Later that day both men were showing acute signs of radiation illness with vomiting and one of the men had a swollen hand and diarrhea. They brought it back to the home of one of the men to take it apart and sell as scrap metal. One example is the radiological accident occurring in Goiânia, Brazil, between September 1987 and March 1988: Two metal scavengers broke into an abandoned radiotherapy clinic and removed a teletherapy source capsule containing powdered caesium-137 with an activity of 50 TBq. See also: Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents The effects of uncontrolled radioactive contamination have been reported several times. Several analyses have predicted that radiological dispersal devices will neither sicken nor kill many people. With no prior event of a dirty bomb detonation, it is considered difficult to predict the impact. When dealing with the implications of a dirty bomb attack, there are two main areas to be addressed: (i) the civilian impact, not only dealing with immediate casualties and long term health issues, but also the psychological effect and then (ii) the economic impact. The following discussions on implications, effects and probability of an attack, as well as indications of terror groups planning such, are based mainly on statistics, qualified guessing and a few comparable scenarios.Įffect of a dirty bomb explosion

ĭespite the increased fear of a dirty bombing attack, it is hard to assess whether the actual risk of such an event has increased significantly. The same Chechen separatist group was suspected to be involved. The bomb was hidden near a railway line in the suburban area Argun, ten miles east of the Chechen capital of Grozny. In December 1998, a second attempt was announced by the Chechen Security Service, who discovered a container filled with radioactive materials attached to an explosive mine. A Chechen rebel leader alerted the media, the bomb was never activated, and the incident amounted to a mere publicity stunt. The first attempt of radiological terror was carried out in November 1995 by a group of Chechen separatists, who buried a caesium-137 source wrapped in explosives at the Izmaylovsky Park in Moscow. There have only ever been two cases of caesium-containing bombs, and neither was detonated. Department of Defense's definition, which is 'the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological objectives'. The meaning of terrorism used here, is described by the U.S.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the fear of terrorist groups using dirty bombs has increased immensely, which has been frequently reported in the media. Additionally, containment and decontamination of thousands of victims, as well as decontamination of the affected area might require considerable time and expense, rendering areas partly unusable and causing economic damage. For this reason dirty bombs are sometimes called 'weapons of mass disruption'. Its purpose would presumably be to create psychological, not physical, harm through ignorance, mass panic, and terror.

Since a dirty bomb is unlikely to cause many deaths by radiation exposure, many do not consider this to be a weapon of mass destruction. Recent analysis of the nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl disaster confirms this, showing that the effect on many people in the surrounding area, although not those in proximity, was almost negligible. A test explosion and subsequent calculations done by the United States Department of Energy found that assuming nothing is done to clean up the affected area and everyone stays in the affected area for one year, the radiation exposure would be 'fairly high' but not fatal.

At levels created from probable sources, not enough radiation would be present to cause severe illness or death. It is, however, not to be confused with a nuclear explosion, such as a fission bomb, which by releasing nuclear energy produces blast effects far in excess of what is achievable by the use of conventional explosives.Īlthough a radiological dispersal device is designed to disperse radioactive material over a large area, a bomb that uses conventional explosives and produces a blast wave would be far more lethal to people than the hazard posed by radioactive material that may be mixed with the explosive. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the dispersal agent/conventional explosion with radioactive material, serving primarily as an area denial device against civilians. A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives.

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