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U.S. Labs Set Safe Distance from “Dirty Bomb” Blast
An analysis by U.S. scientists has concluded that emergency response personnel should move people at least 550 yards away from the site of a radiological “dirty bomb” blast, the Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, March 23). Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico for more than two decades have been using sealed chambers to test the dispersal range of radioactive material following detonation of a device combining those materials with conventional explosives. They combined their data with assessments of the necessary response to an attack for an article in the April issue of Health Physics. Frederick Harper of Sandia and Stephen Musolino of Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York found that police and firefighters might not possess advanced radiation detectors or have sufficient time to determine the spread of radioactive material. Instead of attempting to determine the direction in which the radiation is spreading, the researchers recommended evacuating an area of 550 yards in all directions around the detonation site. They came to the figure using material likely to be used in a dirty bomb, such as radiation sources used in hospitals or a stolen NASA plutonium power supply. The researchers recommended businesses near the blast site turn off ventilation systems and that individuals place a dry handkerchief over their mouths in order to reduce exposure (John Fleck, Albuquerque Journal, April 12).
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