How Bad Would A Nuclear Terror Attack Be?

Simulated effects of a 16-kiloton nuclear device detonated at Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wellerstein)

Keturah Hetrick, Defense One: How Bad Would A Radiological Terror Attack Be?

An interactive map shows a wide variation of outcomes for “nuclear terrorism.”

When it comes to human health, all nuclear scenarios are not created equal. The Chernobyl disaster caused an estimated 16,000 cases of thyroid cancer, while the Fukushima power plant accident barely produced any. A dizzying number of variables go into understanding the damage that a particular nuclear or radiological device might have. But modeling the effects of such devices has become also become easier, and more public, thanks to the Internet.

It’s “no secret” that organizations like Al-Qaeda and ISIS “are interested in securing nuclear materials so they can use them for terrorist attacks,” Dr. Timothy Jorgensen, a professor of radiation medicine at Georgetown University and the author of Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation, told an audience at the Center for Strategic International Studies on Monday.

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WNU Editor: If you want to know how bad a nuclear attack would be in your neck of the woods, go here.