Russia claims that Ukraine is preparing to use the so-called dirty bomb, but the claim has been rejected as baseless. The head of nuclear weapons research, Marion Messmer, tells what type of weapon a dirty bomb is.
Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to detonate a dirty bomb on its own soil.
A dirty bomb is a bomb loaded with conventional explosives, which, when it explodes, spreads radioactive substances into the environment in the form of dust and smoke.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigun the claims made on Sunday have been rejected in Ukraine and in Western countries as completely unfounded.
Russia has not provided any evidence for its claim. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it will send observers to two Ukrainian nuclear facilities, where Russia claims Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb.
Unreliable as weapons
A dirty bomb does not end up being used on the front, but is directed to urban use, where a large number of people can be exposed to its radiation.
Researcher and head of nuclear weapons research at Chatham House, an international policy research institute Marion Messmer tells in a telephone interview that the number of people exposed to a bomb depends on many factors, such as the quantity and quality of radioactive material and the strength of the wind.
– A dirty bomb is effective in spreading fear and pollution among the population.
A dirty bomb would probably only kill people in the immediate area of the explosion. However, its radioactive fallout can cause serious diseases, such as cancer.
A large area around the explosion would have to be evacuated for cleanup, or it would have to be abandoned entirely.
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), an organization founded by nuclear weapons developers, is According to the BBC (you will switch to another service) calculated that if a bomb containing 9 grams of radioactive material and five kilograms of explosive TNT exploded at the tip of Manhattan in New York, it would make the entire city area uninhabitable for decades.
Dirty bombs are known as weapons of mass destruction, but as weapons they are very unreliable.
In order for a dirty bomb’s radioactive material, such as uranium, to spread through its target area, it would have to be in powder form. If its particles are too fine, they spread widely and do not cause much harm.
Marion Messmer considers the widespread use of dirty bombs unlikely.
– Today, radioactive substances are kept very securely guarded, and therefore the possibility of their possession is very low.
Explosives and radioactive material may be traded on the black market. To make a dirty bomb, you don’t need highly refined materials intended for building a nuclear bomb.
Instead, a dirty bomb can use radioactive materials obtained from hospitals, nuclear power plants or research laboratories, making them much cheaper and faster to manufacture than nuclear weapons. Dirty bombs can also be used transport, for example, in the tailgate of a car (you switch to another service).
No successful attacks
So far, no successful attack has been carried out with a dirty bomb anywhere in the world. However, there have been a few companies.
For example, in 1996 Chechen rebels took a bomb containing dynamite and radioactive cesium-137 to Izmailovo Park in Moscow. Cesium had been extracted from cancer treatment devices. Security services found the bomb and it was defused.
In 1998, Chechen intelligence found and destroyed a dirty bomb planted near a railroad in Chechnya.
In 2002 in Chicago, an American citizen Jose Padillawho had links to the terrorist network al-Qaeda, was arrested on suspicion of planning a dirty bomb.
Messmer believes that Russia is saying that Ukraine is preparing a dirty bomb to give itself an excuse to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.
According to Messmer, Russia tests with its misleading campaigns how Western countries react and respond to them.
– Russia’s claims make its actions seem justified.
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