Transcript Dirty Bombs” - University of Central Oklahoma

“Dirty Bombs”
Biology 1114
1
What is a Dirty Bomb?
 An
Explosive designed to spread
Radioactive material
 Also known as Radiological Dispersal
Device (RDD)
 Combines a conventional explosive
with radioactive material
 Example: Dynamite
2
Dirty Bomb
 Usually
Built if unable to create a
Nuclear Bomb
 Cruder and Cheaper than a Nuclear
Bomb
 Doesn’t have same explosive
damage.
3
Dirty Bomb Materials
 Many
types of Radioactive material
could be used.
 Plutonium
 Uranium
 Nuclear Fuel
 Strontium 90
 Cesium 137
4
Other Materials
 Also
Medical Supplies
 Radium
 Only takes a Measuring Cup’s Worth
 Wouldn’t cause severe damage in a
wide area
5
Impact of a Dirty Bomb
6
Impact of a Dirty Bomb (cont’d)
 Nothing
like a nuclear weapon
 “Weapon of Mass Disruption”…not
“Destruction”
 Act of explosion has a more instant
effect than the radioactive material
 Most do not have enough radioactive
material to kill or cause severe
illness
7
Impact (cont’d)
 Certain
radioactive materials could
contaminate several city blocks
 Requires a costly cleanup
 Installs fear and panic (!!!!!)
8
Factors of impact
 Size
of the explosive
 Amount of radioactive material
 Type of radioactive material
 Material used
 Condition of the weather
9
Sources of Rad. material
Radioactive materials are used in:
 Hospitals
 Research facilities
 Industrial & construction sites
10
Controlling the source
 Control
measures have been
tightened since 9/11
11
Risks of Exposure
 Risks
of receiving cancer is small
 Exposure to the radioactive source is
for a short period of time
12
What to do afterwards….
 GET
AWAY FROM THE AREA!!!
 Get inside
 Remove clothing…for testing
purposes
 Take a shower (dust n’ dirt
containing rad. material)
(all of these steps will reduce rad.
Exposure)
13
History of Use
14
History (cont’d)
 1995:
rebels from Chechnya
planted…but did not detonate a dirty
bomb; took place in Moscow
 Man
in London pleaded guilty with
the intent to kill innocent people by
the means of a Dirty Bomb
(target: underground car parks)
15
Works Cited
 United
States Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
 Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc.
16