|
|
Dirty Bomb
|
|
|
|
Program Overview
|
|
|
In this program, NOVA explores the potential impact of "dirty
bombs." When detonated, a dirty bomb's radioactive core spreads out
on the wind, distributing potentially dangerous fallout for
miles—contaminating buildings, land, water, cars, skin, and
clothing with invisible particles—causing destruction and
disruption. The program tackles such questions as: How easy is it to
make a dirty bomb and how does it differ from a conventional nuclear
bomb? How dangerous is the fallout from a dirty bomb? What are the
long-term effects of a dirty bomb? And how can lives be saved if one
explodes?
Unlike a nuclear bomb, which can destroy an entire city, a dirty
bomb does most of its work psychologically. Simple to make, the
device is comprised of nothing more than conventional explosives
wrapped around some unrefined radioactive material, such as
strontium, cobalt, or cesium—all obtainable from thousands of
poorly regulated sources.
To test the consequences of a projected attack, the program
dramatizes two scenarios based on sophisticated models developed by
a team of radiation experts. One of these scenarios looks at the
consequences of a dirty bomb detonation in the Washington, D.C.,
subway system, and the other at a detonation's aftermath in
Trafalgar Square, London.
|
|
