article

Irradiation Experiment for Living Insect-Based Radiological Dispersal Device

Authors

• • Braden Goddard
  • Virginia Commonwealth University View ROR record for Virginia Commonwealth University. (opens in new tab)
• • Walid Metwally
  • University of Sharjah View ROR record for University of Sharjah. (opens in new tab)
• • Ahmad Ababneh
  • University of Sharjah View ROR record for University of Sharjah. (opens in new tab)

Abstract

People generally associate fear with “nuclear”, “radioactive” and “insects”. It is speculated that a release of radioactive living insects would instill more fear into the general public than a “traditional” style radiological dispersion device (RDD). This paper evaluates the potential threat of an insect-based RDD using experimental data. The results of this project found that insect-based RDDs are an insignificant threat due to the challenges in making insects radioactive enough to pose any danger to humans without killing the insects.

Keywords: Neutron activation, nuclear security, radiological dispersion device, insect

How to Cite: Goddard, B. , Metwally, W. & Ababneh, A. (2018) “Irradiation Experiment for Living Insect-Based Radiological Dispersal Device”, International Journal of Nuclear Security. 4(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.7290/ijns040103