Dirty Bomb detonates at the Mall of America
Robert Capponi
HSM320
Erik Stone
16 November 2015

Dirty Bomb detonates at the Mall of America A radiological dispersion device (dirty bomb) has been detonated in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota on the day after Thanksgiving which is known as “Black Friday”. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year and malls and shopping centers all over the country are severely crowed with people taking advantage of sales and special offers on merchandize for the holiday season. A dirty bomb is a very effective terror weapon because it combines the mass lethality of an explosive device, plus exposure to radiation; this device causes mass fear and panic in a population and could have a serious effect on the nearby area and environment. A dirty bomb is a type of radiological dispersion device (RDD) which combines some type of explosive combined with some type of radioactive material. The explosive element of a dirty bomb will produce the most amount of damage and causalities depending on the amount and type of explosive material and shrapnel used. There is usually not enough radiation to kill or cause severe illness depending on the radioactive material; the type of radiation that is used and the amount of exposure to the victims. Depending the situation though a dirty bomb can cause a great deal of panic, fear and chaos, including contamination of buildings and property. Dirty Bombs are not a nuclear device. Nuclear bombs are tremendously more powerful and can destroy entire cities and produce catastrophic amount of casualties. The radiation fallout of a nuclear weapon can spread tens to hundreds of square miles and effect an area for years with radioactive contamination. Dirty bombs can be capable of contaminating a few blocks or a few miles depending on the size of the device. Dirty bombs can be destructive but are mostly designed to spread fear and panic. Terrorist usual tactic is not only to produce as many casualties as possible but also to spread chaos through the population. The publicity of their attacks help further their cause. Dirty bombs have more of a fear, it is more of a weapon of mass disruption other than a weapon of mass destruction (U.S. NRC, 2012). Exposure to the radioactive elements of a dirty bomb can be minor to sever to victims depending on the exposure time and what type of radioactive elements were used. The amount of contamination that could spread in a local area surrounding the detonation of a dirty bomb depends on several factors. One factor is the size of the bomb itself; the bigger the bomb, the bigger the blast. The blast of the bomb will help disperse the radioactive material to a wider range. Another factor would be the amount and type of radioactive material that is being used. The type of dispersal method and weather conditions will also determine how much of an area is contaminated (U.S. NRC, 2012). Individuals closest to the dirty bomb will likely be the ones that either sustain the most severe injuries or death from the explosion itself. But the individuals that are close to the dirty bomb will be exposed to a concentrated amount of the radioactive particles. The radioactive particles will then spread out, as it spreads the amount of particles will begin to dissipate and become less concentrated and less harmful. Health effects from a RDD can usually be minimal. The effects of radiation expose depends on the amount and type of radiation absorbed into the body; distance from the radiation; and whether the exposure is internal or external (U.S NRC, 2012). The effects of radiation depend the dose of radiation itself. Radiation can enter the body by irradiation. Ether by inhaling radioactive dust or it can be absorbed through the skin by radioactive liquid. Radioactive sources irradiate internally inside the body rather than externally. Shrapnel of the device, the thermal and blast itself will cause additional injuries. Prompt and acute effects of high levels of radiation exposure will cause severe health issues within hours, days and weeks after exposure. Death can occur by acute effects, including destruction of the bone marrow. Shut down of the nervous and digestive systems can also occur. Children in utero can also suffer birth defects. Again effects of radiation depend on the amount of exposure. Symptoms of low exposure are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Moderate exposure will cause first degree burns, hair loss, loss of the immune system and cancer. Severely high exposure will cause second and third degree burns; also cancer then death. Since the bombing at the Mall of America is a terrorist attack agencies from all levels of government will be involved. Local EMS and fire/rescue units will respond immediately after the attack and triage and treat the wounded. Causality collection points will be setup outside the mall. Incident Command will be set up nearby in the Mall parking lot to coordinate with the other agencies. Once it has been established that radiation has been detected; local and State HAZMAT teams will arrive on scene and they will immediately set up decontaminating stations. The National Guard civil support teams will also be deployed to assist with decontamination of the people that were in the mall. Local law enforcement will set up a perimeter around the mall and assist with evacuating the mall. Bomb Squad units will search the mall for possible secondary explosive devices. FBI and ATF will also respond and assist with securing the scene and will take over the investigation into the attack. The EPA will also respond and help with putting out information and assess the impact this attack will have on the surrounding environment. Radios and cell phones will be used to communicate between the different agencies that respond to the attack. Information on what type of attack it was, number of causalities, what equipment is needed, will be shared between the responding agencies. Information on the attack will be shared with the media in order to address the needs of the public, especially if the radiation is severe and spreads out side of the mall. Evacuation of nearby buildings might be necessary. Immediate, coordinated response is essential in a Mass Causality situations. Proper communication between the different agencies that respond to this crisis will insure rapid response. Each agency will have there on duties based on their