What is dirty bomb

 In this article we will discuss the currently buzzing word i.e. “Dirty Bomb”.

Why the Dirty Bomb is in talks?

Recently, a buzzing word on the internet is creating sensation and it is about “Dirty Bomb”. Well, because, recently Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning the use of a “dirty bomb”. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu held a telephonic conversation with the UK’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, and informed him that he was “concerned about possible provocations by Kyiv involving the use of a dirty bomb”. In fact, the Russian high officials are reaching out to every major country of the world and informing them about Kyiv’s dirty bomb plan. On 26 Oct, he made a similar conversation with his Indian and Chinese counterparts. Indian counterpart told Shoigu that nuclear war should be avoided at all costs as the use of such weapons is against the basic tenets of humanity.

What is a Dirty Bomb?

The dirty bomb made headlines across world media and in fact, by using these words Russia is trying to warn the west that it is not bluffing anyone and that it can use tactical nuclear weapons in retaliation to Kyiv’s dirty bomb plan. Also, Russia is accusing Kyiv of a dirty bomb and claimed to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that using a dirty bomb would be considered an act of nuclear terrorism.

Well, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a dirty bomb is a mix of explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive powder or pellets. When the dynamite or other explosives are set off, the blast carries radioactive material into the surrounding area.

In making a dirty bomb, the makers use radioactive materials with conventional explosives, hence it carries the potential to injure masses and because of radiation, it can make the place inhabitable for some time. People near the explosion sight, if not died in an explosion, could be ill because of contracting radiation. The illness would include such as cancer.

One point here must be noted that dirty bombs are not nuclear bombs, although they carry radioactive material in explosions and can spread radiation near to blast zone. It can not be termed a nuclear bomb because a nuclear bomb involves the splitting of atoms and a huge release of energy that produces an atomic mushroom cloud. A dirty bomb can not produce huge energy and works completely differently from a nuclear bomb. Moreover, it doesn’t create a radiation cloud as in the case of a nuclear bomb. Instead, it scatters the radioactive material over a radius spanning a few hundred meters.

History of dirty bomb

There is no recorded use of dirty bombs. They have, so far, been tested only. There has not yet been a successful dirty-bomb attack anywhere in the world. However, there have been attempts In 1996, rebels from Chechnya planned a bomb containing dynamite and caesium-137 in Moscow’s Izmailovo Park, as per the reports from BBC.

Effects of an attack of dirty bomb

Because it is not a nuclear bomb, its impact is as might conventional bomb can pose. An attack of dirty bomb could have these main effects:

• injury or damage due to the conventional explosive element of the dirty bomb,
• injury due to contaminated dust inhalation,
• injury or disruption due to contaminated deposited material,
• injury and disruption due to contaminated food and water supplies and,
• It could create panic among public.

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