. "2. Nuclear and Radiological Threats." Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2002.
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Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism
TABLE 2.1C Radiological Attacks
Threat Category
Threat Description
Threat Level
Potential Consequences
Nuclear power plants (NPPs)
Ground or air assaults on civilian NPPs
High—Over 100 potential targets exist in the United States
Variable, ranging from reactor shutdowns to core meltdowns with very large releases of radioactivity
Research reactors
Ground or air assaults
High—there are 36 operating reactors
Little or no release of radioactivity likely
Spent nuclear fuel in wet or dry storage
Ground or air assaults on spent fuel pools or dry storage casks
High—Potential targets exist at all commercial NPP sites
Little or no release of radioactivity likely
Radiological sources
Attacks with dirty bombs or placement of radioactive sources in public places
Very high—radiation sources are numerous and highly dispersed worldwide
Few deaths likely, but potential for economic disruption and panic is high
Radioactive waste
Same as for radiological sources
Very high—radioactive waste is abundant worldwide and not well protected
Trivial—most types of radioactive waste potentially available to terrorists have low specific activity
Spent Nuclear Fuel in Wet or Dry Storage
All civilian NPPs contain storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel and, with few exceptions, all of the spent fuel produced by those reactors is being stored at the sites where it was produced. Approximately 42,000 metric tons of spent fuel are currently stored under water in large spent fuel storage pools for cooling and shielding purposes. These pools are constructed of steel-reinforced concrete and are typically located adjacent to reactor containment buildings.
At some NPP sites spent nuclear fuel also is being stored outside the power-plant buildings in dry casks on concrete pads. At present, about 3,000 metric tons of spent fuel are being stored in this fashion. The casks are constructed of one or more layers of stainless steel and steel-reinforced concrete. The spent fuel is stored in the casks in an inert atmosphere at low pressure. A consortium of
