HEALTH RISKS
A solider burned from thermal radiation. Image from http://www.hiroshima-remembered.com/photos/effects/images/PC03.jpg.
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Severe Burns/Vaporization
In the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the people that were within 500 meters of ground zero (the place where the bomb dropped) had a 90% mortality rate. The searing heat created by the fireball in the atomic bomb instantly vaporized people. Farther away from ground zero, people suffered severe burns from rays and the fires that burned throughout the city after the bomb. These severe burns disfigured many people, and often, the people who had severe burns also became sick from radiation poisoning.
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Radiation Poisoning
People who are exposed to large amounts of radiation from nuclear bombs often contract radiation sickness within 3 weeks of exposure. When a person is hit by rays radiating from ground zero, it causes cell death, slows cell division, and can create abnormalities of intracellular molecules and membranes. After the bombings of Japan, doctors found that cells that regenerate often are more likely to be affected. The most sensitive are young blood cells, lymphocytes, spermatogonia (of testicles), and the follicle cells of ovaries. While mucosal epithelial cells of the mouth, the esophagus, and stomach, and epithelial cells of the eye lens, and cells forming the hair bulb are also somewhat sensitive.
People who are subjected to severe radiation exposure of more than 1,000 rads* are at risk of destruction of bone marrow, a significant drop in white cell counts, anemia, bleeding, destruction of stomach and intestinal fluids (mucosa). In Japan, most of the people who were exposed to that kind of radiation died within 30 days. After the bombings in Japan, many volunteer medical workers contracted a less severe illness from secondhand exposure. *One Rad=One Unit of Radiation Poisoning |
A person suffering the effects of receiving intense amounts of nuclear radiation. Image taken from http://s1.hubimg.com/u/8352_f248.jpg
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A victim of the Hiroshima bombing. Image taken from http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/attachments/f149/74311d1248366199-hiroshima-atomic-bomb-survivor-charonboat_dot_com_hiroshima_victim.jpg
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Atomic bomb survivors in nursing home today. https://d13uygpm1enfng.cloudfront.net/article-imgs/en/2012/08/09/AJ201208090019/AJ201208090020M.jpg
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Today
The effects of radiation are still felt today. Many people who survived the atomic bombing still have to worry about contracting leukemia, A-bomb cataracts, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and cancer in the salivary glands. They also have to worry about birth defects in their children, such as mental retardation. People who suffered severe burns have to live with disfiguring keloid scars for the rest of their lives. The nuclear bombings of Japan have had negative effects on their population.
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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
A nuclear bomb impacts the land in many negative ways. When an bomb explodes, it can create a crater as much as 100 meters in diameter, and it obliterates all life, buildings, etc. within a certain area. More seriously, the radiation from the bomb can make the land uninhabitable. During the formation of a mushroom cloud, large amounts of radioactive soil, water, and other objects are sucked up into the air. When they are redeposited, they can hurt the land well outside the initial blast area (in many cases, tens of kilometers away). Nuclear weapons hurt much more than their intended target.
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Nagasaki, Japan in ruins after the 1945 atomic bombing. Image taken from http://www.japanfocus.org/data/nagasaki_bomb.jpg
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