Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V. Reading Assignment. Unit Lesson. UNIT V STUDY GUIDE Nuclear and Radiological Hazards

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1 UNIT V STUDY GUIDE Nuclear and Radiological Hazards Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 3. Explain the technology, types, effects, fabrication, development, and use of nuclear, biological, chemical, and agricultural weapons. 3.1 Explain the technology, effects, fabrication, development and use of a nuclear/radiological WMD. 4. Assess how terrorism, genetic engineering, biological warfare, and cyberterrorism may affect future prospects. 4.1 Discuss how terrorism and the use of a nuclear/radiological WMD may affect future prospects through cyberattacks or a weapon of genocide. 5. Analyze terrorist threats, suspects, and counterterrorism operations concerning WMD, and compare and contrast past events. 5.1 Examine how terrorist threats, suspects, and counterterrorism operations may affect the use of a nuclear/radiological WMD. Reading Assignment Chapter 5: Nuclear and Radiological Hazards, pp Unit Lesson What are Nuclear/Radiological Weapons? Nuclear/radiological materials: Radioactive elements can emit the following four types of radiation: Alpha particles o not able to penetrate skin, gear, or clothing o harmful when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed into the body o travel a short distance through the air (Pichtel, 2011) Beta particles o can penetrate germinal layer of the human skin o harmful when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed into the body o clothing and protective gear protect against most o travel a few meters in the air (Pichtel, 2011) Gamma and X-Rays o able to penetrate human skin and tissue for many centimeters o electromagnetic radiation that penetrates radiation such as radio waves, visible light, and ultraviolet light o penetrates most materials; protective gear prevents skin contamination but does not shield against radiation o accompanies the emission of alpha and beta radiation o travels many meters in air (Pichtel, 2011) Neutrons o high-speed nuclear particles o a penetration radiation o can make objects radioactive (unlike alpha, beta, gamma, and x-ray) HLS 3301, Weapons of Mass Destruction 1

2 o travel great distances in air UNIT x STUDY GUIDE o require thick hydrogen-containing materials to shield and block against Title radiation (Pichtel, 2011). Types of Nuclear Reactions Fission (atomic bomb) o Hahn and Strassman identified elements from uranium (i.e., radium). Hahn, Strassman, and Lise Meitner continued to isolate the radium and barium from the uranium. During the experiment, they realized that the uranium had fissioned, or broken into separate pieces, rather than forming a heavier element during the experiment. o Niels Bohr shared the information with the United States at the fifth Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics and predicted the possibility of a chain reaction by fission with Uranium. Uranium was very rare, and the experiments caused Germany to halt exports of uranium. o Experimenting with fission began in Germany and in America by Enrico Fermi. Enrico Fermi set out to understand the basic fission properties. He built the first nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago in a squash court under the football stadium (Pichtel, 2011). Fusion (hydrogen bomb) o This is four times more powerful than fission. o It generates 24 times more neutrons. o Edward Teller and Stanislaw Ulan worked with Oppenheimer to create a hydrogen bomb. o The first hydrogen bomb was named Mike and was detonated at Eniwetok Atoll on October 31, 1952, at 10.4 megatons (Pichtel, 2011). Nuclear weapon devices: Nuclear weapons are typically derived from nuclear fission, splitting the nucleus of an atom into two or more parts by bombarding it with neutrons, causing a chain reaction. The following are types of nuclear weapon devices: Gun-type: The gun-type uses highly enriched uranium (HEU) as a fissile material. Implosion: Implosion devices use plutonium for fissile material. Fusion boosted fission weapons: Boosted weapons are implosion devices that introduce fusion materials like deuterium and tritium gas. Thermonuclear weapons (hydrogen bombs): Thermonuclear bombs yield explosions in the megaton range (Pichtel, 2011). Destructive effects of nuclear detonations are seen in the following categories: Blast damage: Increased pressures cause mechanical shock and destruction. Thermal damage: Generation of a heat wave causes incineration. Radiation damage: This causes short-term and long-term radiation sickness effects: thermal and ionizing. Electromagnetic pulse (EMP): This causes a breakdown of electronics and communication equipment (Pichtel, 2011). There are multiple types of radiological weapons: Radiological dispersion device (RDD): This uses any possible means to disperse radioactive material. Types of dispersion include o conventional explosives placed near radiological source, o aerial sprayers, o aerosol sprayers, and o compiling radiological material into a bomb and detonating (so-called dirty bomb). high risk RDD isotopes o alpha and gamma emitters Americium 241 (433 year half-life): used in smoke detectors, research devices, medical devices, and chemical detection equipment (M-90 chemical agent detector) Californium 252 (2.7 year half-life): used in explosive detection devices at airports Plutonium 238 (88 year half-life): used to power satellites and pacemakers Plutonium 239 (24,000 year half-life): used in nuclear weapons (Pichtel, 2011; Radiation Emergency Medical Management [REMM], n.d.) o gamma and beta emitters HLS 3301, Weapons of Mass Destruction 2

