| This morning's news that the threats to bomb | | | | uranium is available on the terrorist market. |
| various targets in Kissimmee, Florida and Greater | | | | While government officials attempt to placate |
| Osceola County are tied to the discovery of actual | | | | appropriately concerned citizens with the platitude "it's |
| bombs and bomb making materials proves yet again | | | | too little to make a nuclear bomb", anybody who has |
| that the Kissimmee and Osceola County are not as | | | | put together a Thanksgiving dinner knows that if you |
| safe as many would have us and our county | | | | can't get enough sweet potatoes at one store you |
| government believe. Even more concerning is that | | | | just go to another. The terrorists are not stupid and |
| much of the critical equipment needed to respond to | | | | little bit of weapons grade uranium here, a little bit |
| a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive | | | | more there and soon they have the critical mass to |
| (CBRNE) event are kept in Orlando. This equipment, | | | | actually achieve critical mass. Then there is the claim |
| known as a "Push-Pack" is stored with other | | | | of the seller that the sample in his possession |
| interagency response equipment and may only be | | | | represented a much larger quantity. |
| release with the consent of Orange County's | | | | Many security experts and almost every local |
| Emergency Operations Center. | | | | disaster preparedness professional points to the fact |
| The purpose of a "Push-Pack" is to place equipment | | | | that building a successful nuclear device is technically |
| near areas where the need for such equipment can | | | | difficult. Unfortunately, a first year undergraduate |
| reasonably be expected. Today's announcement is | | | | physics student in the 1980's proved that with |
| further proof that Osceola County's equipment | | | | minimal research it is possible to design a viable |
| belongs in Osceola County. | | | | nuclear explosive. If a terrorist, foreign or domestic, |
| Add to this yesterday's announcement of the first | | | | were to attempt a nuclear detonation and fail, the |
| confirmed attempt to sell weapons grade uranium. | | | | resultant dirty bomb would still cause as much havoc |
| American officials attempted to reassure the public | | | | and hysteria as the actual mushroom cloud. |
| by stating that the amount of uranium offered for | | | | The medical community and the emergency |
| sale was less than that required to create a nuclear | | | | management community throughout Central Florida |
| warhead. It is of note that they did not deny that | | | | needs to ramp-up their response capability, |
| this was in fact weapons grade uranium. | | | | decentralize their resources through strategic |
| Intelligence officials, terrorist and response experts, | | | | deployment of assets and move the level of |
| and those of us in the disaster medicine community | | | | preparedness into the 21st century. |
| have long feared the verification that weapons grade | | | | |