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A Radioactive Dispersal Device (RDD) is consists of a conventional explosive that is surrounded by a shell of radioactive material. If such a device is detonated in a dense urban area, the explosion itself will have little effect but the radioactive materials will be dispersed over a wide area and threaten the health of millions of people. It is highly likely that the city would have to be abandoned at great cost in both money and human suffering. This type of bomb is also referred to as a “dirty” bomb.
Whenever a moderate quantity of radioactive materials from any source vanishes, there is great concern that it may have been stolen by or may be sold to terrorists for the purpose of making a dirty bomb for a terrorist attack. Even if the material was lost or stolen by people who do not know what they have, it could still pose a danger because if the shielding container is broken or deliberately opened, it could threaten the health of people in vicinity.
There are many possible sources for radioactive materials. Radioactive materials are widely used in research, medicine and industry. Oil and gas companies often use isotopes such as iridium-192 in their exploration and exploitation of reserves of oil and natural gas that they are fracking or intend to frack. The isotope is injected into the well and then detectors are used to find out how the fracking of the Earth is proceeding.
Malaysia is a monarchy in Southeast Asia. There are thirteen states and three federal territories separated into roughly equal parts by the South China Sea. Malaysia has a population of about thirty million people. They have major reserves of oil and gas which are used for energy production. Exploration and fracking are carried out at a number of locations. Iridium-192 is sometimes used for this purpose.
Nuclear materials in Malaysia are regulated by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board which is currently searching for a device that contains Iridium-192. The device belongs to a company that provides tests, calibrations and inspections to oil and gas companies, power plants and companies in other industries. The device weighs about fifty pounds and is worth around eighteen thousand U.S. dollars. Ir-192 has a half-life of seventy-three days.
Two employees of the company loaded the device into a pickup truck to take to a job site. When they returned from the job site after completing their work, they found that the device was missing from the bed of the truck. They claimed that they have not stopped anywhere on the way back. The tailgate was down when they got back, and the device may have fallen out of the truck. The employees immediately retraced their steps but found nothing. A search by authorities also yielded no results.
The authorities do not know whether this is an accident or a theft. As mentioned above, there is a danger that the contents of the device could be used to make a dirty bomb. Iridium-192 is a very popular isotope for thieves interested in making a dirty bomb.
There have been terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists since 2000 in Malaysia. In 2015, Malaysia arrested terrorists affiliated with ISIS. Terrorists from the Middle East have tried to buy radioactive isotopes to make a dirty bomb before. If the Ir-192 was stolen and finds its way to terrorists, there could be dirty bomb attack in Malaysia.