Sometimes I REALLY wonder about the people I work with… sigh…
Anyhoo, what got the soapbox back out is the, to me, unbelievable fact that many people do not know what a dirty bomb is!
For starters, it is NOT a suitcase nuke (nutcase maybe, but NOT suitcase)!
Technically they are called radiological dispersal devices (RDDs), and they are a ‘terror’ weapon only as long as people mis-interpret what they really are.
The RDDs are designed to panic a city, not destroy it. Imagine somewhere like LA or Chicago or NYC, if you panic people like the last event did, everything shuts down, police, fire and emergency go to max flap mode and all other services pretty much go in the toilet. All three of those cities have a pretty large criminal population, so looting, and worse would also occur adding to the problems.
Note: MSM has NOT been real good about true definitions, as that would decrease their if it bleeds it leads mentality and ratings.
In truth, an RDD is nothing more that a standard explosive (e.g. bomb) with commonly available radioactive materials (e.g. radioisotopes from medical facilities, and what ever else can be stolen). Not to say it can’t contain serious radioactive material, but that stuff is pretty closely watched.
If an RDD does explode, you will not see the ‘standard’ mushroom cloud, you will not see hundreds/thousands die immediately from the blast and heat wave (remember, standard explosives). The ‘dirty’ isotopes will only be spread as far as the immediate blast debris radius, and some very limited ‘fallout’ of the ‘dirty’ isotopes will occur downwind of the blast site (called the hot zone). Deaths will be limited to the immediate blast zone only, with some chance of XX years downstream some lung cancer from breathing the isotopes from the hot zone. These deaths will be in the 10’s-100’s if people remain calm.
The important thing to remember is DO NOT PANIC- the average uneducated Joe/Jill is going to jump in their car and try to beat feet out of the area in a max panic, inducing gridlock, who knows how many fatalities, etc.
You best bet is to remain in your home/office under cover until the incident is over and the winds have blown the ‘dirty’ isotopes clear of your area (always helps to know which way the wind blows from your office and home).
Read and learn! The more educated you are about the threats, the more reasoned your and your families responses will be and the better chance of surviving without any injuries…
For more info- National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events CREATE ; Domestic Nuclear Detection Office DNDO
Kicking soapbox back in the corner… Now back to the regular BS…
sigh…
