NCJ Number
195389
Journal
Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor Dated: May 2002 Pages: 3-5
Editor(s)
Stephen Ulph
Date Published
May 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the nature of radiological weapons devices and the threat of their development and use.
Abstract
In a nuclear bomb, atoms of uranium or plutonium undergo a nuclear chain reaction when two sub-critical masses are suddenly brought together to produce a massive explosion. A radiological weapon, on the other hand, is simply a bomb of conventional explosive -- ideally, Semtex for easy handling -- wrapped in spent nuclear fuel from a reactor or radioactive material used in medicine, such as cobalt 60. Spent nuclear fuel contains extremely hot, but relatively short-lived, fission products (fragments of uranium and other fissile elements) as well as long-lived radionuclides such as plutonium. A substantial radiological dispersal device (RDD), upon detonation, would blow up a few buildings and spew radioactive particles into the environment. There is potential for mass panic, with increases in cancer rates in the long term. Fashioning such a weapon is not without problems. Spent fuel from a nuclear reactor would prove lethal to anyone handling it. Pakistan's stockpile of weapon-grade uranium is relatively small but enough to make tens of nuclear weapons. Pakistan was also a likely source of information and expertise due to the Taliban's close relationship with elements of Pakistan's armed forces. Although al-Qaida has been weakened by the war against terrorism, the possibility of a group developing and using a primitive nuclear or radiological weapon in the future cannot be ruled out.