Dirty Bomb, Where You Ats?

Before you read any further, ask yourself this question: How many confirmed uses of a Radiological Dispersion Device aka "Dirty Bomb" can you recall? Well, in post 9/11 America, the answer doesn't really matter. Because if there is a threat or a possibility of a threat or the hint of a possibility of a threat, then we're going to throw money at it. Hence, your cell phones might be enlisted to fight the dirty bomb menace.

Researchers at Purdue University are working with the state of Indiana to develop a system that would use a network of cell phones to detect and track radiation to help prevent terrorist attacks with radiological "dirty bombs" and nuclear weapons.

Such a system could blanket the nation with millions of cell phones equipped with radiation sensors able to detect even light residues of radioactive material. Because cell phones already contain global positioning locators, the network of phones would serve as a tracking system, said physics professor Ephraim Fischbach. Fischbach is working with Jere Jenkins, director of Purdue's radiation laboratories within the School of Nuclear Engineering.

"The likely targets of a potential terrorist attack would be big cities with concentrated populations, and a system like this would make it very difficult for someone to go undetected with a radiological dirty bomb in such an area," said Longman, who also is Purdue alumnus. "The more people are walking around with cell phones and PDAs, the easier it would be to detect and catch the perpetrator. We are asking the public to push for this."

"We set up a test source on campus, and people randomly walked around carrying these detectors," Jenkins said. "The test was extremely safe because we used a very weak, sealed radiation source, and we went through all of the necessary approval processes required for radiological safety. This was a source much weaker than you would see with a radiological dirty bomb."

"The radiological dirty bomb or a suitcase nuclear weapon is going to give off higher levels of radiation than those background sources," Fischbach said. "The system would be sensitive enough to detect these tiny levels of radiation, but it would be smart enough to discern which sources posed potential threats and which are harmless."

Okay, I'll admit the technology sounds really cool and it seems to work. But "we are asking the public to push for this" is a little extreme. There are too many unanswered questions. Who pays for the detectors in the phone? Or the monitoring infrastructure? Who is going to make cell phone manufacturers install the detectors? And, how smart is the technology really? Can it discern for a dirty bomb or someone who has undergone radiological seeding to fight cancer? Can it distinguish between U-235 or a medical isotope? Doubtful, unless you want your cell phone to look like this.

I will grant that given the amount of loose nuclear material in the world (search the Global Incident Map for an idea of how much), a dirty bomb or nuclear device is a conceivable threat. But, the public should be pushing for more realistic countermeasures. How about putting this monitoring technology in hand held radios that emergency service personnel use instead of the commercially un-viable idea of sticking it in cell phones.

Oh and will somebody tell them that the suitcase nuke doesn't exist.