Dirty bombs are weapons of terror, not weapons of mass destruction. The true damage is caused by societal and economic overreaction from the target: fear leads

Dirty bombs are weapons of terror, not weapons of mass destruction. The true damage is caused by societal and economic overreaction from the target: fear leads to expensive security theatre, a desire for vengeance leads to lashing out with expensive unnecessary wars, uncertainty and political instability destabilizes financial markets, etc. Some diseases are similar: immune system overreaction causes more harm than the actual invader.