Conference Day Three: WMD Exercise
Preparing for Disaster
How to Respond to a Dirty Bomb
06/14/07
| An FBI SWAT team member is checked for possible radiological contamination. The event was part of a staged drill at the Orange Bowl in Miami to show the basics of how we’d respond to a threat involving a weapon of mass destruction. See more images below. |
If terrorists ever do try to attack our country with a nuke or dirty bomb, the FBI and its partners must be ready.
And we are. On Wednesday, we staged a mock drill at the Orange Bowl in Miami to show the basics of how we’d respond to a threat involving a weapon of mass destruction.
In the scenario, a terrorist cell was in the process of constructing a dirty bomb in a mock warehouse set up on the field at the Orange Bowl. Two Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams—one from the FBI and one from the Miami Police—descended on the scene, cleared the warehouse, and discovered an improvised explosive device in one room and radiological material in another room. A Department of Energy Radiological Assistance Program Team used sensors to help determine the presence of radiation, and, with the help of the Miami Fire Department, a robot later destroyed the device. Then, an FBI Hazmat team in full protective gear collected radiological evidence at the scene.
The drill came on day three of the FBI’s week-long event, the “Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference.” Delegates from 28 countries observed the demonstration from the press boxes and later saw equipment and displays showing the WMD capabilities of 15 local, state, and federal agencies.
Below are more images from Wednesday’s mock drill.
| An FBI SWAT team prepares to assault the warehouse. |
| FBI and Miami Police SWAT teams use paintball weapons to clear the warehouse and capture the terrorist suspects. In the process, they find a mock “dirty bomb” or radiological dispersal device. |
| A member of the FBI Hazardous Materials Response Team uses a long pole to safely collect evidence related to the dirty bomb. |
| A Miami police robot like this one destroyed an improvised explosive device with streams of water during the exercise. |
Resources:
- Day One of the Conference
- Day Two of the Conference