UN Nuclear Watchdog Draws Attention To Possible Terrorist Scenarios
Highlighting the battle to prevent nuclear weaponry from falling into the hands of terrorists, the United Nations atomic
watchdog agency is drawing attention to the role it can play in reinforcing national efforts to detect smuggling of
nuclear material and equipment that could be used in crude explosive devices and so-called dirty bombs.
In a paper titled Promoting Nuclear Security: Possible Terrorist Scenarios," the Vienna-based International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) gives top priority to the theft of a nuclear weapon which, while highly unlikely, "represents the
most serious threat with potentially devastating consequences." Responsibility for preventing theft rests with the
states that possess nuclear weapons.
Another theft scenario involves terrorists acquiring sufficient quantities of plutonium or high-enriched uranium to
construct a crude nuclear explosive device. "Although sophisticated equipment and expertise is required to manufacture
and detonate a nuclear device, the possibility cannot be discounted," the IAEA says.
Terrorists could also obtain radioactive substances, primarily sealed radioactive sources widely used for medical
purposes or in industry or stored as waste, and disperse the radioactivity. "One dramatic way would be if a sealed
radioactive source was used to spike conventional explosives, in what is commonly referred to as a 'dirty bomb,'" the
Agency notes.
Such a device "would certainly cause panic and economic damage, in addition to exposing the target population to
radiation, the result of which would have both immediate and long-term effects."
Finally, terrorists could target any facility using nuclear or radioactive materials, be it nuclear power plants, fuel
cycle facilities, research reactors, hospitals or industries, causing immediate dispersal of radioactivity, exposing the
population to radiation and damaging both property and the environment.
The IAEA is working to promote nuclear security measures considered essential to forestalling these threats. Steps
include the physical protection of nuclear materials and related facilities as well as the control of lost or "orphaned"
radioactive material. In addition, the Agency is helping countries to detect any black-market activity through border
patrols, training of customs officials, and the maintenance of a database on illicit trafficking.