Method of Measuring the Economic Impact of a Radiological Dispersal Event Within an Urban Environment

A RDE is the result of a RDD or a dirty bomb. An RDD is a low-yield conventional weapon surrounded by radiological material such as Cesium-137 and is an affordable, feasible, and economically devastating option for terrorist groups. The purpose of this research is to develop a generalized methodology that can assess economic impacts resulting from an RDE, occurring in any location and across any industry. Currently there is no universal approach for measuring the economic impacts on businesses. This research will provide government planners, officials, and key stakeholders with an economic assessment tool which can be used to quantify the impacts arising from a RDE. As part of the methodology, this thesis used an I-O Model to evaluate the economic impacts of an RDE at three districts within a proposed study site. The methodology can be generalized to other regions or cities. The study showed that the direct, indirect, and induced costs remained consistent independent of the district at approximately 60%, 15%, and 25% respectively. The significance of such a finding is that previous attempts to quantify the impact only measured the direct effects and thus did not capture approximately 40% of the total costs resulting in gross underestimates.

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