Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Estimates of radiological risk from a terrorist attack using plutonium.

Marco Durante1, Lorenzo Manti

  • 1Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università Federico II, Monte S. Angelo, Via Cintia, 80126, Napoli, Italy. durante@na.infn.it

Radiation and Environmental Biophysics
|August 31, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Terrorist attacks using plutonium dispersal devices are unlikely to cause acute radiation effects. Even in worst-case scenarios, dispersed plutonium poses a low risk of excess cancer fatalities, which would be undetectable.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Radioactive ion beam range adaptation in mouse tumors using in-beam PET.

Communications medicine·2026
Same author

Letter to the Editor: Modern Management of Newly Diagnosed Vulvovaginal Melanoma: Is There a Role for Carbon Ion Radiotherapy? A Perspective From the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG) Gynecological Subcommittee.

Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN·2026
Same author

Radiobiology: A Geant4 Extended Example for voxel-based ion-beam transport and radiobiological endpoints.

Physica medica : PM : an international journal devoted to the applications of physics to medicine and biology : official journal of the Italian Association of Biomedical Physics (AIFB)·2026
Same author

Morpho-anatomical and biochemical plasticity of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) microgreens following heavy-ion seed irradiation.

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB·2026
Same author

The future is not always uniform: rethinking radiotherapy through spatial fractionation.

Nature reviews. Clinical oncology·2026
Same author

Three-Discipline Collaborative Radiation Therapy (3DCRT) debate: Medical physics should focus less on geometric precision and more on biological outcomes.

Journal of applied clinical medical physics·2026

Area of Science:

  • Nuclear security
  • Radiological risk assessment
  • Public health

Background:

  • Terrorist use of radioactivity dispersal devices (RDDs) is a growing concern.
  • Plutonium is a potential radiological threat material for RDDs.
  • Understanding the health impacts of plutonium dispersal is crucial for emergency preparedness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the potential health risks associated with plutonium dispersal by terrorist attacks.
  • To simulate radiation doses and health consequences from plutonium explosions and fires.
  • To evaluate the likelihood of acute and stochastic effects.

Main Methods:

  • Simulations of inhaled radioactive aerosol doses using the HOTSPOT Gaussian plume model.
  • Consideration of different meteorological conditions.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Inclusion of ground contamination and dust resuspension factors.

    • Main Results:

    • Acute radiation effects from plutonium dispersal are highly unlikely.
    • Explosion scenarios pose a greater risk for late stochastic effects than fire scenarios.
    • Even in worst-case scenarios, excess cancer fatalities are minimal and likely undetectable.

    Conclusions:

    • Plutonium dispersal attacks present a low risk of significant acute health impacts.
    • The long-term stochastic health risks from plutonium dispersal are limited.
    • Public health interventions may not be necessary for detected levels of dispersed plutonium.