Health And Environmental Effects Of Nuclear Weapons

Health and Environmental Effects of Nuclear Weapons The Effects of Nuclear Weapons A nuclear bomb has certain special characteristics that distinguish it from a conventional weapon and make the effects of this weapon particularly devastating in terms of immediate casualties and longer-term health and environmental impact. These unique characteristics are: ○

An intense burst of high-energy radiation (the amount of energy that is released by an atomic bomb exceeds any other kind of weapon – e.g. biochemical weapons, conventional bombs…)

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An exploding fireball instantly inflicting burns and starting fires

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An enormously powerful shockwave

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A mushroom cloud propelling radioactive fission products into the upper atmosphere, from where they return as ‘radioactive fallout’

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Radioactive substances which remain millions of years after the explosion and emit harmful radiation that can damage living organisms

The explosion of a nuclear bomb over a target such as a populated city would lead to immense and severe damage. The degree of damage would depend upon the distance from the centre of the bomb blast, which is called the hypocentre or ground zero. The closer one is to the hypocentre, the more severe the damage. The following diagram shows the destruction suffered by Hiroshima – it gives you an idea of the kind of damage caused by a nuclear bomb.

Source:http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite

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At the hypocentre, everything is immediately vaporised by the high temperature (up to 500 million

degrees Fahrenheit or 300 million degrees Celsius).

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Outward from the hypocentre, most casualties are caused by burns from the heat, injuries from the flying debris of buildings collapsed by the shock wave, and acute exposure to the high radiation.

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Beyond the immediate blast area, casualties are caused from the heat, radiation, and fires spawned from the heat wave.

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In the long-term, radioactive fallout occurs over a wider area because of prevailing winds. The radioactive fallout particles enter the water supply and are inhaled and ingested by people at a distance from the blast.

Diagram - Damaging effects of nuclear bombs

The damaging effects of nuclear bombs can be seen from the effects of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945: click on the following links to find out. Immediate casualties >> Long term health effects >> Environment >>

Immediate casualties Although the exact number of dead and injured will never be known, the estimated death toll is staggering. It ranges between 100,000 and 180,000 for Hiroshima, and between 50,000 and 100,000 for Nagasaki. Causes of death were numerous and these included burning, being crushed by falling debris and radiation. The Hiroshima health department estimated the proportion of deaths from burns to be 60%, deaths from falling debris to be 30% and deaths from other injuries such as radiation to be 10%. Burning Immediately after the detonation the temperature at the centre of the fireball is several million degrees Celsius. Survivors in the two cities stated that people who were in the open directly under the explosion of the bomb were so severely burned that the skin was charred dark brown or black and that they died within a few minutes or hours. Crushed by falling debris In Hiroshima the atomic bomb exploded close to the centre of the city and 90% of buildings collapsed or burned. Thousands of people were pinned beneath the debris. Many were able to escape or received aid in escaping, but large numbers succumbed either to their injuries or to fire before they could escape Radiation Our understanding of radiation casualties is not complete. In the words of Dr. Robert Stone of the Manhattan Project, "The fundamental mechanism of the action of radiation on living tissues has not been understood.” -Radiation victims who were near the hypocentre but escaped heat burns or secondary injuries became ill within two or three days with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea and hair loss. Most died within a week. -Radiation victims who were further away from the explosion did not show severe symptoms until later (one to four weeks after the explosion). The first signs were loss of appetite, lassitude and general discomfort. Inflammation of the gums, mouth, and pharynx as well as fever appeared next.

Long term health effects Radiation caused a wide range of disorders for decades. Even today, after more than fifty years, the full range of effects of radiation taken into the body has yet to be clarified. Many survivors continue to suffer from those effects. Effects on unborn children The atomic bomb had serious effects on foetuses. Many were stillborn, and exposed foetuses born alive had higher infant mortality rates than other children. Children who were born also suffered an increased incidence of a syndrome characterized by an abnormally small skull, accompanied in severe cases by mental disabilities. Cancer Beginning around 1960, the incidence of cancer began to increase. The main cancers included thyroid, breast, lung, and salivary gland. The role of radiation in cancer is significant. Some researchers reported a direct correspondence between distance from hypocenter, probable exposure dose, and malignancy rates.

Source: Effects of A-bomb Radiation on the Human Body 1992, Ed. Hiroshima International Council for Medical Care of the Radiation-exposed, Bunkodo

The incidence of leukaemia among atomic bomb survivors was found to be in proportion to the doses of radiation to which they were exposed. Furthermore, the younger they were when exposed, the higher the leukaemia risk. The peak of leukaemia onset was about 7 to 8 years after exposure.

Source: Effects of A-bomb Radiation on the Human Body 1992, Ed. Hiroshima International Council for Medical Care of the Radiation-exposed,Bunkodo

Environment Nuclear weapons cause severe damage to the environment and it is suspected that no other weapon is capable of causing environmental damage on a similar scale. In 1987 the World Commission on the Environment and Development described the likely consequences of nuclear war as: "making other threats to the environment pale into insignificance. One thermo-nuclear bomb [hydrogen bomb] can have an explosive power greater than all the explosives used in wars since the invention of gunpowder. In addition to the destructive effects of blast and heat, immensely magnified by these weapons, they introduce a new lethal agent -ionising

radiation- that extends lethal effects over both space and time." (Tri-Denting It Handbook, p.94) A certain effect of the massive exchange of nuclear weapons is the nuclear winter. A nuclear winter would arise as a result of hundreds of millions of tons of soot in the atmosphere from fires in cities, in forests and in the countryside, caused by nuclear weapons. The smoke cloud and debris from multiple explosions could blot out sunlight, leading to crop failures throughout the world and starvation.

The Basic Principle of the Atomic Bomb The splitting of atomic nuclei releases enormous energy. When a single free neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom of fissile (radioactive) material like uranium 235 or plutonium 239, it usually knocks two or three more neutrons free. Energy is released when those neutrons split off from the nucleus, and the newly released neutrons strike other uranium 235 (or plutonium 239) nuclei, splitting them in the same way, releasing more energy and more neutrons. This chain reaction spreads almost instantaneously. The atomic bomb (A-bomb) was a weapon of destruction that used the power released by the splitting of atomic nuclei.

If it were to accurately portray technological capabilities, the symbol of the atomic era would not be the mushroom cloud, but a firestorm.

Firestorms, the nuclear dimension