Dirty Bomb
A dirty bomb is a conventional explosive that is used to disperse radioactive material.
Think about it for a minute. One of the largest bombs ever set off in the United States was the Oklahoma City bomb. It failed to collapse its target, and did lesser damage to other buildings. As a bomb it was ok, not the greatest, but it served its purpose.
If Timmie had radioactive materials there, too, what would have happened?
Radioactive materials hurt you in two ways. Radiation and poisoning. Most of the materials available for a dirty bomb give off the type of radiation that is only injurous if you ingest it. Alpha particles, blocked by your unbroken skin. Don’t inhale it or swallow it or get it in a cut. Other materials give off beta particles, and that takes a bit more thickness to block. Building walls will block most of that, but, again, you don’t want to ingest it. There is little chance of a dirty bomb have materials that emit gamma rays. That’s the high energy end of radiological materials, and the biggest radioactive danger.
OK, so BOOM! Alpha emitting materials spread around by the bomb. The limit of the effect at first is the distance that the bomb and shock wave blows the dust. Then the limit becomes wind speed and direction, and who tracks it with them as they leave the scene of the blast. The entire time, mind you, the concentration is decreasing as the volume of space increases. A mile, two miles? At best, a reasonably short radius, with constraints based upon wind speed and direction, other buildings and natural features. And what would happen to you if you ingest this stuff? An increased risk of cancer. I can’t quantify it, because that’s not my field, but your chances are probably higher if you live with a smoker. Danger from radioactivity is based upon exposure time, quantity, and type. Most people outside the actual blast radius of a dirty bomb should be fairly safe from the radioactive nature of the blast, especially if you make sure that you use a mask that can keep small dust particles out, and don’t eat or drink anything that hasn’t been rinsed off thoroughly, including yourself.
Radioacitve materials are also poisonous. Some are very poisonous. Plutonium will probably kill you faster as a poison than it ever will as a radioactive substance. Some of these radioactive materials are extremely poisonous. So, ingestion is the issue. With all poisons, the quantity ingested affects your risk. Wear a mask, don’t eat or drink anthing that hasn’t been washed. And wash yourself frequently.
All this applies ONLY if you are in the immediate vicinity of a dirty bomb explosion. A dirty bomb on Wall Street in NYC will have no effect on people in the Bronx or Yonkers, or, most likely Brooklyn or Newark. It’s not that big a danger and the risk is manageable. If you don’t get blown up, you’re probably OK.
