DIRTY BOMBSDefending Our Cities Against a New Kind of Threat
Dean Haslip works with a group of defence scientists studying the effects of a potential threat that the world has yet to encounter. Dirty bombs or Radiological Dispersal Devices, RDD's as they are called, are unlike conventional bombs that are designed to destroy buildings and people through the explosion. RDDs are weapons of terror that rely on the radioactive contamination that they disperse.
DRDC's main interest in RDDs is to assist DND preparations for the eventuality of Canadian Forces facing this kind of threat during peace-keeping or other activities. Knowledge of RDDs and how to respond to them could be equally important for civil defence as RDDs are a potential terrorist weapon.
Haslip observed that, "With the end of the Cold War, the threat of nuclear war is much lower, or at least much different. However, the possibility that Canadian Forces could be attacked by Radiological Dispersal Devices or Dirty Bombs is one of the new possibilities that we've been considering. The radioactive source could be a medical source, an industrial source, or spent radioactive fuel. It could be dispersed explosively or otherwise. The attackers would be trying to contaminate people and equipment. It turns out that the same kinds of threats can be used against a civilian population. The civilian population wouldn't be as prepared. It could be an economic weapon as well. Buildings could become unusable or need to be demolished. Radiological contamination is quite difficult to extract. Decontamination is very expensive and time consuming, and may not even be able to meet the standards that are specified by organizations such as the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission."
”We use computer codes to predict how the radioactivity spreads and to determine the ramifications for people in the affected area. Due to the increased threat of terrorism this past year we are using the codes more often in predicting the consequence of radioactive dispersal to civilian personnel and infrastructure."
Other work that Haslip's group does is applicable to consequence management. They develop new techniques for radiation detection, evaluate techniques for decontamination, and perform field measurements and sample analysis in support of deployed forces.
They have also been contributing to the civil defence effort by supporting presentations made by Canada's Office for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness OCIPEP in delivering radiological terrorism awareness sessions to groups of civil first responders including firemen, police and emergency medical staff.
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