Dirty Bombs

by Margaret Eden

"Experts claim a 30 percent to even a 50 percent likelihood of a dirty bomb in the USA, soon."

A nurse friend of mine called me sometime back and during our conversation she told me the hospital where she worked had enrolled all the nurses in a government sponsored hazardous material first aid class. She grouched about having to take the class saying, “The government is wasting its money and our time training us here. We'll never have to deal with anything like that in such a rural area. It's not like we're near a major metropolitan area.”

The truth is, we all need to worry about hazardous materials attacks and dirty bombs. The latter probably strikes the most fear into the hearts and minds of civilians. That's why we call it War on TERROR! We usually picture some Russian or Iranian mad scientist going nuts with hatred and creating a dirty bomb out of illegally obtained ingredients bought on the black market. The truth is likely a little closer to home. In 2003 a report issued by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, several types of radioactive materials with military, industrial, or medical applications could be used. “Hospitals all over the world stock radium, cesium isotopes, cobalt 60, and other radioactive materials for us in, say, cancer treatments,” says Richard Westfal, M.D., who's responsible for disaster preparedness for the six St. Vincent's medical facilities in New York City. “Are all of those radioactive materials secure?” he asks. “I think not.”

A dirty bomb explosion in a heavily populated like New York or London in the United Kingdom (left) would result in significant fear, chaos, perhaps death. Such areas may seem the most likely targets. However, rural areas are not immune from attack since many food and petroleum supply routes pass through these areas. Also, Medical staff in outlying areas may be called on to provide services or facilities if urban medical facilities are overtaxed. Everyone should have a documented and rehearsed plan for such an attack.

And it's not like we don't know some of this material could just walk out of the legitimate facilities where it's currently houses. Accounting Office found that “many” of the 2 million sources of radioactive materials in the United States are “poorly monitored.” In addition, between 1998 and 2002, there were 1,300 instances in which sealed radiation machines were stolen or lost. Some were recovered. Some were not. Current technology allows dirty bombs to range in size from that of a cell phone to a large freight truck. When you are talking about cell phone size, it's easy to understand why the government's concerned.

In the event of such an attack there may not be a lot we can do for the people in the immediate vicinity, but there's a lot we can do as civilians to protect our families or ourselves if we are on the outside perimeter of such an attack. Yes, it would be best every home came complete with a safe room, masks, food stocks and a decontamination chamber, and some day it may come to that. But if you don't currently have these things, there are still steps you can take to prolong your life in the event of a disaster. An explosion in a large metropolitan area may well lead to evacuation of injured civilians away from that area and into more rural hospitals and towns. This is the reason our government has determined that all hospitals, not just large metropolitan ones, should have trained personnel onsite in the event of such an attack. They have hope that a dirty bomb or chemical attack is survivable. So should you.

Nineteen years after the nuclear plant explosion in Chernobyl civilians exposed to the low-grade, long-term effects of radiation demonstrate some surprising factors. They didn't all die as expected. People who were outdoors when the explosion happened but not in the immediate vicinity of the blast, experienced varying degrees of exposure much of it survivable provided some simple and appropriate precautions were taken.

For example, 19 years later we know that those who were bareheaded developed cancer on their heads. But individuals wearing hats or who threw blanks over their heads to avoid the fallout did not. Individuals that were able to remove their clothes and shower and discard their clothing experienced fewer side effects than those who remained near the blast area for long periods of time in contaminated clothing. If they managed to cover their face to avoid inhaling the dust, this also helped. There are schools of thought that if you don't have a mask specifically designed to eliminate microscopic particles that it does no good. However, using anything in your environment is always better than doing nothing. A wet handkerchief provides a barrier to dust inhalation.

The most significant problem civilians experienced with the low grade, long-term radiation was a significant increase in aggressive thyroid cancer, especially in children under 5 years of age at the time of the explosion. Sadly, treating exposed individuals with potassium iodide could have prevented this.

Energy produced by nuclear explosions is measured in rads. The normal atmosphere gives off about 0.2 rads per year. A smoker who inhales the smoke from 2 packs of cigarettes a day receives about 12 rads a year. Hiroshima victims within 1.25 miles of the blast experienced 2,000 rads. At 1,500 rads, bone marrow stops working. You develop infections and septic shock. You bruise and bleed internally. The results are seizure coma and death.

Anything you can do to reduce your exposure to rads is advised. Putting stone walls, bricks, steel, dense wood, even earth between you and the blast will reduce your exposure. Clothing, newspaper, blankets also help. Food that's exposed to radiation when ingested will cause cancer in the digestive tract. Air that contains radiated particles will cause cancer in the lungs. If you suspect canned food has been exposed, it's better to open it from the bottom rather than the top of the can—less rad exposure. Avoid breathing dust particles that may be contaminated whenever possible. If you've been in a location where your clothing has been exposed, remove the clothing and dispose of it in plastic bags, shower and put on fresh clothing that has not been exposed at the earliest opportunity. All these things will reduce your exposure.

These are small things, but as a collection of appropriate steps they may significantly lower your exposure and prolong your life.

For more read:

Nova: Prepare for Dirty Bombs Click Here

Military Advice and Steps Click Here

US Government Regulatory Commission Click Here

NBC Film Report Click Here