Federal,
state and local agencies last week responded to a simulated attempt by
extremists to seize radioactive cobalt from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) for use in a radiological “dirty bomb,” the Boston Globe
reported. The FBI and Energy Department coordinated the unpublicized exercise,
which involved medical and fire personnel as well as state, city and campus
police. The effort was part of the “Silent Thunder” series of drills, which
focuses on responses by multiple levels of government to threats involving
chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. Government sources
refused to discuss difficulties that might have emerged in the drill, which
addressed possible means of preventing would-be thieves from obtaining
dirty-bomb ingredients as well as potential government responses to an attack
involving radiological material or a different type of unconventional weapon.
“Exercises of this type are valuable tools for enhancing coordination among the
various organizations involved in response management,” the MIT Nuclear Reactor
Laboratory head said.
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