after the use the use of non-conventional weapons. For instance, the public opinion felt such sense of anxiety after the terrorist attack in the Japanese subway with the nerve agent, sarin, or in other occasions. Chemical toxic agents may have biological effects too and their dispersion in air could cause pandemic effects when they are in high concentration. The poor knowledge about Mass Destruction Weapons on population produces panic and a deep psychological impact. The defence actions against this kind of pandemics are prevention and education: prevention means informing population and organizing a national task force for rapid intervention and countermeasures; education means the organization of a proper information at School and in Academia about mass destruction weapons, their negative effects and the defence from them, with obligatory courses.