Radiation Based Terrorist Attack Scenarios

Dirty bomb in the city

This is a bomb that constitutes of ordinary explosives combined with substances that are radioactive which normally come in powder form. The radioactive material will be stolen from places like nuclear fuel pools. The explosion of this bomb will result in the spread of the radioactive material and exposing the people around the area. Terrorist use this type of bomb to scare away people by polluting the environment with radioactive material. Unlike the nuclear bomb, this bomb does not have any nuclear yielding so does not have any catastrophic results. This type of bomb has never been used before. Skin poisoning or internal poisoning as a result of ingestion or inhalation of the radioactive material. The most likely risk of this bomb will be the blast itself. It is difficult to assess the effect on health of the bomb as the radioactive source will not be known for each bomb. Research has shown that these bombs have little radioactive effects to cause significant damage. Security measures used to guard against such weapons include the use of a dirty bomb detector. This system uses a detector that picks gamma radiation that is more than background radiation and also identifies the isotope involved. They can be placed on entry points of various places that can be vulnerable.

Sabotage of Nuclear Plant

Nuclear plants can be targeted by terrorists. In situations of sabotage, the main aim is to cripple the function of the plant through destruction of the plant through killing of the personnel working there to score a certain point. The attacks can be carried out through the use of vehicle bombs that will be detonated either close to the reactors or at the spent reactor fuel pools. Such explosions can lead to emission of radiation or even a meltdown. A cyber attack can also be launched whereby hackers get into the network system of the plant and trigger functions that may result in radioactive accidents and meltdowns. These acts can have very serious effects that can include the death of people from radiation and destruction of the ecosystem around the plant. Evacuation of people for some years from this area and no food coming from this environment should be consumed. The effects of exposure to radiation may also result in genetic damage leading to births of disabled children. There is also loss of important electrical energy when the plant is damaged or shut down. Nuclear power plants have developed surveillance system that are always monitoring the premises for any intrusion and shutdown that prevents flow of certain chemicals.