Radiological warfare

Radiological warfare is any form of warfare involving deliberate radiation poisoning or contamination of an area with radioisotopes.

Nuclear warfare, both via fission and fusion weapons, creates radioisotopes in the form of fission products and neutron-activated surface material. This fallout is incorporated into military planning. Neutron bombs are designed to maximize the lethal radiation area and minimize the blast. These uses are generally not considered direct radiological warfare, but salted bombs, which produce maximize radioisotope production in a nuclear blast, are.

Radiological weapons are normally classified as weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), with delivery methods explored including aerial dispersal and missile warheads. They can also be targeted at individuals, such as the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko by the Russian FSB, using radioactive polonium-210.

Numerous countries have expressed an interest in radiological weapons programs, several have actively pursued them. Radiological weapons have been tested in the United States, Soviet Union, Ba'athist Iraq, Israel, and China.

The United States and Soviet Union during the 1980s jointly attempted to promulgate a comprehensive prohibition treaty on radiological weapons via the Committee on Disarmament, but negotiations stalled over the prohibition of attacks on nuclear facilities, in the wake of the 1981 Israeli bombing of an Iraqi nuclear reactor.