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Radiological dispersal devices: an assessment
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| 11 June 2002 |
By Rob Fanney and Jim Tinsley
Attorney General John Ashcroft announced yesterday the capture of a terrorist known to be connected with Al-Qaeda who was allegedly planning to build and explode a radiological dispersal device (RDD) within the United States. The suspect, according to reports, was apprehended on 8 May after flying into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport from Pakistan.
Whatever the size or overall impact of the device, however, RDDs are more a means of causing mass disruption than true weapons of mass destruction, although those disruptive effects may be considerable. The economic consequences of having an important urban area contaminated with radiation could be severe.
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