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63 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, September 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 6, 2004 Scientist calls ‘dirty bomb’ minor Former congressman from Washington says worry is overblown By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Of all the terror threats that Americans have to worry about, a "dirty bomb" should lie near the bottom of the list. That’s the message a former U.S. congressman from Washington state will deliver this week during a three-day series of lectures in Medford. "I want to provide a little understanding about radiation," says Mike McCormack, who represented eastern Washington in Congress from 1970 to 1980. "Dirty bombs" made news in 2002 when FBI agents arrested a man who allegedly planned to surround conventional explosives with radioactive material to make a bomb that would contaminate an area with radioactive poisons. McCormack says the only reason dirty bombs have any potential as a terror weapon is that people fear radiation. Advertisement "If everybody understood a modest amount about radiation, dirty bombs would represent a nuisance, not a threat," says McCormack, who retired to Medford with his wife, Margaret, two years ago after a career that included 20 years as a research scientist, 15 years in the Washington Legislature and 10 years in Congress. McCormack recently offered his expertise to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, who arranged for him to speak to the public from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Community Justice Building, 1101 W. Main St. The lectures are free and open to the public. Scientists generally agree that panic would create more problems than radioactivity if such a device were exploded. A Web site maintained by the American Institute of Physics suggests that someone within a half-mile radius of even a potent dirty bomb would be exposed to less than the average dose of the "background" radiation that a person receives naturally during a year. "Radiation is a hazard that must be treated with respect," McCormack says, "but it is not a cause for fear and panic." Just building a dirty bomb would be difficult, he says. Only a few substances, such as radioactive cesium and strontium, have enough radioactivity to make them suitable for a bomb, and the most highly radioactive materials would be poisoning the builder even as he assembled them around the explosives. "There’s a huge difference between something that’s radioactive and dangerously radioactive," he says. If a dirty bomb were exploded, cleanup crews wearing protective equipment would most likely wash contaminated areas with water to dilute the radioactivity and remove it from buildings. Traces of radioactivity that remained after the cleanup would be detected with Geiger counters and removed. The worst consequences of a dirty bomb would probably surface when frightened people tried to flee the area around the explosion. "There would be panic born of ignorance," he says. "When something causes panic, people get hurt." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities