Study: $16B - Estimated Costs of “Dirty Bomb” Attack In LA

Downtown Los Angeles from the sky. A recent study out of USC has found that if a "dirty bomb" was dropped on downtown the economical damage of long-term psychological effects would exceed the cost of short-term clean-up by $15 billion. feculent_figure/Flickr

Costs of 'Dirty Bomb' Attack In Los Angeles -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2012) — A dirty bomb attack centered on downtown Los Angeles' financial district could severely impact the region's economy to the tune of nearly $16 billion, fueled primarily by psychological effects that could persist for a decade.

The study, published by a team of internationally recognized economists and decision scientists in the current issue of Risk Analysis, monetized the effects of fear and risk perception and incorporated them into a state-of-the-art macroeconomic model.

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My Comment: My gut tells me that the costs will be greater than $16 billion.