Dirty Bomb paranoia tonight

[Internetowl 10]

on BBC1 - 9pm

 

More anti-Moslem propaganda.

 

Watch the alerts soar in the next few days as people see 'fundamentalist terrorists' in every dark corner.

[Moon Maiden 10]

I didn't actually realise ths was on...flicked over in a fit of boredom. I was shocked at how inciteful the program actually was and obvisouly wasn't the only one as the calls flooded in from Muslim viewers on the after show.

 

Anyone notice how they didn't actually fully answer ANY of the questions put to them?

 

Moon Maiden

[JoeP 11]

With regard to the program itself, which I caught a little of, the radioactive element involved appeared to be a Caesium isotop - probably Cs 137, which is generally viewed to be a good candidate for a dirty bomb because it's widely used in industry and the old Soviet Union lost some of this stuff from it's old republics.

 

I also heard the phrase 500 mSv uttered around Ground Zero after the explosion. Mild radiation sickness will kick in at around 100 mSv. At Chernobyl, 150 people I think) were exposed to radiation levels of between 750 and 15000 mSv, and of those about a fifth died in the immediate aftermath of the event. The Cs isotopes have a half life of 30 years, so they're persistent, but the spread would depend upon the weather - if the bomb was detonated in a rain storm then the immediate area would get more radiation, and it would soon contamtinate the sewers and river. Windy day would see the stuff spread wider but thinner.

 

Now....500 mSv = 50,000 mrem.

 

To put in to context, the following mrem figures may be useful.

 

0.5 miles from a dirty bomb using Cobalt 60 - 300 / 400 mrem / year after the initial blast

Background Average radiation level in US - 200 mrem / year

19,000 mrem - maximum exposure of a Nagasaki survivor - acute exposure.

10,000 mrem - acute exposure - will cause increase in chance of cancer

 

Basically, a dirty bomb will cause radiological contamination and damage, will cost a bundle to clean up BUT the exposure for most people will probably mean that they will have a tiny increase in the risk of cancer over their lifetime.

 

The financial damage will be huge - but the emphasis of this sort of program is always on the idea that thousands of people will be throwing up and getting anaemia within days of the attack. Whilst that might happen to the bomb builders and to people working in the area for a long time after the blast, for most people caught in teh area it's not going to happen.

 

It won't be pleasant, and I wouldn't want to be there, but a dirty bomb is clearly this years version of Anthrax or Sarin. It's a terror weapon - designed to cause panic.

 

What IS required from HMG is some good, backed up facts about the issue.

 

Joe

[Titian 10]

I made a point of watching it but it wasn't what I expected. The token moral gesture (fireman taking suit off) was a bit cringe worthy.

[Internetowl 10]

I got the impression from the 'experts' afterwards that if and it is an if, we were to suffer such an attack we're shafted as they seemed to have no 'real' idea what they'd do. If I was a worried person watching them perform, I'd really be worried. As it is I'm not as real 'muslims' would never allow them to strike in the UK amongst their own people. Its not like they're a barbaric race like we in the west try to portray them.

[JoeP 11]

Originally posted by Internetowl

As it is I'm not as real 'muslims' would never allow them to strike in the UK amongst their own people. Its not like they're a barbaric race like we in the west try to portray them.

 

Hmmmm......that's a very damning view of everyone in the West. Also, Islam is not a 'race', it's a religion.

 

As for 'real' Muslims preventing such a strike in the UK, a good number of Muslims were killed on 9/11. Muslims have been killed in numerous Al-Qaeda attacks in different parts of the world. Muslims are dying everyday in attacks in Iraq - I assume that when the Iraqi insurgents blow up a recruiting line full of potential recruits for the Iraqi police, the vast majority, if not all, will be Muslim.

 

There is no reason why the extremists who commit these atrocities should listen to moderate Muslims in this or any other country.

 

I'm concerned about this sort of attack - and to be frank it is most likely to be launched from this quarter - but this is not the time to run about yelling 'the sky is falling'.

 

Joe