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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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November
2006
Volume 11 -
Number 2 |
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Personal Perception of Terrorism Risk: NFL Dirty
Bomb Threat
By Justin Miller This past week, the Federal Borough of Investigation (FBI) reported a dirty bomb threat at seven National Football League (NFL) stadiums throughout the United States—Miami, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland. The bombs were to be delivered by a truck and had the possibility to threaten 498,564 fans in attendance. Below is a chart of the seating capacity in the stadiums included in the threat. Team(s) Capacity Oakland Raiders 63,146 Seattle Seahawks 68,000 Houston Texans 69,500 Atlanta Falcons 71,149 Cleveland Browns 72,300 Miami Dolphins 75,000 New York Giants/Jets 79,469 Total 498,564 (http://www.stadiumsofnfl.com/capacity.htm) A short time after the threat’s discovery, it was
determined that the threat was a hoax. But what if it wasn’t?
It led many people to wonder if a dirty bomb could be detonated at a stadium
and how would it affect the tens of thousands in attendance.
Dirty bombs, also known as Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDD), are explosive devices made up of explosives and radiological material. While making the bomb is relatively easy, acquiring the radiological material would be a challenge—but not impossible. Breaking into a nuclear power plant for radiological material would be extremely difficult, but radiological material can also be found at various research and institutions across the nation, such as hospitals, universities, and factories. All the terrorist would need to do is steal material from one of these sights, pack it into a truck full of explosives, and drive it near a stadium. If the dirty bomb would be detonated, it would have a varying impact. Factors would include: amount of explosives and radiological material, quality of the radiological material, distance away from the stadium, wind direction/speed, and the number of structures in the area. For example, Alpha particles—a type of radiation—would only travel a short distance and mostly would not penetrate the skin. However, they can be harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Another type of radiation, Beta particles, can penetrate the skin and inflict damage, but can be blocked by common stadium building materials, such as plastic, concrete, and aluminum. Assuming that highly radiological material was not used, the majority of fatalities would occur near or around the blast force, not in result from radiation. The radiation would probably not cause any fatalities, although it’s possible depending on the type and amount of radiation. Panic and mass evacuations would cause the majority of the injuries and fatalities. The impact of a terrorist attack on a stadium would be huge, as millions of people every weekend attend sporting events in packed stadiums. These stadiums are prime targets for terrorists to cause mass damage to lives and threaten the public’s trust in attending sporting events. A recreational vehicle (RV) or truck could easily be made into a dirty bomb and parked in a tailgating lot near the stadium. This fear has caused greater awareness for stadiums across the nation, as stadiums are receiving Homeland Security grants. I perceive a stadium attack as a large scale disaster and would greatly impact to the nation. Even if there was a large explosion within the stadium (no radiation), many people would be hurt from the explosion or panic. Imagine if there were some type of chemical explosion/accident and people started to become sick while evacuating. Not only would there be great fear of attending sporting events in the future, large-scale gatherings would never be the same. Tighter security measures would need to be implemented to bring back people and money into the stadiums. For more information on the NFL dirty bomb threat: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/10/20/threat.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/20/national/main2110192.shtml For more information on dirty bombs: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandDefense/bg1723.cfm http://www.cfr.org/publication/9548/ http://www.fas.org/faspir/2002/v55n2/dirtybomb.htm |