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Nuclear and radiological terrorism.
The potential forms of nuclear and radiological terrorism include Detonation of nuclear weapon;
Radiological terrorism (suitcase); and Sabotage of nuclear facilities (also radiological)
Nuclear explosive most feared because: Ability to cause enormous instantaneous devastation;
Persistent effects of radiation they emit
Energy of nuclear explosion in three forms: Blast; Thermal radiation; and Nuclear radiation
Lets look at the dynamics of a nuclear blast. Winds have a positive phase and a negative
phase.; During the positive phase, winds travel outward from the point of detonation. ; As
the fireball rises, a slight vacuum is created. ; This will cause the winds to reverse and
blow back toward the detonation.; The velocities of this reverse wind are mild compared to
the positive phase.; The reversal of the winds will keep debris in the air longer and possibly
cause more damage.
Radiological weapons or 'dirty bombs'. These are Conventional explosive (dynamite)
packaged with radioactive material; Not possible to dispose of radiological agents; only time
can totally eliminate the hazard; Not clear if terrorists could handle and detonate high-grade
radioactive material without fatally injuring themselves
"the morning after...a nuclear weapon has been used, the rules of warfare throughout
the world will be profoundly transformed. Democracy cannot survive if a nuclear bomb
is detonated in Paris or Manhattan." Fred Ikle, quoted by Siegried Hecker, Los Alamos
National Laboratory. "The most urgent unmet national security threat to the U.S. today
is the danger that weapons of mass destruction or weapons-usable material in Russia could
be stolen and sold to terrorists or hostile nation states and used against American troops
abroad and citizens at home. Howard Baker and Lloyd Cutler, January 2001