11.5 Long-Term Considerations
109
health effects looming on the horizon so that they can be anticipated and planned for,
but will also serve as an invaluable source of information to help us better understand
the effects of radiation exposure over both the short and the long term.
A society should also be prepared to attend to the long-term mental health of
those affected by a nuclear attack. Consider—a major city that suffers one million
fatalities, a huge number by any measure, will also have several million survivors
and many of those survivors will suffer from the trauma of the event for years or
decades, not to mention commuters, tourists, and those living in proximity to the
city that was attacked. Psychosocial issues have been shown (e.g. [9, 10, 11]) to be
among the most common short- and long-term effects of radiological and nuclear
disasters on the general public, as well as among those responding to these events.
The society suffering such an attack must be prepared to address its citizens’ needs
in this area as well as their need for food, shelter, and short-term medical care.
References
1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2011) National capital region key response planning factors for the aftermath of nuclear terrorism (LLNL-TR-512111). Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
2. Glasstone S, Dolan P (1977) The effects of nuclear weapons, 3rd edn. Government Printing
Office, Washington DC
3. Straume T, Rugel G, Marchetti A et al (2003) Measuring fast neutrons in Hiroshima at distances
relevant to atomic-bomb survivors. Nature 424:539–542
4. International Commission on Radiation Protection (2003) Relative biological effectiveness
(RBE), quality factor (Q), and radiation weighting factor (w R ), ICRP Publication 92. Sage
Publications, London
5. Wilson R (1962) A method for immediate detection of high level neutron exposure, by measurement of sodium-24 in humans. General Electric Co., Hanford Atomic Products Operation,
Richland, WA
6. Hall E, Giaccia A (2019) Radiobiology for the radiologist, 8th edn. Lippincott Williams and
Wilkins, New York
7. National Academies Press (2005) Effects of nuclear earth-penetrator and other weapons.
National Academies Press, Washington DC
8. US Department of Health and Human Services, assistant secretary for preparedness and
response, technical resources assistance center and information exchange (2016). Mass Burn
Event Overview
9. World Health Organization (2005) Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident. https://www.who.
int/news/item/05-09-2005-chernobyl-the-true-scale-of-the-accident#:~:text=According%
20to%20the%20Forum’s%20report,danger%20to%20their%20health%20from. Accessed 14
Nov 2020
10. Becker S (2011) Learning from the 2011 great east Japan disaster: insights from a special
radiological emergency assistance mission. Biosecurity and bioterrorism: biodefense strategy,
practice, and science vol. 9, No. 4 Special Report
11. Becker S (2013) The fukushima dai-ichi accident: additional lessons from a radiological
emergency assistance mission. Health Phys 105(5):455–461
14. Jungk R (1970) Brighter than a thousand suns. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston
15. Reed B.C. (2011) Critical Mass, Efficiency, and Yield. In: The Physics of the Manhattan Project.
Springer
109
health effects looming on the horizon so that they can be anticipated and planned for,
but will also serve as an invaluable source of information to help us better understand
the effects of radiation exposure over both the short and the long term.
A society should also be prepared to attend to the long-term mental health of
those affected by a nuclear attack. Consider—a major city that suffers one million
fatalities, a huge number by any measure, will also have several million survivors
and many of those survivors will suffer from the trauma of the event for years or
decades, not to mention commuters, tourists, and those living in proximity to the
city that was attacked. Psychosocial issues have been shown (e.g. [9, 10, 11]) to be
among the most common short- and long-term effects of radiological and nuclear
disasters on the general public, as well as among those responding to these events.
The society suffering such an attack must be prepared to address its citizens’ needs
in this area as well as their need for food, shelter, and short-term medical care.
References
1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2011) National capital region key response planning factors for the aftermath of nuclear terrorism (LLNL-TR-512111). Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
2. Glasstone S, Dolan P (1977) The effects of nuclear weapons, 3rd edn. Government Printing
Office, Washington DC
3. Straume T, Rugel G, Marchetti A et al (2003) Measuring fast neutrons in Hiroshima at distances
relevant to atomic-bomb survivors. Nature 424:539–542
4. International Commission on Radiation Protection (2003) Relative biological effectiveness
(RBE), quality factor (Q), and radiation weighting factor (w R ), ICRP Publication 92. Sage
Publications, London
5. Wilson R (1962) A method for immediate detection of high level neutron exposure, by measurement of sodium-24 in humans. General Electric Co., Hanford Atomic Products Operation,
Richland, WA
6. Hall E, Giaccia A (2019) Radiobiology for the radiologist, 8th edn. Lippincott Williams and
Wilkins, New York
7. National Academies Press (2005) Effects of nuclear earth-penetrator and other weapons.
National Academies Press, Washington DC
8. US Department of Health and Human Services, assistant secretary for preparedness and
response, technical resources assistance center and information exchange (2016). Mass Burn
Event Overview
9. World Health Organization (2005) Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident. https://www.who.
int/news/item/05-09-2005-chernobyl-the-true-scale-of-the-accident#:~:text=According%
20to%20the%20Forum’s%20report,danger%20to%20their%20health%20from. Accessed 14
Nov 2020
10. Becker S (2011) Learning from the 2011 great east Japan disaster: insights from a special
radiological emergency assistance mission. Biosecurity and bioterrorism: biodefense strategy,
practice, and science vol. 9, No. 4 Special Report
11. Becker S (2013) The fukushima dai-ichi accident: additional lessons from a radiological
emergency assistance mission. Health Phys 105(5):455–461
14. Jungk R (1970) Brighter than a thousand suns. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston
15. Reed B.C. (2011) Critical Mass, Efficiency, and Yield. In: The Physics of the Manhattan Project.
Springer