Improvised nuclear device

Not to be confused with Dirty bomb.

An Improvised nuclear device (IND) is a theoretical illicit nuclear weapon bought, stolen, or otherwise originating from a nuclear state, or a weapon fabricated by a terrorist group from illegally obtained fissile nuclear weapons material that produces a nuclear explosion.[1][2][3][4] An IND could be bought, or it could be built from the components of a stolen weapon or from scratch using nuclear material (plutonium or highly enriched uranium). A successful detonation would result in catastrophic loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, and nuclear contamination of a very large area.

Types

One type of an improvised nuclear device [IND] attack could be conducted by terrorists with radiological materials using a radiological dispersal device (RDD), or so-called “dirty bomb.”[5][6][7] An RDD causes no nuclear explosion but instead uses chemical explosive to spread harmful radioactivity. It could cause severe economic disruption and panic in an urban area, without causing large numbers of fatalities. Due to their common use in industry, agriculture, and medicine, these materials would be easier for terrorists to obtain.

Design considerations

An IND when built from scratch would most likely be of gun-type, which is fairly easy to design and manufacture[8][9] (however, requiring highly enriched uranium).

Improvised nuclear devices are likely to cause more nuclear fallout because of incomplete fission – due to overengineering the pit (making it heavier to ensure fission occurs at least in part of it); using the gun-type design; or as a result of a fizzle (yield lower than planned due to engineering/manufacturing errors) – and are likely to be exploded at ground level rather than at an altitude, which causes ground materials to be irradiated and drawn up into the mushroom cloud.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "Student Guide Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) Modeling and Response Planning: National Capital Region" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-02-25.
  2. ^ "Improvised Nuclear Device Response and Recovery" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  3. ^ "Improvised Nuclear Devices Fact Sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  4. ^ Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "Improvised Nuclear Device" (PDF).
  5. ^ Jonathan Medalia (2011-06-24). ""Dirty Bombs": Technical Background, Attack Prevention and Response, Issues for Congress" (PDF).
  6. ^ US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (December 2012). "Dirty Bombs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-08-01. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  7. ^ "Dirty Bombs" (PDF). faculty.uml.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2017.
  8. ^ Croddy, Eric A.; Wirtz, James J.; Larsen, Jeffrey A., eds. (2005). Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History. Vol. II: Nuclear Weapons. Santa Barbara, California - Denver, Colorado - Oxford, England: ABC-Clio. p. 170. ISBN 1-85109-495-4. Improvised nuclear devices—sometimes referred to as "crude nuclear weapons"—are simple, unsophisticated atomic bombs. They would probably utilize a gun-type device to create a critical mass and explosive yield. Although these weapons will probably not be based on complicated designs that use a combination of nuclear fission and fusion to boost the nuclear explosive yield of a weapon to extremely high levels, they could have an explosive yield of up to a few tens of kilotons. [...] If terrorists were to construct their own nuclear weapons, they would probably select a gun-type device. This type of weapon is easy to construct, and terrorists would probably not be attracted to more efficient ways of creating a critical mass to generate high yields.
  9. ^ "Scenario 1: Nuclear Detonation - 10-Kiloton Improvised Nuclear Device". www.globalsecurity.org.

Further reading

  • Barnaby, Frank (2004). How to Build a Nuclear Bomb: And Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. New York: Nation Books - Avalon Publishing Group Incorporated. ISBN 1-56025-603-6.
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