Fighting Weapons of Mass Disruption

Posted: June 3rd, 2016

By Andrew Bieniawski

Andrew Bieniawski joined the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) as vice president for Material Security and Minimization after 24 years of serving in senior-level positions with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration. Bieniawski leads key NTI projects related to nuclear materials security and minimization, including the Global Dialogue on Nuclear Security Priorities, the IAEA/NTI Nuclear Fuel Bank and NTI's Verification Pilot Project. He is also an expert in radiological threat reduction. Upon his retirement from government service in June 2014, he received the DOE Distinguished Career Service Award and NNSA Gold Medal.

It’s no secret that violent extremist groups around the world are seeking to buy, steal, or build destructive weapons to use in a relentless campaign of terror. One potential weapon is a radiological dirty bomb, which is also known as a “weapon of mass disruption.”

Unlike an improvised nuclear device (IND), a dirty bomb made with a radiological source would not cause catastrophic levels of death and injury. But depending on its chemistry, form, and location, it could cause billions of dollars in damage due to the costs of evacuation, relocation, and cleanup – and it would clearly have severe economic and psychological consequences.

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