Assessing the Threat of Terrorists’ Use in Their Warfare of Radiological Exposure Devices (REDs) and Dirty Bombs

By Dr. Joshua Sinai

It is possible for terrorists to employ weaponized radiological exposure devices (REDs) and dirty bombs in their warfare to inflict mass casualties, physical destruction, and significant economic consequences against their adversaries. Although such radiological weapons may not inflict the catastrophic fatalities of a nuclear explosion, and they are known as “weapons of mass disruption,” their casualty rate is still sufficiently high if dispersed or exploded in a densely populated urban area, and it will cause long-term mass evacuations of their inhabitants and businesses. The exposure to radioactive material in the contaminated areas will result in illnesses such as cancer, as well as long-term psychological trauma to the affected populations

An example of a worst case, although it was not a terrorism-related incident, was the nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the No. 4 nuclear reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat in the north of Ukraine, at the time part of the Soviet Union. This accidental release of radioactive material was accompanied by a large-scale fire. It was finally contained on May 4, 1986. A 6.2 mile radius was affected, with 49,000 people evacuated, which later grew to an exclusion zone of a 19 mile radius, with a further 68,000 people evacuated. Two of the reactor’s operating staff were killed, 134 firemen and station staff were hospitalized with acute radiation syndrome, with a f...