Nuclear devices, improvised

If, instead, the group must assemble an improvised nuclear device, the group will need fissile materials, machining equipment, a simple weapon design, and a few technicians with the skills to work the nuclear material, fit the explosives, and assemble the device. As a result, a terrorist group will be most interested in nuclear materials. Type III technicians, and possibly weapons designers. 

Improvised Nuclear Devices and Stolen Nuclear Weapons... 

Detonation of an improvised or stolen nnclear weapon by terrorists is the worst-case radiological attack scenario (5). Althongh difficnlt to construct, due to requirements for sophisticated engineering and expertise, an improvised nuclear device could produce a yield similar to the Hiroshima bomb, with release or radiation, blast, thermal pulses, and radioactive fallout (1). At a minimum, a small nuclear detonation could cause damage equal or exceeding the September 11 attacks in New York City. Even if the nuclear detonation were unsuccessful, the conventional explosion associated with the device could cause significant environmental contamination with the nuclear weapons material, such as plutonium or uranium (1). 

Certainly, the technical expertise to develop crude devices, including improvised nuclear devices, exists worldwide (4). Whereas terrorist attacks with SRDs and RDDs would cause a limited number of casualties, attacks with improvised or sophisticated nuclear weapons, if used in a populated area, have the potential for mass casualties and disruption. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has already directed hospitals to plan and prepare for a terrorist attack involving nuclear weapons, specifically asking them to (2) ... 

Nonradiation Hazards from Improvised Nuclear Devices and Nuclear Detonations... 

Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) and Radiologic Dispersal Device (RDD)... 

Improvised nuclear devices can be created, although it is not easy to obtain sufficient fissile material and it is technically difficult to ensure nuclear detonation. The device may fizzle or the conventional part may detonate, producing a burst of radiation but failing to initiate a nuclear detonation. Mortality is likely to be higher than with a dirty bomb. ... 

International Atomic Energy Agency Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Imperial Chemical Industries Israel Institute for Biological Research International Monitoring System Improvised Nuclear Device Information Circular Iraq Nuclear Verification Office Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (Sao Paulo, Brazil)... 

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