![]() ![]() ![]() Later that day both men were showing acute signs of radiation illness with vomiting and one of the men had a swollen hand and diarrhea. They brought it back to the home of one of the men to take it apart and sell as scrap metal. One example is the radiological accident occurring in Goiânia, Brazil, between September 1987 and March 1988: Two metal scavengers broke into an abandoned radiotherapy clinic and removed a teletherapy source capsule containing powdered caesium-137 with an activity of 50 TBq. The effects of uncontrolled radioactive contamination have been reported several times. See also: Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents and Goiânia accident Resulting fission chain reaction causes bomb to explode with tremendous force: nuclear detonation.Neutrons from either modulated neutron initiator or external neutron generator start chain reaction in compressed pit ![]() Initial explosion produces imploding shock wave that compresses pit inward, creating supercritical mass by increasing the density of fissile material.Sphere of fissile material ( pit) surrounded by explosive lenses.Caused by an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction with highly enriched uranium or weapons-grade plutonium.Detonation vaporizes or aerosolizes radioactive material and propels it into the air.Explosives combined with radioactive materials.Differences between dirty bombs and fission bombs Dirty bomb Several analyses have predicted that radiological dispersal devices will neither sicken nor kill many people. With no prior event of a dirty bomb detonation, it is considered difficult to predict the impact. When dealing with the implications of a dirty bomb attack, there are two main areas to be addressed: the civilian impact, not only dealing with immediate casualties and long term health issues, but also the psychological effect, and the economic impact. Dirty bombs might be used to create mass panic as a weapon of terror.Įffect of a dirty bomb explosion The containment and decontamination of victims, as well as decontamination of the affected area require considerable time and expenses, rendering areas partly unusable and causing economic damage. They act through the effects of radioactive contamination on the environment and related health effects of radiation poisoning in the affected populations. They are designed to disperse radioactive material over a certain area. ĭirty bombs have never been used, only tested. Unlike the cloud of radiation from a typical fission bomb, a dirty bomb’s radiation can be dispersed only within a few hundred meters or a few miles of the explosion. It is not to be confused with a nuclear explosion, such as a fission bomb, which produces blast effects far in excess of what is achievable by the use of conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the dispersal agent/conventional explosion with radioactive material, serving primarily as an area denial device against civilians. ![]() A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. ![]()
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