Radiologic Dispersal Devices

Once the basics of nuclear chemistry have been covered, we can move on to explore a major threat in the area of nuclear terrorism the radiological dispersion device, or dirty bomb. Although any radioisotope could theoretically be incorporated into a dirty bomb, the U.S. government has identified nine isotopes that are most likely to be used in such a device (Table 4.1 ).4... 

Anderson, P. (2002) Radiological Dispersal Devices The Dirty Bomb Challenge. Washington, DC Center for Strategic and International Studies. Angier, N. (2008) The Canon. New York Houghton Mifflin. 

Medical Response to Radiological Dispersion Device (Dirty Bomb)... 

A radiological dispersal device (RDD) explodes, contaminating 10 square miles with radioactive cobalt (Co-60). The highest measured radiation level is about 10 meters from the site of the explosion and it reads about 150 mrem/hr. The average radiation dose through the affected area is 5 mrem/hr, and about 500,000 people live and work in this area. The device itself consisted of 1,000 pounds of explosive, set off near City Hall. 

Radiological dispersal device (RDD), also known as a dirty bomb. These bombs use a conventional explosive to disperse radioactive material... 

Fortunately, skin or wound contamination rarely presents a life-threatening risk to either patients or health care personnel (5). The best possible scenario is decontamination in the field before transport however, following an attack with a radiologic dispersion device (ROD), patients suffering trauma will most likely present to emergency departments before undergoing external contamination. 

Sohier, A., and Hardeman, F. (2005). Radiological Dispersion Devices Are we prepared (NKS Conference on Radioactive Contamination in Urban Areas, May 7-9, 2003, Riso, Roskilde, Denmark), J. Envir. Radioact. (In press.)... 

Radiological dispersal devices (RDDs) Explosive devices that disseminate radioactive materials upon detonation, colloquially known as dirty bombs. ... 

A dirty bomb, or radiological dispersion device, is a bomb that combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive materials in the form of powder or pellets. The idea behind a dirty bomb is to blast radioactive material into the area around the explosion. This could possibly cause buildings and people to be exposed to radioactive materia . The main purpose of a dirty bomb is to frighten people and make buildings or land unusable for a long period of time. 

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. 

Weapons-grade nuclear materials are usually kept in safe custody by all nations. Special nuclear materials (SNMs), which are fissionable radionuclides, are of special interest to the nations concerned. The advent of radiological dispersion devices (RDD), however, changed the entire scenario. An RDD is a weapon that might be deliberately employed by terrorist rmits to disturb the harmony in a corrrmrmity. The dirty bomb is an example of an RDD. The concept of a dirty bomb involves the packaging of explosives with radioactive material. The intention is to disperse the radioactive material when the bomb detorrates. However, an RDD can also be employed to distribute the radioactive material in... 

Argonne National Laboratory Environmental Science Division. 2005. Radiological Dispersion Device (RDD). Available from ht /Avww.evs.anl.gov/pub/doc/rdd.pdf [accessed 14 July 2011]. 

What is more practical, therefore more probable, for a terrorist attack is the use of a radiological dispersion device (RDD), which can either deploy a long-lived radioactive isotope to contaminate a wide area or release a biologically active isotope and affect those exposed more rapidly. Such devices would likely use high explosives to disperse the radioactive material into the atmosphere, causing contamination of a large area. These are referred to as dirty bombs (Figure 5.6). 

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

Source Packer, A.P., et al. (2007) Validation of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for the determination of cerium, strontium, and titanium in ceramic materials used in radiological dispersal devices (RDDs). Analytica Chimica Acta, 588(2), 166-172. 

IT-MS Ion trap mass spectrometry RDD Radiological dispersion device... 

Sohier, A. and Hardeman, F. (2006). Radiological dispersion devices Are we prepared J. Environ. Radioact. 85, 171-181. 

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