Physical aspects
Environmental & health impact
Within the first months after the atomic bombings in Japan, it is estimated that around 133,000 people died in Hiroshima. At first the estimate was based solely on the body count which made it much too low (42,000 – 93,000). Later, numbers were added from body counts, missing people and neighbourhood surveys and by November 1945 the totals had reached 133,000. In Nagasaki, based on similar investigations, around 70,000 deaths were registered. The bomb used in Nagasaki could have done more damage, but its power was limited by its surroundings(hills and mountains). These deaths include the people who died during the explosion, but also the ones who died later because of the leftover radiation. One of the diseases following the bombing was A-bomb illness, which is caused by the after-effects of radiation, and many diseases which are based on Unhealed Scars.
At first, the temperature reached 4000 C and radioactive rain poured down. This caused anyone who entered Hiroshima to die from the radiation. People feared that Hiroshima was doomed because all of the radiation, but one year later oleander petals started appearing. Hiroshima is no longer radioactive, despite what many people think. There are two forms of radioactivity. One of them is the fallout after the explosion and fission materials which were. Both of these were carried away by the wind or dispersed in the atmosphere. The other form is neutron activity which causes non-radioactive materials to become radioactive. Since the bomb was detonated high above ground zero, the contamination was gone within days after the explosion. Now Hiroshima and Nagasaki are lively cities, with no danger whatsoever. This shows how mankind is able to regenerate. It also shows that not every city that undergoes nuclear explosions is destined to become a nuclear wasterland, something that was feared at the time.
Within the first months after the atomic bombings in Japan, it is estimated that around 133,000 people died in Hiroshima. At first the estimate was based solely on the body count which made it much too low (42,000 – 93,000). Later, numbers were added from body counts, missing people and neighbourhood surveys and by November 1945 the totals had reached 133,000. In Nagasaki, based on similar investigations, around 70,000 deaths were registered. The bomb used in Nagasaki could have done more damage, but its power was limited by its surroundings(hills and mountains). These deaths include the people who died during the explosion, but also the ones who died later because of the leftover radiation. One of the diseases following the bombing was A-bomb illness, which is caused by the after-effects of radiation, and many diseases which are based on Unhealed Scars.
At first, the temperature reached 4000 C and radioactive rain poured down. This caused anyone who entered Hiroshima to die from the radiation. People feared that Hiroshima was doomed because all of the radiation, but one year later oleander petals started appearing. Hiroshima is no longer radioactive, despite what many people think. There are two forms of radioactivity. One of them is the fallout after the explosion and fission materials which were. Both of these were carried away by the wind or dispersed in the atmosphere. The other form is neutron activity which causes non-radioactive materials to become radioactive. Since the bomb was detonated high above ground zero, the contamination was gone within days after the explosion. Now Hiroshima and Nagasaki are lively cities, with no danger whatsoever. This shows how mankind is able to regenerate. It also shows that not every city that undergoes nuclear explosions is destined to become a nuclear wasterland, something that was feared at the time.
A-bomb illness & Unhealed scars
A-bomb illness consists of 7 fazes:
Acute stages: primary(flash burns), secondary(scorch, contact and flame burns)
Atomic Bomb Trauma: primary injury (explosion), secondary injury (ex. Flying debris)
A-bomb radiation illness: Radiation penetrates the body and injures cells causing cell death, cell division and cell abnormalities. The cells most affected by the radiation are actively regenerating cells and proliferating cells.
Radiation blood injury: Within 1000 rads, destruction bone marrow, marked drop in white cell counts, anemia, bleeding, destruction of stomach and intestinal fluids occurs, which usually leads to death.
Blood injuries: people between 450-540 rads died within two weeks.
Secondary radiation: Effects of radioactivity during the fallout.
Unhealed scars caused by thermal burns
Keloids: an overgrowth of scar tissue on the surface on a thermal burn. It resembles the shape of a crab, hence the name keloid (Greek for crab)
A-bomb cataracts: The ocular lens becomes opaque. This condition appeared a few years after, the first being found in 1948
Leukemia:
Cancers: Thyroid: First case discovered in 1957
Breast: cases high among those exposed, mostly women ages 20-30.
Lung: first case noted in 1954. In 1972 a survey revealed 3,778 incidents and 10,412 deaths.
Chromosome changes: this leads to high aberration in blood cells and lymphocytes of fetuses
Exposure in Utero and microcephaly: research showed a high percentage of infantile deaths
Generic surveys: Genetic surveys haven’t given any evidence. However, things such as spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, malformations and more require more studies.
A-bomb illness consists of 7 fazes:
Acute stages: primary(flash burns), secondary(scorch, contact and flame burns)
Atomic Bomb Trauma: primary injury (explosion), secondary injury (ex. Flying debris)
A-bomb radiation illness: Radiation penetrates the body and injures cells causing cell death, cell division and cell abnormalities. The cells most affected by the radiation are actively regenerating cells and proliferating cells.
Radiation blood injury: Within 1000 rads, destruction bone marrow, marked drop in white cell counts, anemia, bleeding, destruction of stomach and intestinal fluids occurs, which usually leads to death.
Blood injuries: people between 450-540 rads died within two weeks.
Secondary radiation: Effects of radioactivity during the fallout.
Unhealed scars caused by thermal burns
Keloids: an overgrowth of scar tissue on the surface on a thermal burn. It resembles the shape of a crab, hence the name keloid (Greek for crab)
A-bomb cataracts: The ocular lens becomes opaque. This condition appeared a few years after, the first being found in 1948
Leukemia:
Cancers: Thyroid: First case discovered in 1957
Breast: cases high among those exposed, mostly women ages 20-30.
Lung: first case noted in 1954. In 1972 a survey revealed 3,778 incidents and 10,412 deaths.
Chromosome changes: this leads to high aberration in blood cells and lymphocytes of fetuses
Exposure in Utero and microcephaly: research showed a high percentage of infantile deaths
Generic surveys: Genetic surveys haven’t given any evidence. However, things such as spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, malformations and more require more studies.