Citation

Carpintero-Santamaría N. Behav. Sci. Terrorism Polit. Aggres. 2012; 4(2): 99-109.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/19434472.2010.512156

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials is a particularly relevant concern if we take into account the potential threat of terrorist groups using these materials to make radiological dispersion devices (RDDs). RDDs, commonly known as "dirty bombs", combine conventional chemical explosives and radioactive materials. The main purpose of a dirty bomb is to generate panic and chaos among the population. This type of turmoil ensues from the detonation of a dirty bomb because of the traumatic psychological effects following the detonation and the significant financial ramifications involved in decontaminating the affected areas (from 1 million to 300 million per km2). To understand this threat more thoroughly, it is important to note that, since the 1990s, hundreds of incidents of nuclear trafficking, such as theft, smuggling and orphan sources have been officially reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The threat posed by inadequate control of radioactive materials has strengthened international cooperation in order to implement interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration to keep nuclear and radioactive materials safe and to thus reduce the danger of dirty bombs and other types of weapons falling into the hands of terrorists.