emergency response plan. First responders will likely be exposed to the radiation upon arrival at the scene. The effects of the radiation exposure on first responders will depend on the amount radiation present and the route of entry into the body. How long the first responders are in the contaminated area will also determine how much exposure the first responders will receive. First responders will have Dosimeters on them at all times while out at the scene in order to constantly monitor the radiation levels. Wearing the appropriate protective ensemble clothing and respirators will provide adequate protection from alpha and beta radiation but there is no protection from gamma radiation. The most effective protection for gamma radiation is time, distance, and shielding such as concrete walls. First responders will most likely be wearing a class 4 ensemble with either APR or PAPR respirators. The class 4 ensemble is lightweight and responders can move easily. Depending on the levels of radiation, heavier protective clothing might be worn. Depending on fire hazards produced by the explosion itself, firefighting crews would be wearing their standard PPE. But what PPE they wear will depend on the levels of radiation. Crews evacuating victims and causalities from the area must move quickly to reduce the exposure time. Setting up a perimeter and safe distance around the mall is important in order to reduce the chances of prolong exposure to the radiation. Time, distance and shielding is the best protection from radiation exposure. Responding units will have to set up a perimeter around the mall, and close access to only emergency personnel. A safe zone some distance away will need to be set up in order to treat the wounded and transport the more serious cases to the closet hospitals. Police will set up a perimeter by blocking all entrances into the parking lot of the mall. Roving patrols will be needed to prevent unauthorized civilians from entering the area. The safe distance from the mall will depend on how much radiation was produced by the dirty bomb. Wind conditions will be a factor also. It may prove difficult to prevent the radiation from exiting the building due to the fact that emergency exits will be used to evacuate the people inside the mall and the radiation will move out into the parking lot. Any wear from a 100 meters to 200 meters will be the minimum safe distance; depending on the levels of radiation and how far and fast the radiation is moving outside of the mall. Incident commanders at the scene might have to make adjustments on the safe distance. After the injured and contaminated people are evacuated from the mall, the decontamination process will begin. Other than the obvious injuries from the explosion itself, the radiation contamination will be harder to identify. Radiation has no smell, it cannot be seen or tasted. Individuals from the mall that do not have injuries from the blast, should be instructed on how to properly discard their clothes. They should also be told to shower as soon as possible. Washing will reduce the amount of contamination. Tents should be set up to provide shelter and shower stations should also be set up. People should not be allowed to leave until it is proven that they have not been contaminated. If people were contaminated by radioactive dust, they can spread it. Radioactive contamination will not be detected right away. Once it is detected moving people to the closet hospitals to be treated will be priority. Discarding contaminated clothing, and washing will be the immediate decontamination procedures. Giving people potassium iodide or KI will only help if the individual was exposed to radioactive iodine and it is taken before or immediately after contamination.
It will not be determined exactly what type of radioactive material was used until the evidence is studied. Many individuals that would be exposed to the radiation may not develop signs and symptoms until sometime afterwards. They should be transported to the hospital and tested for contamination. Public safety announcements will help people take certain steps to help reduce the effects of the contamination. After the dirty bomb is detonated, the scene is a crime scene. Preserving the evidence is crucial in determining what type of material was used to make the bomb. Preserving the crime scene will be complicated due to the fact that after the explosion, people would panic and run to the nearest exit this will disrupt the crime scene. Also emergency medical personnel will be moving the injured, they can accidently disturb the evidence. Police will not be able to properly secure the scene until all the people have been removed from the area. Then it has to be determined how large the scene actually is. Blast fragments and explosive material could been flown a good distance from the blast site. The dirty bomb was placed in a prop at the Santa Clause scene. This area is the blast site and crime scene. Once the scene is secured and closed off, investigators can start collecting evidence. They will be looking for anything that might have been used to construct the bomb and any evidence that might help them in discovering the perpetrator. They will put bomb fragments in secure envelopes or containers. They will have to place the radioactive fragments in some type of shielded protective container. They will dust the area around the blast site and bomb fragments for finger prints. They will test the residue to determine what type of explosives and radioactive material was used. Proper procedures in securing the scene is important. Using proper evidence handling procedures is also vital in order to preserve the more sensitive evidence from being lost or destroyed. Evidence will also be on the people close to the blast, it will be important to collect whatever they can from them also. Important observations made by the initial responders will be key upon arrival. They will not be able to write much down at first, they will have to remember vital evidence observations and report directly to the incident commander or other law enforcement agencies as soon as they can. Key observations include but are not limited to: evidence of an explosion; blast area, shrapnel and explosive residue. The mall CCT cameras need to be looked at; the cameras might help to identify the suspect or suspects in addition to any other suspicious people or activity. It is also important to take statements