Radiological weapon

A radiological weapon (or radiological dispersion device, RDD) is any weapon that is designed to spread radioactive contamination, either to kill, or to deny the use of an area(a modern version of salting the earth) and consists of a device (such as a nuclear or conventional explosive) which spreads radioactive material. They have recently been called "dirty bombs", although that term more correctly refers to a type of nuclear weapon.

Radiological weapons are widely considered to be militarily useless for a state-sponsored army and are not believed to have been deployed by any military forces. Firstly, the use of such a weapon is of no use to an occupying force, as the target area becomes uninhabitable. Furthermore, area-denial weapons are generally of limited use to an attacking army, as it slows the rate of advance. Finally, like biological weapons, radiological weapons can take days to act on the opposing force. They therefore not only fail in neutralizing the opposing force instantly, but they also allow time for massive retaliation.

Means of radiological warfarethat do not rely on any specific weapon, but rather on spreading radioactive contamination via a food chainor water table, seem to be more effective in some ways, but share many of the same problems as chemical warfare.

Iraqunder Saddam Husseinis reported to have tested a radiological weapon in 1987 for use against Iran. This weapon was found to be impractical because the radioactive isotopesin the weapon would decay quickly, rendering it useless within a week after the weapon was manufactured. Furthermore, it was found that for the radioactive material to spread, weather conditions had to be ideal. These problems are in general shared by all forms of air-borne radiological warfare.

Useless as they may be to an ordinary military force, the weapons have been suggested as a possible terror weapon in order to create panic in densely populated areas. They do not require materials used to make a nuclear weapon, and common materials such as caesium-137, used in radiological medical equipment, or Cobalt-60(both of which have been stolen from nuclear or medical storage in various incidents and are still described as missing) could be used. In fact even very mild sources would likely be enough to cause panic. Anything from dynamiteto compressed air could be used to create an aerosolof the material, or it could be dumped from the air using crop dusters.

There is currently (as of 2004) an ongoing debate about the damage that terrorists using such a weapon might inflict. Recently it has often been stated that such a bomb would be unlikely to harm more than a few people and hence it would be no more deadly than a conventional bomb. Hence, this line of argument goes, the objectively dominant effect would be the moral and economic damage due to the massive fear and panic such an incident would spur. On the other hand, however, the fatalities and injuries might be in fact much more severe. This point is, e.g., made by physicists Paul Zimmerman et al.(King's College London) who reexamined the Goiânia accidentwhich is arguably comparable. (Ref.: Nature Science Update of 5 May 2004)

History

History

The history of radioactive weaponry may be traced to a 1943 memo to Brigadier General Leslie Grovesof the Manhattan Project. Transmitting a report entitled, "Use of Radioactive Materials as a Military Weapon," the memo states:

Image:Groves memo 30oct43 p1.GIF

As a gas warfare instrument the material would ... be inhaled by personnel. The amount necessary to cause death to a person inhaling the material is extremely small. It has been estimated that one millionth of a gram accumulating in a person's body would be fatal. There are no known methods of treatment for such a casualty.... It cannot be detected by the senses; It can be distributed in a dust or smoke form so finely powdered that it will permeate a standard gas mask filter in quantities large enough to be extremely damaging....

Radioactive warfare can be used ... To make evacuated areas uninhabitable; To contaminate small critical areas such as rail-road yards and airports; As a radioactive poison gas to create casualties among troops; Against large cities, to promote panic, and create causalities among civilian populations.

Areas so contaminated by radioactive dusts and smokes, would be dangerous as long as a high enough concentration of material could be maintained.... they can be stirred up as a fine dust from the terrain by winds, movement of vehicles or troops, etc., and would remain a potential hazard for a long time.

These materials may also be so disposed as to be taken into the body by ingestion instead of inhalation. Reservoirs or wells would be contaminated or food poisoned with an effect similar to that resulting from inhalation of dust or smoke. Four days production could contaminate a million gallons of water to an extent that a quart drunk in one day would probably result in complete incapacitation or death in about a month's time.

See also

• Weapons of mass destruction
• Nuclear weapon
• Cobalt bomb
• Magnetic weapon
• Radioactive contamination

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiological+weapon Wikipedia article Radiological weapon.