| Russian officials today announced that the arrest | | | | Most of the radiation comes from direct contact |
| of a man attempting to sell weapons grade | | | | or direct exposure to the source. There have |
| uranium. That's right, the type of uranium used in | | | | been some very large non-criticality events |
| a nuclear bomb. In reply, American officials | | | | around the world usually a result of improperly |
| attempted to reassure the public by stating that | | | | discarded radiation sources from medicine or |
| the amount of uranium offered for sale was less | | | | industry. |
| than that required to create a nuclear warhead. It | | | | Criticality events have always been the result of |
| is of note that they did not deny that this was in | | | | the action of large governments. Hiroshima and |
| fact weapons grade uranium. | | | | Nagasaki were criticality events. The recent |
| Intelligence officials, terrorist and response | | | | nuclear testing in North Korea was a criticality |
| experts, and those of us in the disaster medicine | | | | event. The great fears of the Cold War were not |
| community have long feared the verification that | | | | a fear of non-criticality radiation but a criticality |
| weapons grade uranium is available on the | | | | event and its associated gamma radiation and |
| terrorist market. | | | | fallout. |
| While government officials attempt to placate | | | | The intelligence community has proven that the |
| appropriately concerned citizens with the platitude | | | | terrorists have the ability to get weapons grade |
| "it's too little to make a nuclear bomb", anybody | | | | uranium. Now we must add criticality events and |
| who has put together a Thanksgiving dinner | | | | the hazards that come from them to our list of |
| knows that if you can't get enough sweet | | | | concerns both for national security as well as |
| potatoes at one store you just go to another. | | | | disaster medical response. |
| The terrorists are not stupid and little bit of | | | | The lessons of the Cold War, at least those that |
| weapons grade uranium here, a little bit more | | | | deal with preparing for the hazards of criticalities |
| there and soon they have the critical mass to | | | | must now be dusted off and added to the 2007 |
| actually achieve critical mass. Then there is the | | | | standards of care. |
| claim of the seller that the sample in his | | | | Will there be a criticality event within the United |
| possession represented a much larger quantity. | | | | States? |
| Nuclear events come in two forms known as | | | | Will somebody set off a nuclear or thermonuclear |
| criticality and non-criticality. | | | | device as a terrorist statement? |
| A non-criticality event is when radiation is released | | | | As we prepare for this possibility let us all hope |
| without a fission or fusion detonation. In short, the | | | | that those charged with our security will continue |
| event is local. Dirty bombs fall into this category. | | | | to have the success that they announced today. |