WASHINGTON TIMES PENTAGON REPORTER Bill Gertz reported last week that U.S. officials believe Osama bin Laden may possess raw radioactive material, the source material for a radiological weapon, a so-called “dirty nuke.” A 1999 Air Command and Staff College report by Major Scott Nichelson and Major Darren Medlin describes such radiological weapons as a “credible threat” to the United States, predicting that “a radiological terrorist attack will probably occur in the near future.” Yet with all eyes on anthrax, few are paying attention to this high-impact, low-tech threat.
Dirty nukes disperse invisible yet potentially lethal radiation over a general area. Instead of mass destruction, radiological weapons bombard their targets with subatomic particles. Depending on the amount and rate of exposure, the symptoms of radiation sickness can range from internal bleeding, headaches, and extreme nausea to almost instantaneous death. For those fortunate enough to survive such an attack, the immediate effects last anywhere from 24 hours to three weeks–“the worst conceivable hangover,” as one Marine specialist puts it–while in the long term, victims are haunted years later by increased rates of cancer and birth defects.
