Contamination From Cobalt-60

This attack scenario uses a 1 x 12" or "pencil" rod of cobalt-60, like that typically found in a food irradiation facility. If exploded in the same area as a dirty bomb using Cesium-137, the result would be much more deadly.

However, cobalt is harder to obtain and use. In this scenario, there is a higher level of contamination. It would be decades before the "Inner Circle" was inhabitable again. If the same attack were to take place in a city like New York, it would result in losses of potentially trillions of dollars.

Assuming 30 years' exposure:

• Inner ring: 1 cancer death per 100, but may be as high as 1 in 30.
• Middle ring: 1 cancer death per 1000.
• Outer Ring: 1 cancer death per 10,000.