Physics – Medical Physics
Scientific paper
2009-02-22
Physics
Medical Physics
14 pages of a PDF file
Scientific paper
While radioactive sources used in medical diagnosis do not pose a great security risk due to their low level of radioactivity, therapeutic sources are extremely radioactive and can presumably be used as a radiological weapon. Cobalt-60 and Cesium-137 sources are the most common ones used in radiotherapy with over 10,000 of such sources currently in use worldwide, especially in the developing world, which cannot afford modern accelerators. The present study uses computer simulations to investigate the effects of using Cesium-137 sources from teletherapy devices as a radiological weapon. Assuming a worst-case terrorist attack scenario, we estimate the ensuing cancer mortality, land contamination, evacuation area, as well as the relevant evacuation, decontamination, and health costs in the framework of the linear risk model. The results indicate that an attack with a Cesium-137 dirty bomb in a large metropolitan city (especially one that would involve several teletherapy sources) although would not cause any statistically significant cancer mortality current radiation safety standards would impose the evacuation of large areas and the relocation of thousands of people.
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