Chapter 11
Health Effects of Nuclear Weapons
Even a small nuclear attack—a weapon that “fizzles” with a low yield—would be
the most destructive terrorist attack in history; a fizzle would produce a blast at least
an order of magnitude greater than that of the Oklahoma City bombing with all of
the attendant physical effects of so powerful a blast (Reed 2011). To this would be
added the thermal and radiological effects described in the previous chapter. And in
addition to these we must also consider the long-term risk arising from radiationinduced cancer that might start appearing a decade and longer after the attack. A fully
functioning nuclear weapon, even one with a yield similar to that of the weapons
used in the Second World War, would have a far greater effect.
In an attack of such magnitude, however, the health impacts go far deeper than
simple radiological injury, and they extend far beyond the injuries caused by conventional bombs. Dealing with burns alone from a single low-yield nuclear weapon is
likely to exhaust any nation’s capacity for care, and burns are only one of the myriad
of non-radiological injuries that would be seen. In their modeling of the effects of an
improvised nuclear device effects, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories identifies several zones for a 10 kt nuclear weapon detonated at ground level [1], while
Glasstone and Dolan [2] described the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP):
• Within about 300 m all buildings will be destroyed and 100% of those in this area
will be killed
• Within about 1 km most buildings will be severely damaged and survival is
unlikely for those in this area
• Within about 1–1.5 km buildings will be moderately damaged and the EMP will
cause service disruptions and equipment damage that might be permanent
• Within about 4–5 km glass on exterior windows will be broken, injuring people
struck by flying or falling glass
• Within about 10 km the EMP can cause temporary disruptions in electrical and
electronic equipment
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_11
101
Health Effects of Nuclear Weapons
Even a small nuclear attack—a weapon that “fizzles” with a low yield—would be
the most destructive terrorist attack in history; a fizzle would produce a blast at least
an order of magnitude greater than that of the Oklahoma City bombing with all of
the attendant physical effects of so powerful a blast (Reed 2011). To this would be
added the thermal and radiological effects described in the previous chapter. And in
addition to these we must also consider the long-term risk arising from radiationinduced cancer that might start appearing a decade and longer after the attack. A fully
functioning nuclear weapon, even one with a yield similar to that of the weapons
used in the Second World War, would have a far greater effect.
In an attack of such magnitude, however, the health impacts go far deeper than
simple radiological injury, and they extend far beyond the injuries caused by conventional bombs. Dealing with burns alone from a single low-yield nuclear weapon is
likely to exhaust any nation’s capacity for care, and burns are only one of the myriad
of non-radiological injuries that would be seen. In their modeling of the effects of an
improvised nuclear device effects, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories identifies several zones for a 10 kt nuclear weapon detonated at ground level [1], while
Glasstone and Dolan [2] described the effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP):
• Within about 300 m all buildings will be destroyed and 100% of those in this area
will be killed
• Within about 1 km most buildings will be severely damaged and survival is
unlikely for those in this area
• Within about 1–1.5 km buildings will be moderately damaged and the EMP will
cause service disruptions and equipment damage that might be permanent
• Within about 4–5 km glass on exterior windows will be broken, injuring people
struck by flying or falling glass
• Within about 10 km the EMP can cause temporary disruptions in electrical and
electronic equipment
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
P. A. Karam, Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism,
Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69162-2_11
101