Concluding Thoughts
At the very least, this book should make it clear that this is a hugely complex
topic. Some aspects—the physics of nuclear weapons, the health effects of radiation
exposure, medical treatment for radiation sickness, and other scientific and technical areas—are supported by a robust body of knowledge and experience. Other
aspects—the best way to manage the scene of a nuclear attack, the most effective use
of personnel and equipment for nuclear interdiction, the most efficient operation of a
Community Reception Center, and so forth—remain largely hypothetical since they
have never been practiced in real life and may never be. In spite of this (or perhaps
because of this), there is a huge body of literature on all aspects of preventing and
responding to these events.
This book, like all books, represents a snapshot in time; it is an imperfect summary
of what is known at the time it was written. With so much literature it is impossible
to read and incorporate it all; with so little experience of actual events it is impossible
to do more than guess in many areas; even when these guesses are well-informed by
research and experience, they remain our best guesses as of 2021.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2
285
At the very least, this book should make it clear that this is a hugely complex
topic. Some aspects—the physics of nuclear weapons, the health effects of radiation
exposure, medical treatment for radiation sickness, and other scientific and technical areas—are supported by a robust body of knowledge and experience. Other
aspects—the best way to manage the scene of a nuclear attack, the most effective use
of personnel and equipment for nuclear interdiction, the most efficient operation of a
Community Reception Center, and so forth—remain largely hypothetical since they
have never been practiced in real life and may never be. In spite of this (or perhaps
because of this), there is a huge body of literature on all aspects of preventing and
responding to these events.
This book, like all books, represents a snapshot in time; it is an imperfect summary
of what is known at the time it was written. With so much literature it is impossible
to read and incorporate it all; with so little experience of actual events it is impossible
to do more than guess in many areas; even when these guesses are well-informed by
research and experience, they remain our best guesses as of 2021.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2
285