Radiation Threat

A radiation threat, commonly referred to as a "dirty bomb" or "radiological dispersion device (RDD) , is the use of common explosives to spread radioactive materials over a targeted area. It is not a nuclear blast. The force of the explosion and radioactive contamination will be more localized. While the blast will be immediately obvious, the presence of radiation will not be clearly defined until trained personnel with specialized equipment are on the scene. As with any radiation, you want to try to limit exposure. 

Use available information to assess the situation. If there is a significant radiation threat, health care authorities may or may not advise you to take potassium iodide. Potassium iodide is the substance added to your table salt to make it iodized. It r ay or may not protect your thyroid gland, which is particularly vulnerable, from... 

Radiation threats brought by the Radiation need to be feared. .. but it must command your... 

Radiation Dosimetry. Radioactive materials cause damage to tissue by the deposition of energy via their radioactive emissions. Thus, when they are internally deposited, all emissions are important. When external, only those emissions that are capable of penetrating the outer layer of skin pose an exposure threat. The biological effects of radiation exposure and dose are generally credited to the formation of free radicals in tissue as a result of the ionization produced (17). 

C22-0024. Although X-ray exposures pose little threat to patients, medical technicians must be careful to avoid exposure to the beam. Suppose that an X-ray machine is leaking radiation that exposes the technician to 1% of the dose received by a patient. After how many exposures would the technician begin to show reduced numbers of white blood cells If the technician administers 40 X-ray studies daily and works 250 days per year, would this damage show up ... 

Fallen in the hands of criminals, which as a rule have a very remote notion on the danger of ionizing radiation, radioactive sources become a serious threat for the life and health of the terrorists themselves, as well as of casual persons. And the attempt to extract the ampoule with the radioactive source from its protection block is equal to expose oneself to radiation. Besides, in the event of destruction of the ampoule containing radioactive material, radioactive contamination of a large territory can occur. Such an incident happened already in Taromskoe suburb of Dnepropetrovsk. 

This chapter summarizes the various types of radiation and warfare agents that emergency responders and the public may encounter as a result of a terrorist attack. It also discusses recent black market activities, to emphasize the real threat of terrorist actions involving radiological weapons. While the chemical and biological warfare agents presented in Sections 2.2 and 2.3 are the most likely to be encountered, new agents are continuously developed. 

Nuclear fuel and associated waste products also include plutonium and enriched uranium (<20% U-235) and associated waste or fission products that emit intense radiation and can pose significant threats if dispersed with conventional explosives (i.e., by a dirty bomb). Industrial sources include a range of devices used in geological investigation and radiography, and may also pose significant hazards if dispersed by a dirty bomb. Examples of radioactive materials that could be used in a dirty bomb include ... 

The final column presents the radius of 50% mortality from fallout 1 hour after the explosion. Of all of the threats described, fallout is the hardest to predict because of the influence of local, regional, or even global weather patterns. The mushroom cloud can rise into the atmosphere as far as 80,000 feet, where wind and rain influence the time and location for fallout to occur.2 Individuals several miles from ground zero and well outside any radius presented in Table 5.1 can receive significant or even lethal radiation doses from fallout. However, while the air blast, thermal burns, and initial radiation are threats in all directions, fallout is a threat downwind from ground zero. Wind speed and direction vary at different altitudes, and it is safest to assume that fallout is a potential threat in all directions from ground zero. Individuals outside the blast zone generally will have several minutes to an hour or more to seek shelter before fallout arrives. 

The five primary threats from a nuclear explosion are the destructive power of the nuclear explosion, the intense initial heat, the initial radiation, the air blast, and fallout. Almost nothing can be done to avoid the explosive power of a nuclear blast, but an individual can take some steps to avoid exposure to the remaining factors. 

Radioactive substances (radionuclides) are known health hazards that emit energetic waves and/or particles that can cause both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health effects. Radionuclides pose unique threats to source water supplies and chemical processing, storage, or distribution systems because radiation emitted from radionuclides in chemical or industrial waste systems can affect individuals through several pathways by direct contact with, ingestion or inhalation of, or external exposure to, the contaminated waste stream. While radiation can occur naturally in some cases due to the decay of some minerals, intentional and nonintentional releases of... 

Threats to chemical facilities from radioactive contamination could involve two major scenarios. First, the facility or its assets could be contaminated, preventing workers from accessing and operating the facility/assets. Second, the feed water supply could be contaminated. These two scenarios require different threat reduction strategies. The first scenario requires that facilities monitor for radioactive substances as they are brought on-site the second requires that feed water assets be monitored for radioactive contamination. While the effects of radioactive contamination are basically the same under both threat types, each of these threats requires different types of radiation monitoring and different types of equipment. 

No doubt the greatest environmental threat to the skin is not chemical, but is rather a physical agent, sunlight most skin cancers are caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. 

Radioactivity is a form of energy emitted by radioactive elements (radioisotopes or radionuclides). Radionuclides can present a health threat to humans and marine organisms because of the ionizing ability of the emitted radiation. The major pathway by which marine organisms and humans are exposed to radionuclides comes from consumption of fish and shellfish due to bioaccumulation of °Po and °Pb. Most of the °Po and Pb in the ocean is natural, but, human activities have increased their inputs to the coastal ocean. 

Figure 26 shows the spectra from four explosive samples and as well as nonthreat materials. These spectra exhibit strong peaks slightly below 59 and 69 keV, which are unrelated to coherent scatter. These peaks arise from incoherent (Compton) scatter of fluorescent radiation at 59 and 69keV, which is produced from tungsten anodes. Scatter off water shows no apparent CXRS peaks. The four explosive samples clearly show characteristics peaks, which differentiate them from the non-threat materials and from each other. HeuristicaUy, the location and relative amplitudes of these peaks provide an effective means for detecting explosives. 

The problem is that nuclear wastes contain radioactive isotopes that release life-threatening ionizing radiation that may pose a threat to humans and the environment for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years. This radiation can cause carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic effects in small amounts and can result in radiation sickness and death in larger amounts. 

Finally, data threats related to environmental conditions have generated a great deal of pubhcity (though in reality are probably very minor). Laboratories located on radon spurs or in or adjacent to nuclear facdities need to be concerned about magnetic and other radiation that may corrupt stored data. An inspection and data reconstruction test generally provides sufficient control proof. 

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