from witness or bystanders that might have seen something or also help identify any suspicious people that were standing near the Santa display earlier that day. Since the bomb was placed there at the Santa display, it might be possible to recover finger prints off the remains of the explosive device. Emergency responders must have complete situational awareness at all times when responding to a scene like a terrorist attack. They must be alert to the possibility of secondary devices and other possible attacks on first responders. They must be kept up to date in the latest terrorist tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Preserving the evidence is important but difficult in the initial stages after the attack. The chaos and confusion of people running around until the scene is secured can destroy possible evidence. Evidence should not be touched if all possible unless it is necessary to protect lives. Law enforcement investigators will then photograph, document, package and then remove the evidence for further examination at a forensic lab. If a tactical reason comes up and the evidence must be moved, the location must be marked or noted at the original location. The scene should be taped or roped off to prevent unnecessary trampling and contaminating on possible evidence (Maniscalco, P. M., Christen, H. T., 2006). It is important to minimize the amount of people in the crime scene area. Once the scene has been secured, a police officer should be at the entrance and only allow those that need to be there granted access. That officer should annotate who entered, the reason and the time. The media should be held in a safe distance from the site; there they can get information from the Incident Commander and other emergency agencies. The media would be given as much information that can be released. If radiation has been leaked to the surrounding areas, the media could be used to pass on information to the public. Individuals at the scene will already be taking pictures and videos of the attack and that could be used by law enforcement to help with identifying the suspect or suspects. Once evidence has been photographed, documented and removed from the scene a proper chain of custody must take place. Evidence will change hands numerous times until its disposition. Having a set change of custody procedure in place is important because if evidence is lost or damaged, then that person who last had custody of it is responsible. It is important to have as little people as possible change custody of evidence in order to minimize the chance of that evidence being lost or damaged. Law enforcement have made critical mistakes in the past in regards to evidence collecting and preservation. Either this was caused by carelessness or negligence, valuable evidence was either not identified, collected or lost. Poor follow-up by investigators can also ruin a case. In these situations when valuable evidence is lost, it is impossible for prosecutors to convict a subject at trail. Proper crime scene security, evidence collecting and proper follow-up investigations are vital in order to close a case and win a conviction. After the decontamination of the people and first responders have been completed; and the scene is cleared it will now necessary to decontaminate and clean up the areas inside the mall and the surrounding area outside the mall for radioactive material that leaked out of the building. The cleanup of the areas in and around the Mall of America of radioactive material will be conducted in order to reduce the radiation to acceptable levels and allow personnel to return to their homes if they lived in the effected area or to their place of employment inside of the mall. This could be a very long and expensive process, this process could months or even years depending on the amount and type of radiation that was released. The Mall of America will be closed for an unknown amount of time. The area around the mall will be cordon off and residents in the immediate contaminated area will have to be relocated. technical experts, FEMA and the EPA will have to decide just how much residual radiation is acceptable (Dirty Bombs, 2014). After the dirty bomb explosion which large numbers of people were possibly exposed to radiation, public health officials will conduct what is called population monitoring. Locations called Community Reception Centers (CRCs) will be set up to conduct this type of monitoring. The reason for this monitoring is to assess the people that were exposed for external contamination, if detected then decontamination can be conducted at the CRC. If an individual has significant internal radiation exposure, that individual will be referred for further evaluation and treatment. CRC personnel can also provide information for additional medical care, psychosocial services and other assistance. The consequences of a dirty bomb attack can be very severe. The blast from the explosive element of the dirty bomb alone can cause severe damage and causalities. Shrapnel and nails placed in the bomb will cause major injuries and death to individuals caught in the immediate blast zone. There is also psychological impact on individuals who have or believed to have been exposed to radioactive material. People near the blast can be exposed to acute radiation sickness and require immediate medical care. It is very important to have an immediate response in order to quickly secure the scene; evacuate and treat the wounded from the building; start the gross decontamination as soon as possible; Identify and collect evidence from the scene; Examine all video evidence of the scene and surrounding area for possible suspects; Use the media to pass on important information on possible effects from radiation that would have had escaped from the building; And depending on the size and make-up of the bomb, there is the long and costly clean up required to minimize the effects of radiation in the area and surrounding areas of the blast. The use of a dirty bomb is an effective terror weapon. It causes panic and fear combined with the lethality of both conventional explosives and possible harmful radiation. The emergency response to a dirty bomb attack requires the combine efforts and support of multiple agencies from all levels of government. The dirty bomb is not so much a weapon of mass destruction but a weapon of mass disruption.

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