Dirty Bombs?

So far we have been fortunate that no act of terrorism has included any nuclear material. We know from successful interdictions that al Qaida and other terrorist organizations have been trying for years to get their hands on nuclear materials – but so far they have either failed, or have not figured out to use it. It seems very encouraging that our counter-terrorism efforts have been so successful in this regard.

But this report from Canada is alarming – 76 devices containing nuclear materials (all of which are usable in a terrorist device) have gone missing, and 35 of those were stolen:

Radioactive devices -- some of which have the potential to be used in terrorist attacks -- have gone missing in alarming numbers in Canada over the past five years.

A new database compiled by The Canadian Press shows that the devices, which are used in everything from medical research to measuring oil wells, are becoming a favoured target of thieves.

At least 76 have gone missing in Canada over the past five years -- disappearing from construction sites, specialized tool boxes, and generally growing legs and walking away.

Some of the devices could be used in a "dirty bomb," where conventional explosives are used to detonate nuclear material, spreading the contamination over a wide area, said Alan Bell, a security and international terrorism expert from Globe Risk Security Holdings.

As I understand it, the major risk we face from terrorists is not a nuclear weapon, but rather a “dirty bomb” – conventional explosives used to scatter some radioactive material (like that found in the missing Canadian devices) around a large area. This radioactive material would find its way into people exposed to the dust and smoke from the explosion, causing many kinds of illnesses and injuries, some of which would kill. The area covered by the radioactivity could be quite large, and the area where the explosion occurs could be very dense with people – and therefore the number of people injured, sickened, or killed by such a weapon could be very large. Most of the symptoms would manifest over extended periods of time, and you can be sure there would be massive media coverage of the agonies of the afflicted.

In other words, a dirty bomb is a terrorist's dream weapon.

After reading this report, I'm feeling much less confident that the world will remain free of such a horror...