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Dirty bomb threat:
One of 13 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in a terror attack is in custody. The FBI
reports that Mei Xia Dong is being interrogated about involvement in a possible terrorist
plot aimed at Boston. |
| Airport and transit
authorities boosted security, added patrols, activated radiation detectors, and posted
pictures of suspects. |
| Charles Ferguson,
science and technology fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said that
several radioactive compounds form oxide compounds that could be used in dirty bombs.
Plutonium and americium oxides in certain quantities would be dangerous to human health;
uranium oxide would be less dangerous. He continued, "They vary in
potency... If it was plutonium, we could have a problem on our hands." |
| A dirty bomb is not a
nuclear bomb as envisioned and feared during the Cold War years. Today's dirty nuclear
bombs are radiological dispersion devices; they are relatively easy to build since they
consist of any of several conventional explosive materials packed with several forms and
types of radioactive materials. When a dirty bomb is exploded, it
can disperse radioactive material widely. Dispersion increases as breezes and winds carry
radioactive dust farther from ground zero. A dose of energy in the form of radiation, such
as X-rays emitted by radioactive dust, can induce cancer. |
| Dispersal
of radioactive material and radiation from the bomb is not necessarily intended to kill
people immediately. It would likely cause massive public panic and severely disrupt the
economy and living conditions in and around the contaminated area. The amount of
contamination would depend on the size of the explosive, amount and type of radioactive
material and weather conditions. Radioactive dust will settle on people, buildings, and
roads. Winds and air circulation systems in buildings will spread the radioactive dust
more. Rain will wash the radioactivity into soil, sewer systems and rivers. Work,
education, and progress would cease, normal lifestyles would change into survival mode,
fear of unknown ramifications would be long-lived, and psychological and economic damage
would be ongoing. |
| David Albright,
president of the Institute for Science and International Security, claims "There is a
10 to 40 percent chance that terrorists will conduct a successful attack with a crude
‘dirty bomb’ in the next five to 10 years." |
| The December 26,
2004, tsunami would seem like a brief rain shower compared to the potential effects of a
dirty bomb in an industrialized nation. No one would have time or the inclination to
continue rampaging and fighting the culture wars so prevalent in America today. |
| The War Against
Terrorism must be fought now on our enemies' territories in order to minimize this threat
and enlighten those who will otherwise grow up believing terrorism is noble, justified and
their only way to achieve. |
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