In this new world order where the entire globe is under threat of terrorism, the fear of the use of a 'dirty bomb' or an explosive laced with radioactive material is a genuine threat but a new technology developed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) in Mumbai almost eliminates one big source for this threat.
In an interview, BARC Director K N Vyas enlists what India has done to contain and minimise this threat of dirty bombs so that Indians can remain safe.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Lately there is a lot of concern people have about these things called 'dirty bombs'. There is one kind of nuclear weapon which nuclear weapon states use and what is this 'dirty bomb' and should people in India fear about that?
A: Let me just clarify one thing, a 'dirty bomb' is not an atomic device, but it is like this that all radioactive products, they basically have a tendency to harm human beings. We use radioactive products for cancer therapy like cobalt-60 etc. Now, what happens is that if a person, he wants ultimately to create a nuisance, he may take this radioactive material which is used for medical purposes, he may try to, sort of, put it into a, let us say, TNT or some sort of an explosive device and then whenever that explosion occurs it gets dispersed.
Q: So there is one bomb in which you place some radioactive material, so it becomes a little more 'dirty'?
A: Yes.
Q: That's all. Bombs are dirty, but this becomes dirtier.
A: Yes, so it is like this, typically when you make some bomb and then you want to cause damage, you try to put some nails inside. So that it'll fly off and then it'll harm more number of people. So something similar to that is, that these radioactive materials, they are put in the bomb and when the bomb explodes, let us say, somewhere a bomb of particular capacity explodes, so in that case, may be this whole area will get contaminated.
May be the explosion is much more, and then the contamination can spread further. If at the same time, there is very high wind, then may be the contamination will flow along with the wind, and as a result of that, the contamination will spread further. But what I feel is, people must realize this 'dirty-bomb' is carrying radioactive material, but it is not an atom bomb. So the explosion capability or the damage causing capability is considerably lower than what you find in a typical, when you say atom bomb of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki type.
Q: But for terrorists, the issue is not so much about
creating a mushroom cloud, but to create a scare. How concerned should Indians be? Are Indian nuclear assets well protected?
A: See, basically nuclear assets in India are, in my opinion, very well protected. Ministry of Home Affairs is also taking very active interest in the protection of these things. And then we have our BARC safety council, which is also responsible for tracking the radioactive material, which is being imported by the various agencies in India, plus distributed by BARC for example. So as such, the possibility of radioactive materials getting into the hands of undesirable people, I personally feel is relatively remote.
In addition to that, based on, once again the directive of Ministry of Home Affairs, we have made all over India, locations, where any radioactive material if it is passing through that, in that case, we will be able to detect that. If any incident takes place in the vicinity, we will be able to detect it, and correspondingly alert the authorities for taking a corrective action.
Q: So, what you are saying is, there is a cadre of people who are trained to look after instances if there is use of a dirty bomb. You can come to a conclusion fairly soon, if a dirty bomb is used. Is that correct?
A: Yes, definitely.
Q: So we have a radiation monitoring setup and also people who are trained, who can go to locations and figure out if there is a dirty bomb?
A: Yes. Yes.
Q: Can Indians be rest assured that if a dirty bomb is used, you will track it and contain it? It that correct?
A: Once again, let me just make it clear. All over India, we have many locations, if there is a spread taking place, in that case we will come to know. But let us say if that particular place is 500 kms away from that place where we have kept this particular monitoring station, definitely it will be difficult. But at the same time, all the entry points, like airports, seaports etc we have put the detectors, so that an entry from anywhere, we'll be in a position to immediately, sort of, verify and then confiscate the material if it is an unauthorised material.
Q: People are not so worried about the nuclear material, which lies in the custody of nuclear scientists. They are more worried about nuclear material which lies in hospitals, in industrial units, like cesium and cobalt-60. Is there something, which you have done to make cesium less susceptible to be used as a dirty bomb?
A: See typically, cesium is being used in a form of a salt. Now as you know salt, supposing it is encased in a stainless steel capsule, it can easily be dispersed outside. But just a couple of years back a program was started and last year, we made vitrified cesium into pencils.
Q: Vitrified meaning it is put in a form of a glass?
A: Yes, so supposing when you do glass pouring. Molten glass is poured into a particular shape, so molten glass is mixed with the cesium material and then it is put into a matrix of glass.
Q: So like other countries where it (cesium) is used in powder form and you can mix it in water and use in a sprayer and spread over a city that is not possible to do in glass matrix since glass does not dissolve in water?
A: If you have this technology, this particular technology has been mastered very recently in India. So in future whatever pencils that will be generated for cesium we propose that we will encase it in glass matrix.
Q: So we have found a technological solution for what could be a problem of creating a dirty bomb. Is that correct?
A: Correct.
Q: So here we have done something, which would protect our own citizens against a dirty bomb.
A: Yes, we have. I would say it's quite a novel idea which has been used by us and even world has taken, note of that. That, yes, this is a genuinely good idea. And we hope that, at rest of the places in the world the same philosophy is continued and adopted.
Q: But lay people will not get to know that a radiation incident has happened?
A: No, it won't be like this. Government of India has taken steps to identify, which are those locations. And the number of locations will still increase with time. And there is you can say 24 hours vigil, so the moment there is any such incident using a dirty bomb we will be in a position to know.
