'Dirty Bomb' Terrorist attack a growing risk by AFP / UN News 10:19am 3rd Jun, 2004   June 3, 2004. (ABC News)    Gloomy experts believe it is only a question of time before terrorists use a "dirty bomb", New Scientist magazine says. It is a device that would spew radioactive debris over a city, making parts of it uninhabitable for years.    International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) records point to "a dramatic rise" in the smuggling of radiological substances, the raw material for this bomb, the British science weekly says in next Saturday's issue. "In 1996, there were just eight of these incidents, but last year there were 51," the report says. "Most cases are believed to have occurred in Russia and elsewhere in Europe. "Smugglers target the radioactive materials used in factories, hospitals and research laboratories, which are not guarded as securely as those used by the nuclear industry."    A "dirty bomb" is not a nuclear bomb. It would use conventional explosive to disgorge radioactive material over a wide area, unleashing panic and making the area unusable.    Since 1993, there have been 300 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking in radiological materials, 215 of them in the past five years. According to the IAEA documents, the true figure may be far higher. There have been 344 further suspected cases of trafficking over the past 11 years that have not been confirmed by any of the 75 states that monitor this activity. The agency adds that there are still 1,000 radioactive sources that are unaccounted for in Iraq. Of 25 sources stolen from the Krakatau steel company in Indonesia in October 2000, only three have been recovered.    A terrorist attack of this kind is "a nightmare waiting to happen," Frank Barnaby, a nuclear consultant and former British nuclear military scientist, was quoted by New Scientist as saying. "I'm amazed that it hasn't happened already."    Last year, Eliza Manningham-Buller, director-general of the British counter-intelligence agency MI5, said a crude radiological attack against a major western city was "only a matter of time," the report said.    2 June 2004    UN nuclear watchdog draws attention to possible terrorist scenarios (UN News)    Highlighting the battle to prevent nuclear weaponry from falling into the hands of terrorists, the United Nations atomic watchdog agency is drawing attention to the role it can play in reinforcing national efforts to detect smuggling of nuclear material and equipment that could be used in crude explosive devices and so-called dirty bombs.    In a paper titled "Promoting Nuclear Security: Possible Terrorist Scenarios," the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gives top priority to the theft of a nuclear weapon which, while highly unlikely, "represents the most serious threat with potentially devastating consequences." Responsibility for preventing theft rests with the states that possess nuclear weapons.    Another theft scenario involves terrorists acquiring sufficient quantities of plutonium or high-enriched uranium to construct a crude nuclear explosive device. "Although sophisticated equipment and expertise is required to manufacture and detonate a nuclear device, the possibility cannot be discounted," the IAEA says.    Terrorists could also obtain radioactive substances, primarily sealed radioactive sources widely used for medical purposes or in industry or stored as waste, and disperse the radioactivity. "One dramatic way would be if a sealed radioactive source was used to spike conventional explosives, in what is commonly referred to as a 'dirty bomb,'" the Agency notes.    Such a device "would certainly cause panic and economic damage, in addition to exposing the target population to radiation, the result of which would have both immediate and long-term effects."    Finally, terrorists could target any facility using nuclear or radioactive materials, be it nuclear power plants, fuel cycle facilities, research reactors, hospitals or industries, causing immediate dispersal of radioactivity, exposing the population to radiation and damaging both property and the environment.    The IAEA is working to promote nuclear security measures considered essential to forestalling these threats. Steps include the physical protection of nuclear materials and related facilities as well as the control of lost or "orphaned" radioactive material. In addition, the Agency is helping countries to detect any black-market activity through border patrols, training of customs officials, and the maintenance of a database on illicit trafficking. Visit the related web page
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