RE: Al-Qaida may have nuclear weapons

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@AECL.CA>]

Yup! I keep forgetting about that radiological effect of an ANFO Bomb. 

<end quote>



Amusing line Gerry !

...seriously though, a one-kiloton fission explosion yields about 56 grams (

= 2 oz.) of fission products.

About half of these decay away within a few minutes (ie. before being

deposited as fallout, downwind). 

After that, "the radioactivity of the debris produced in a nuclear explosion

diminishes by a factor of about 20 from the first hour to the end of the

first day" (Eisenbud & Gesell, 1997).

This is still enough to cause a significant dose, but only in close

proximity to the blast -- where you'd be dead from the force of the

explosion & flying debris anyway.

For example, an LD50 fallout dose would be expected within an area of about

a hundred yards from the detonation point. 

Half a mile away, the dose would be essentially zero, except in a narrow

cucumber-shaped area, where a dose on the order of a couple hundred rads

could be received, if one really wanted to stay put & get the maximum

possible. 

That kind of dose might increase your risk of dying of cancer from the

typical average of ~23% to ~25%.



That being the case, I would worry much more about 50 kilotons of ANFO on a

ship in the downtown harbour, than the science-fiction of a 0.5 kiloton

"suitcase bomb."



Jaro



http://www.cns-snc.ca/branches/quebec/quebec.html



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