Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) is any device that causes the purposeful dissemination of radioactive material without a nuclear detonation.

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1 Study Guide Committee: United Nations Disarmement and Security Council (DISEC) Topic: The Question of Radiological Dispersal Devices Introduction: In recent years there have been some major advancements in scientific technology. However not all of those have been beneficial to the world, the development of new war weapons such as Radiological dispersal Devices have in fact increased the awareness on the problems created by the use of those devices and the lack of protections against them. Radiological dispersion weapons have gradually substituted nuclear weapons in terrorist groups as they are inexpensive and the materials are easier to obtain. As the weapons include radioactive materials it has been a great challenge to find a way to decrease the harm and find a solution to the impact that those dirty bombs have on the surrounding and population of the entire world. Definition of Key Terms: Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) is any device that causes the purposeful dissemination of radioactive material without a nuclear detonation. Dirty Bomb: is a radiological dispersal device that uses an explosive method to disperse shrapnel and radioactive dust. Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Human Rights Rights which are believed to belong to each and every person, such as the right to life, as laid out under the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Terrorism: criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act, which are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature. Psychological Warfare: the use of propaganda and threats alongside other psychological techniques to mislead, intimidate and demoralize the thinking and behaviour of an opponent. RDDs act as powerful psychological weapons. 1

2 Contextual Information: In the recent years radiological dispersal weapons have become more used this is due to the availability of the materials needed and how inexpensive they are. A radiological dispersal device creates an explosion of radioactive materials which is design to scatter the sub-lethal material over an area. However those devices are not only used to affect the population physically but to damage them psychologically and diffuse panic. Those dirty bombs have been used as a substitute to nuclear weapons as those are more expensive and need a larger amount of time to research and find the availability of the materials. However the size of the area damaged is smaller as the radiological dispersal devices don t affect the surrounding area as much as nuclear weapons would, this is because the damage from the dispersal device would depend on the size of the bomb used and other factors as type of radiation and the sophistication of it. However as both nuclear and radiological weapons release radiations the damage would not only be instantaneous but would affect the area contaminated for a longer period of time. It will also mean that the area exposed to the dirty bomb would have to be cleaned which means that the population would have to evacuate the area for months. The weapon s damage cannot be controlled therefore there is little to none protection from RDDs at a country level. Those few protection are the U.S.-led Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 and the Nuclear Terrorism Convention. Also, the IAEA has established a Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources. Terrorists are not the only reason why some areas have been contaminated by seb-lethal radiations as there have been some accidents involving radiations as the Cobalt-60 accident in Goiania Brazil in 1987 and the British Polonium-210 incident in Major Countries and Organisations Involved: United Nations Security Council- one of the six principal organs of the United Nations,charged with the maintenance of international peace and security Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions; it is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. 2

3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency- created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. Defence Research and Development Canada- this organization, in partnership with other Canadian and International organisations, led a series of trials designed to simulate a Radiological Dispersal Device to ensure a safe and planned response if an attack would be to happen. hezbollah (syria) - Shi'a Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon. Iraq- In 1987 Iraq tested a dirty bomb device, however, abandoned further use of the device as the radiation levels were too low to cause serious damage. Such devices have since been labelled weapons of mass disruption rather than destruction. Georgia- Though the country itself produces no nuclear or radioactive material, it has been dubbed by authorities as the nuclear highway as it acts as a key smuggling route of radioactive material (such as Uranium) from Russia to territory in Syria and Iraq which is controlled by ISIS. The USA have played a key part in disrupting the smuggling, busting three groups who were attempting to smuggle nuclear materials in Relevant UN Treaties and Events: Cobalt-60 accident in Goiania Brazil EPA Protective Action Guidance for Radiological Incidents (PAG) : The Protective Action Guide (PAG) Manual contains radiation dose guidelines that would trigger public safety measures, such as evacuation or staying indoors, to minimize or prevent radiation exposure during an emergency. EPA developed Protective Action Guides to help responders plan for radiation emergencies United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 : In resolution 1540, the Security Council decided that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-state actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, in particular for terrorist purposes Nuclear Terrorism Convention :The Convention covers a broad range of acts and possible targets, including nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors; covers threats and attempts to commit 3

4 such crimes or to participate in them, as an accomplice; stipulates that offenders shall be either extradited or prosecuted; encourages States to cooperate in preventing terrorist attacks by sharing information and assisting each other in connection with criminal investigations and extradition proceedings; and, deals with both crisis situations, assisting States to solve the situations and postcrisis situations by rendering nuclear material safe through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) British Polonium-210 incident U.S.-led Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) : initiative aims to minimize as quickly as possible the amount of nuclear material available that could be used for nuclear weapons. It will also seek to put into place mechanisms to ensure that nuclear and radiological materials and related equipment -- wherever they may be in the world -- are not used for malicious purposes. Potential Solutions: Even if many governments and relevant authorities have been working on the awareness of the public in case of a Radiological Dispersal Device attack, such as the Canadian Defence Research and Development organization which simulates a RDD attack to improve their chances of staying safe and out of harm s way, there hasn t been any development for the prevention of contamination. Potential solutions could be to create clauses to improve the security in which radiological sources are stored so that they would be less available or to decrease the availability of those sources per country and that all member states in possession of nuclear facilities, such as, but not limited to, power stations and scientific research centres, allow the IAEA to carry out inspections of these at least annually. Bibliography:

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