3 Cobalt 60 (5.3 year half-life): used for radiotherapy and irradiating UNIT bacteria x STUDY in GUIDE food products Cesium 137 (30 year half-life): used in medical devices for cancer Title treatment and in monitors that look for oil Iridium 192 (74 day half-life): used to treat prostate cancer (Pichtel, 2011; REMM, n.d.). o beta emitter Strontium 90 (29 year half-life): used for medical research, providing electricity for places like lighthouses and weather stations (Pichtel, 2011; REMM, n.d.). o alpha emitter Radium 226 (1600 year half-life): used in paint for aircraft gauges, cancer treatment, and glow in the dark clocks/items (Pichtel, 2011; REMM, n.d.) o determining what makes an isotope most hazardous What type of radiation is produced? How much energy is produced? What is the half-life? How much radioactive material is available? What is the shape, size, and movability of the material? How easily is the material dispersed (Pichtel, 2011)? Radiation emission device (RED): This is the concept of using radioactive materials to emit radiation. This is not a bomb. Types of emission include o placing an unshielded, highly radioactive source, like Cesium 137, somewhere to target people; and o using Radiation as a poison (Pichtel, 2011). There are various ways to measure radiation: Curies (Ci) and becquerels: These measure activity (source of radiation) as a number of disintegrations per second. Rads and grays: These measure radiation energy absorbed by material in joules per kilogram Sieverts or rems: These measure dose equivalents. These are used for protection factors and consider the effect of radiation on tissue (Pichtel, 2011). Exposure is categorized in the following four types: acute: exposure to any dose of radiation over a short amount of time; chronic: exposure to a low dose over an extended period; internal: exposure through the cuts to the skin, eyes, inhalation, ingestion, or injection; external: exposure to the outer body surface (Pichtel, 2011). Exposure may produce the following symptoms: nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, increased temperature, body changes (such as hair loss), bleeding gums, convulsions, cellular mutations, and cancer (Pichtel, 2011). Medical Impacts of a Radiological Attack A radiological attack would have a large number of casualties. The initial RDD explosion would create immediate harm to the blast area. Additionally, persons in the immediate areas would also be subjected to high-levels of ionizing radiation. RED are covert, and generally people do not know they are exposed until the onset of the symptoms. HLS 3301, Weapons of Mass Destruction 3

4 Deterministic effects have specific symptoms proportional to the amount of radiation UNIT x over STUDY a period GUIDE of limited time (instant to days). The symptomology includes loss of organs, nausea and Title vomiting, burns, hair loss, and death. Stochastic effects have symptoms that occur unpredictably over time from lower-dose radiation sources: longterm effects unknown; dependent on type of radiation, possible cancer; and other disorders and defects (Pichtel, 2011). Best protection against radiation is time, distance, and shielding: Time: Limit your time in the area. Distance: Stay as far away from the area as possible. Shielding: Have as much shielding (e.g., protective gear, lead, concrete wall, water) as possible. Radiological Events Goiânia, Brazil (cesium 137 incident): Individuals in the community found a discarded x-ray machine with cesium 137. The exposure killed four people, made hundreds sick, and made the community members at a higher risk for cancer Moscow s Izmaylovsky Park (cesium 137 incident): Chechens buried a dirty bomb with cesium in the park. 3. On October 14, 2001, Israel arrested a man linked to al-qaeda who was trying to enter the country with a radiological bomb hidden in his backpack. 4. In November 2002, the director of Russia's nuclear regulatory agency, Yuri Vishnyevsky, announced that small amounts a few grams here and there of weapons-grade and reactor-grade uranium was missing from his country's atomic facilities. 5. A Pakistani nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, was involved in illicit trafficking of nuclear materials, information, and equipment from Pakistan to various countries (e.g., Iran, North Korea) in January 2004 (Pichtel, 2011). Radiological Detection There are four main types of radiation detection equipment: Personal radiation detectors: This is a small, pager-like device for a wearer to detect the presence of radiation by displaying a measurement of the radiation dose rate. These are typically used for gamma radiation and neutron radiation, and the cost is between $600 and $1,200. Dosimeters: These accurately measure accumulated radiation doses of gamma, alpha, beta, and neutron radiation. Electronic dosimeters are slower than personal radiation detectors since they typically only measure gamma radiation. The cost is between $200 and $500, and there are a few types: o single film badges, o quartz fiber dosimeter, o thermo-luminescent dosimeter, and o electronic pagers. Identifiers: These are instruments that read different radiation emission energies to determine the unique signature of the radioisotope. They are used to identify unknown radioactive or contaminated radiation sources and are larger than personal detectors and dosimeters. The cost is $10,000 or more. Survey meters: These measure radiation levels using the same sensors as dosimeters. They use probes to measure different radiation types: gamma, neutron, alpha, beta, and x-rays. The cost is between $1,000 and $20,000 (RAE Systems, n.d.). Summary of Radiological Materials There are over 440 commercial-grade nuclear plants in over 31 countries. Radiological material is accessible in many different places: plants, industry, hospitals, research, and can even be found in clocks and compasses. It is impossible to have strong security for all these locations. Radiological materials can be HLS 3301, Weapons of Mass Destruction 4

5 purchased via the Internet, like in the case of James Cummings. Treatment, symptoms, UNIT x STUDY and prevention GUIDE vary based on the lethality and potential of the radioisotope (World Nuclear Association, Title n.d.). References Pichtel, J. (2011). Terrorism and WMDs: Awareness and response. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM). (n.d.). Managing internal contamination: Isotopes of interest: Properties, treatment, and fact sheets. Retrieved from RAE Systems. (n.d.). Radiation detection: Selecting the right equipment for the job: Radiation is an unseen threat in many settings. Retrieved from World Nuclear Association. (n.d.). Cooperation in nuclear power. Retrieved from Suggested Reading The following article focuses on the global threat reduction initiative. You are encouraged to view this information. In order to access the resource below, you must first log into the mycsu Student Portal and access the Criminal Justice database within the CSU Online Library. Warren, B. (2013). Increasing security without increasing costs: Radiological source material and the global threat reduction initiative program. Security, 50(4), 40, 42, 44. Learning Activities (Non-Graded) Would it be possible for nondescript ships such as freighters or cruise vessels to be retrofitted with nuclear missiles? Could such vessels enter the U.S. territorial waters and launch such missiles before being detected by U.S. defensive systems? Write a one-page synopsis. Non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information. HLS 3301, Weapons of Mass Destruction 5