What is Dirty Bomb?
The term ‘dirty bomb’ refers to explosive devices that disperse radioactive material, such as Uranium, or Plutonium, after being triggered when the conventional explosives detonate.
It is different from nuclear bombs as it doesn’t need highly refined radioactive material.
It can be made using radioactive materials from hospitals, nuclear power stations, and even research laboratories. They can be transported quite easily as well.
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 metres.
There is no recorded use of ‘dirty bombs’. They have, so far, been tested only.
They are designed to disperse radioactive material over a certain area.
The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the dispersal agent/conventional explosion with radioactive material, serving primarily as an area denial device against civilians.
The aftermath of the use of such an explosive device can be devastating for the area and the clean-up could be highly expensive and time-consuming.
It may well be rendered unusable for a long time, depending on the amount of radioactive material used in the bomb.
