June 11, 2002. Copyright 2002. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Mass panic main danger of Òdirty bombÓ

LONDON, June 11, Graphic News: A Òdirty bombÓ -- in which radioactive material is dispersed via conventional explosives -- would probably cause more panic than mass destruction, but the economic fallout could be enormous, experts said on Tuesday

A dirty bomb would not create a city-flattening explosion akin to the explosions that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but would rather be aimed at spreading toxic waste over a fairly large area. But even people close to the blast would be unlikely to get a dangerous dose of radiation, they said.

Richard Meserve, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the biggest impact would be psychological and economic and that was why the public needed to be educated about the risks. ÒThe terroristÕs greatest weapon is fear,Ó said Meserve.

In testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in March, Federation of American Scientists President Henry Kelly said casualties from radiological attacks would be minimal in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of deaths that could be caused by crude nuclear weapons.

The danger is that the broad range of radioactive materials used in medicine, agriculture, industry and research -- from food-sterilizing and medical instruments to diagnostic X-rays and self-illuminating exit signs -- could be obtained by a terrorist group.

ÒAttacks could contaminate large urban areas with radiation levels that exceed (Environmental Protection Agency) health and toxic material guidelines,Ó Kelly told the committee. Much depends on the type of bomb and the radioactive material it contains, as well as weather conditions, Kelly said. Some materials are more likely to cause cancer than others and some persist longer.

ÒIf decontamination could not reduce the danger of cancer death to about one in 10,000, the EPA would recommend the contaminated area be eventually abandoned,Ó Kelly said.

Last February Òa lost medical gauge containing the radioactive element cesium was discovered in North Carolina. Imagine that the cesium in this device was exploded in Washington D.C., in a bomb using ten pounds of TNT,Ó he said.

ÒThe initial passing of the radioactive cloud would be relatively harmless, and no one would have to evacuate immediately. However, residents of an area of about five city blocks, if they remained, would have a one in 1,000 chance of getting cancer,Ó Kelly said. If the area could not be decontaminated, it would have to be abandoned for decades.
/ENDS

Source: Federation of American Scientists, Associated Press, Reuters