Radiological Weapons

Radiological weapons are a tricky topic to define. Radiology can be a positive thing (food, health, water), but radiology can also be used as a form of weaponry. Radiological warfare is effective when it is used throughout a highly populated area (which is why it is also known as “the city bomb”), and it is largely undetectable until it is too late.

A radiological weapon usually consists of a type of bomb that is loaded with radioactive material. Radiological weapons are not nuclear bombs, since they rely on a different sort of reaction, but their impact can still be devastating depending upon the number of people residing in one specific area. Although this type of weapon appears to be useful, radiological weapons are rarely used within the United States military.

Radiological weapons are deemed useless within the military since any area that has been affected by a radiological weapon cannot be entered. Therefore, if the military were to set off a radiological bomb, they would not be able to attack any remaining enemies for quite awhile after the bomb was detonated. Perhaps, this is precisely why terrorist groups would choose to use radiological weapons as a form of destruction.

Since the only known usage of a radiological weapon occurred under Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq (it proved to be useless), experts do not know what sort of effect this type of bomb would have on a population were it to be used by a terrorist group. Some speculate that a radioactive bomb would cause little harm, while others tend to see this sort of explosion as a fairly large threat. For now, radiological weapons remain on the “weapons of mass destruction” list, and they are outlawed in many countries.