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12 Societal Effects of a Nuclear Attack
injuries will likely need to go untreated initially, until additional medical resources
arrive from elsewhere. On top of that, the flash blindness can cause temporarily
blinded drivers to have accidents, leading to tens or hundreds of thousands of
additional injuries (and patients).
Medical caregivers will almost certainly be required perform extensive triage and
this might require delaying treatment to some of the first patients to arrive in favour
of more badly injured patients that arrive later by ambulance. This process might
continue for a few to several days post-blast as rescue and evacuation operations
continue, as shelter-in-place orders are lifted, and as access is restored to different
parts of the city, making it possible for more of the injured to reach medical facilities.
12.1.3 Medical Capabilities
It is possible that some medical facilities might be destroyed by the blast or made
inaccessible by the fallout plume, or that emergency and medical responders might
be unable to reach their places of work immediately following a nuclear attack if
they are sheltering in place, if roads are destroyed or blocked, if the personnel die in
the attack, or if they do not respond due to concerns for their safety or for the safety
of their families [4, 5].
In addition to a lack of personnel, it is entirely possible that hospitals and other
treatment facilities might exhaust their supplies, decreasing their ability to render
medical assistance until they can be replenished. In the United States and other
nations that maintain national stockpiles of medical supplies and medications these
shortfalls should begin to be alleviated within a few days; nations that do not maintain
such a capability might be slower to replenish their hospitals. We must also consider
that medical personnel are likely to become exhausted, as was all too common in
nations and cities struck by the 2020–2021 coronavirus pandemic, and this can affect
judgement, the quality of care provided, and the number of patients that can be cared
for.
Medical capabilities are also likely to be affected by the loss of electrical power
and utilities in affected areas, along with the possible effects of the EMP on hospital
computers, diagnostic equipment (e.g. CT, nuclear medicine cameras, MRI), and
other electronic gear. These losses can have wide-ranging impacts on the ability of
the hospital and its staff to provide medical care. They might also require staff to
maintain patient charts in hard copy (as opposed to digital) formats and may make
it difficult to obtain patient records to check for existing medications and medical
conditions, let alone to track attack-related injuries and symptoms.
The net result of all of this is that a city’s medical capabilities is likely to be
severely reduced in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. This, in turn, is almost certain
to affect not only those members of the public affected by the attack, but others as
well who suffer the normal illness and injuries that occur on a regular basis.
12 Societal Effects of a Nuclear Attack
injuries will likely need to go untreated initially, until additional medical resources
arrive from elsewhere. On top of that, the flash blindness can cause temporarily
blinded drivers to have accidents, leading to tens or hundreds of thousands of
additional injuries (and patients).
Medical caregivers will almost certainly be required perform extensive triage and
this might require delaying treatment to some of the first patients to arrive in favour
of more badly injured patients that arrive later by ambulance. This process might
continue for a few to several days post-blast as rescue and evacuation operations
continue, as shelter-in-place orders are lifted, and as access is restored to different
parts of the city, making it possible for more of the injured to reach medical facilities.
12.1.3 Medical Capabilities
It is possible that some medical facilities might be destroyed by the blast or made
inaccessible by the fallout plume, or that emergency and medical responders might
be unable to reach their places of work immediately following a nuclear attack if
they are sheltering in place, if roads are destroyed or blocked, if the personnel die in
the attack, or if they do not respond due to concerns for their safety or for the safety
of their families [4, 5].
In addition to a lack of personnel, it is entirely possible that hospitals and other
treatment facilities might exhaust their supplies, decreasing their ability to render
medical assistance until they can be replenished. In the United States and other
nations that maintain national stockpiles of medical supplies and medications these
shortfalls should begin to be alleviated within a few days; nations that do not maintain
such a capability might be slower to replenish their hospitals. We must also consider
that medical personnel are likely to become exhausted, as was all too common in
nations and cities struck by the 2020–2021 coronavirus pandemic, and this can affect
judgement, the quality of care provided, and the number of patients that can be cared
for.
Medical capabilities are also likely to be affected by the loss of electrical power
and utilities in affected areas, along with the possible effects of the EMP on hospital
computers, diagnostic equipment (e.g. CT, nuclear medicine cameras, MRI), and
other electronic gear. These losses can have wide-ranging impacts on the ability of
the hospital and its staff to provide medical care. They might also require staff to
maintain patient charts in hard copy (as opposed to digital) formats and may make
it difficult to obtain patient records to check for existing medications and medical
conditions, let alone to track attack-related injuries and symptoms.
The net result of all of this is that a city’s medical capabilities is likely to be
severely reduced in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. This, in turn, is almost certain
to affect not only those members of the public affected by the attack, but others as
well who suffer the normal illness and injuries that occur on a regular basis.