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RE: 'Dirty Bomb' Was Major New Year's Worry
I agree with Sandy. It seems rather unlikely that a terrorist organization
could acquire a seriously large source without being detected (what are the
chances a food irradiator would fail to notice the source is gone?), without
killing or disabling themselves, and move it to the target location without
being rather conspicuous (especially moving across a major fraction of the
planet). Reducing the source strength enough to avoid these problems could
actually result in an event that demonstrates to the public how unimportant
small amounts of radioactivity really are.
However, all this talk of dirty bombs overlooks one fundamental concept.
Every terrorist attack in my lifetime has been designed to produce a body
count. To shift from this to a dirty bomb that harms a location and causes
disruption and economic consequences would indicate a complete change of
personality on the part of the terrorists. I have seen no evidence to
support this idea.
Bob Flood
NTS Dosimetry
-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy Perle [mailto:sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET]
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 1:17 PM
To: Kai Kaletsch; radsafe@list.Vanderbilt.Edu
Subject: Re: 'Dirty Bomb' Was Major New Year's Worry
On 8 Jan 2004 at 14:39, Kai Kaletsch wrote:
> If there is someone running around with a
> bunch of spent fuel or enough Pu to make an effective dirty bomb, then
> the public should know!
I heard an "expert" on TV last night state that food irradiators is
also a target to obtain a source that could be used to make a dirty
bomb. My thoughts on anyone using spent fuel, or other high dose rate
source, such as Co-60 or Cs-137 (high dose irradiator) is how they
are supposed to actually get to the source, shield it and then move
it as easily as the "experts" think they can?
I'll speculate that the primary use of a dirty bomb is to cause
significant emotional stress to a designated population. One doesn't
need a high dose source to do that. A simple nuclear medicine package
that spews "contamination" into a downtown area is all that is
needed. Just look at the fear the public already demonstrates, and,
this is all compounded by government "experts" who are simply
agitating the public with their sometimes ridiculous rhetoric!
------------------------------------
Sandy Perle
Vice President, Technical Operations
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
3300 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100 Extension 2306
Fax:(714) 668-3149
E-Mail: sperle@globaldosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.globaldosimetry.com/
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