Dec 09 2006
UK Preparing For Dirty Bomb Attack
I don’t need to underline what could possibly have pushed the UK to scramble and prepare their police forces for a possible dirty bomb attack:
POLICE forces have been told to buy anti-radiation masks for their 100,000 frontline officers to protect them in the event of a “dirty bomb†terrorist attack.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has told all forces they should look to purchase specially designed chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) hoods as soon as possible.
Senior officers are concerned that, with only 1,000 thought to have been distributed, their ability to deal with any radiation threat will be severely hampered.
…
The urgency that is being placed on the purchase of the hoods reflects the level of concern over the likelihood of a “dirty bomb†attack, where radioactive material, packed around a conventional explosive, is detonated and spreads radiation over a wide area.
The threat has been highlighted by the use of radioactive polonium-210 to kill Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian defector.
…
An ACPO spokesman said: “All UK police forces have been made aware of the availability of escape hoods. They have been advised by ACPO that individual forces should consider acquiring sufficient hoods to equip all patrolling officers at times of heightened threat.â€
…
The current “threat level†of a terrorist strike in Britain is judged by MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to be “severeâ€, meaning that an attack is highly likely.
It would seem that there is heightened concern out there. And in a clear case of closing the barn door after all the horses are out the US and others are pondering whether to tighten controls on Polonium-210. I will attempt to help them shorten the process. The answer is: Hell yes!
This must delight the people in Essex:
Contaminated rubble would be shipped out along the Thames to landfill sites in Essex
In light of recent events making it evident that po-210 has been spread all over the UK’s capital city, this is a reasonable response.
What is not reasonable in the least is further Russian hindrance to any investigation in tracking down where this po-210 came from, has been, and most important — where it is now.
From that last link that AJ gave:
“The two homes are linked to Dmitry V. Kovtun, a Russian businessman who met Mr. Litvinenko at a London hotel that is now the focus of the investigation into his poisoning. Radiation traces were found at his ex-wife’s apartment, and at his former mother-in-law’s home.”
So he had been tracking it around too.
Yes, Mariposa, I agree. Where did it come from. How much is/was there. Who has access to it.
But don’t assume it came from Russia. It could have been going either way. Chances are best that it came from Russia but some of it could have been going to Russia (Chechens).
CP this stuff seems much easier to get contaminated with than previously thought – did you read about the 2 policemen working on the case who have light contamination?
They’ve been reading your blog, AJ.
“But don’t assume it came from Russia. It could have been going either way. Chances are best that it came from Russia but some of it could have been going to Russia (Chechens).”
CP, I’m not assuming anything re. the po-210 trail, but it leads into and out of several countries, including Russia. But in comparison to the investigative teams from Britain and Germany, Russian investigators don’t seem to be doing much about it, though, do they?
I find that odd.
“did you read about the 2 policemen working on the case who have light contamination?”
Yes, but they also say the levels of contamination are extremely low. In other words, it says that if we are looking for polonium, we can detect very small concentrations of it. Those would be levels consistant with inhalation.
For someone to have enough of a dose to get sick from it, they would have to inhale it for a long time or have somehow eaten it. I don’t believe Lugovoi’s contamination is from sitting in a chair next to a cup of tea and judging from the trail he is leaving for weeks before that meeting at the bar, he has been exposed to it for a while.
“Russian investigators don’t seem to be doing much about it, though, do they?”
I have no way of knowing. They would be less likely to talk about any investigation. Particularly if they are the source of the polonium. But in general, there isn’t as much press reporting on active investigations in Russia as there is in the West until some disposition is made.
I know BBC transmission from Moscow was cut when they went into the Litvinenko case.
I know that they will not allow the Brits to ask the questions.
I know that although Lugovoy’s lawyer’s say he’s fine, the Russians have postponed three interviews with him.
I know that IFax said Kovtun was in a coma when he’ s not.
What do you know about the Russian role in this investigation?
“A spokeswoman for Russia’s Prosecutor General’s office told The Associated Press about the plans to send Russian investigators to London, but said there was no concrete date. She said she was not authorized to give her name to media outlets.”
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/16205174.htm
They wouldn’t let the FBI do the questioning in Aruba either when the Alabama girl went missing – I think that’s kind of normal to have the local police do the questioning. I don’t see anything sinister or outrageous in that. There are jurisdictional issues
It is, but that;s not what they originally said. And they don’t always do that. They let us do the quesrioning when I was there..
It is a big issue with Russians. Have you ever been involved in a case where the Russians allowed one of their citizens to be questioned in Russia by a foreign security service? (Russia considers police entities to be “security services”).
They llet me question their citizens under oath in their presence. In other cases, they allow counsel to question Soviet citizens in foreign Embassy’s..They do when they wish to.
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=3311
WASHINGTON – The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS)and Energy (DOE) today announced the first phase of the Secure Freight Initiative, an unprecedented effort to build upon existing port security measures by enhancing the federal government’s ability to scan containers for nuclear and radiological materials overseas and to better assess the risk of inbound containers.
Today’s announcement includes the endorsement from a broad coalition of terminal operators, ocean carriers, and shippers, who pledged to support this effort at facilities they operate overseas.
“Our highest priority and greatest sense of urgency has to be aimed at preventing a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb attack against the homeland,†said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “This initiative advances a comprehensive strategy to secure the global supply chain and cut off any possibility of exploitation by terrorists. I appreciate the commitment of our international allies in sharing more information and harmonizing our risk reduction efforts.â€
Ir I were a potential dirty bomber, with several well developed and well publicized Po trails behind me (“don’t look back!”)… I might just take a long look at a nice happy dinner with my family for my holiday celebrations this year – and take another year to reflect on my very good life in the UK.
why would doe and dhs make this announcement on a saturday?
dirty bomb preparations and countermeasures seem to be a recurrent theme in the news today (the british with the masks now us and the ports(- and lets not forget that it came out yesterday or today that suicide bombers are wearing liquid explosive belts now that can not be detected by metal detectors. The German papers mentioned that they were concered about Frankfurt airport in this regard….
what’s up?
Naybe v=because your attention is just more focused on it this week.