Study: Dirty bomb attack could close port

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A new U.S. study says a terror attack with a so-called dirty bomb would be hard to execute, and radiation exposure would affect only a few scores of people.

But such an attack on a port could cause billions of dollars of economic damage, and the psychological impact on the general public would likely be out of all proportion to the actual effects.

The study, by scientists at the University of Southern California Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Risk Analysis in its special homeland security edition.

Heather Rosoff and Detlof von Winterfeldt analyzed a possible terrorist attack on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach using a radiological dispersal device, or dirty bomb, which uses conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material. Depending on the kind of radiological material employed, such bombs can create large radioactive plumes, cause health and psychological effects, and produce significant economic impacts due to decontamination costs.

The authors found that a dirty bomb attack in the United States is possible but would not be easy, because of the difficulty of obtaining and transporting radioactive materials.

Although immediate casualties would likely be low, “tens to hundreds” of people exposed could be at risk from cancer as a result of a radioactive plume.

The most costly economic impact would be if a shutdown of the ports was required for decontamination. The authors say this would cost $20 billion for the first month and then less each subsequent month as business and ships are redirected elsewhere.