Radiological dispersion devices RDDs

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... 

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

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. 

DEPLETED URANIUM (DU). Uranium that is depleted of the specific isotope uranium-235. DU has a smaller percentage of uranium-235 than is found in naturally occurring uranium. It is used for military purposes because it is very dense, can be machined at relatively low cost, and is available as a by-product of producing nuclear fuel aud nuclear weapons. However, because it is low in uranium-235, it cannot be used as a fuel source for a nuclear weapon and has little or no radioactivity, making it unusable as a source in a radiological dispersal device (RDD). 

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