Re: Dirty Bombs: Response to a Threat

[John Andrews <andrewsjp@chartertn.net>]

Interesting article.  It assumes that the Cs-137 source would be 

destroyed by the explosion.  I probably would survive and just be 

another piece of (intense radioactive) junk around the explosion site.  

Similar reasoning applies to the Co-60 source, but here there may be 

more dispersion of surface material.



The major loss will be the contaminated surroundings that are still 

functional and not damaged and not potentially harmful but now 

contaminated.  These surrounding lose all value until they are 

decontaminated.  No one will buy them.  People will live in the houses 

but never  be able to sell and move.  For many their lives are destroyed 

by this realization.  It can be personally devistating, believe me, I 

have seen it happen (New Jersey!)



By the way, if there is major contamination, the practical solution is 

to wash as much into the sewers as possible (assuming ocean disposal) 

and the paint the rest to fix it in place.  (Knoxville seweage after 

treatment goes into the Tennessee River!)



Merry Christmas to all.



John Andrews

Knoxville, Tennessee



Gerry Blackwood wrote:



>Again this is an excellent brief on RDDs from the

>Federation Of American Scientists. It  shows the

>complexities of such an event. Unfortunately in action

>by Congress has not changed the current picture at all. 

>

>Gerry Blackwood Ph.D

>PS: My apologies for any typo's in my previous posts. 

>

>Dirty Bombs: Response to a Threat

>

>Henry Kelly testified before the Senate Foreign

>Relations Committee on March 6, 2002 on the threat of

>radiological attack by terrorist groups. This excerpt

>is taken from the text of his written testimony, based

>on analysis by Michael Levi, Robert Nelson, and Jaime

>Yassif, which can be found by clicking here. 

>

>Surely there is no more unsettling task than

>considering how to defend our nation against

>individuals and groups seeking to advance their aims by

>killing and injuring innocent people. But recent events

>make it necessary to take almost inconceivably evil

>acts seriously. Our analysis of this threat has reached

>three principle conclusions: 

>

>http://www.fas.org/faspir/2002/v55n2/dirtybomb.htm

>

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>





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