FILM'S FOCUS: FAMILY SAFETY ISRAELI PRODUCTION NOW AVAILABLE HERE.

Byline: Daily News

VALENCIA - A Valencia company will release ``Protect Your Family,'' a new film that teaches ways to deal with the threat of biological and chemical terrorist attacks on the home front.

Tapeworm Video Distributors will release the film on home video and DVD the film this month nationwide, said Connie Figgins, company president.

Originally produced for the Israeli market, the 41-minute film is the work of a team of experts in physiology, neurophysiology, dermatology, technology and military biochemical warfare.

``After 9-11, a lot of our American friends used to call us to ask us to send them equipment and how to use it in the event of a biochemical terrorist attack,'' said Yoram Ben Yeir, one of the film's producers. ``They panicked and didn't understand that panic would not help them at all. We know that people are afraid of something that they don't know about, so we decided to make this film available in the United States. We believe that knowledge is power.

``The film teaches how to buy any necessary equipment without spending a lot of money and how to use it. It also shows how you can use basic home products to protect yourself,'' said Ben Yeir, a lecturer at Hebrew University and a reserve captain with the Israeli Defense Forces.

The work is a practical guide for families and employers to create awareness of potential dangers, Figgins said.

The film deals with various forms of biological weapons such as bacteria (anthrax), viruses (cholera, smallpox) and chemical weapons such as Agent Orange, mustard gas and nerve and blood agents. It explains how such agents could be distributed in an attack.

The film also illustrates symptoms, discusses antibiotics and how to treat any exposure; what precautions can be taken against attack at home or at work, including protecting pets; and different steps that can be taken as preventive measures.

Key members of the team behind the film are Dr. Ezra Nuriel of the Weizmann Institute in Israel; Ethan Rubinstein, a professor of internal medicine at Tel Aviv University and head of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel; and Boaz Ziniman, former commander of the Biological and Chemical Officers Instruction Division at the Officers School of the Homeland Command in Israel.

The film, which retails for $19.95, will be available at retail outlets. More information about the film can be obtained on Tapeworm's Web site, www.tapeworm.com.