Global Jihad: temi, piste di diffusione e il fenomeno del reducismo ...

accident occurred in Goiânia, Brazil in September 1987, when a high activity source,
Caesium-137 132 , was inadvertently removed from a therapy unit and dismantled by
scrap dealers. It was found that 249 people were contaminated. Of the 249
contaminees, 21 presented acute radiation syndrome, ten of which were in a serious
condition. Four of these died. It has been argued that overall, the accident affected all
inhabitants of the city, either directly or indirectly, and the Goiás State as a whole, in
terms of social, emotional, economic, psychological, and health-related issues. Clean-
up operations took over a month, which is the minimum time, and the waste
removed from the contaminated sites was not disposed of until 1991. 133 The Goiânia
incident shows that a radiological event in an urban setting can have devastating
consequences, and also that each incident will be unique to the setting within which
it occurs.
The effects of a radiological weapon are more difficult to predict than the effects of a
nuclear explosion. Environmental conditions, such as temperature, time of day,
relative humidity and wind conditions all affect the size of the affected area. The type
of material and method of dispersion also affects the size of the contaminated area
and the level of dispersed radioactivity. Even low levels of contamination could have
a severe impact
on an urban population.
RDDs may be made with any radioactive material,
although the level of effects
depends upon the level of radioactivity of the material
used. Suitable radioactive
materials vary widely from relatively weak sources,
such as Strontium 90, to high
levels of radioactivity such as that possessed by the fissionable materials plutonium
and uranium. An RDD is therefore a very flexible weapon. This type of weapon can
have a wide range of effects from creating a panic situation based on fear of
radiation, a general denial of territory due to local contamination, the murder of a
specific individual(s), to creating a mass casualty event. 134
132 50.9 TBq 137C
133 For a more in-depth account of the accident, see: Vinhas, L.A., ‘Overview of the Radiological Accident in
Goiânia’, Security of Radioactive Sources, Proceedings of an international conference, 10-13 March 2003 (IAEA), pp.347-
355
134 Nichelson, S.M. & Medlin, D.D., ‘Radiological Weapons of Terror’, April 1999
213