116
12 Societal Effects of a Nuclear Attack
trips to grocery stores. Thus, a city such as New York City can include hundreds of
thousands or even millions of residents who lack more than a minimal food supply. In
New York City, for example, the author visited a few hundred families in the aftermath
of a major storm, noting that many were running short of food and water even just
one week after the storm; the author saw something similar in the Fukushima area
following the 2011 tsunami and nuclear accident. Not only that, but in the Fukushima
area, although roads were open and not heavily contaminated, drivers were unwilling
to make deliveries into contaminated areas, leaving those who did not evacuate with
difficulties finding food for several weeks post-accident.
Providing shelter for residents will also pose a serious public health concern in
the first days and weeks post-blast. Many in the moderate and light damage zones
as well as those in areas suffering from thermal radiation effects will be forced from
their homes due to blast damage and/or fires; others by radiation dose rates from
fallout. Broken windows may make many dwellings unlivable (particularly during
very hot, cold, or rainy weather), and in the absence of electrical power, apartments
on high floors might be virtually unreachable by all but the most fit residents. Thus,
there might be a need to provide shelter for tens or hundreds of thousands of people
for the first few weeks, until utilities begin to be restored, food and water become
more widely available, and radiation dose rates in parts of the fallout plume fall to
acceptable levels.
Once shelters are established it will be necessary to minimize the spread of
radioactive contamination to them. In Japanese shelters following the Fukushima
accident this was accomplished by establishing a survey point at the entrance and
all persons returning to the shelter were required to be surveyed prior to entry. It
will also be necessary to ensure that shelters are provided with food, water, bedding,
medical supplies, and recreational materials, as well as attending to the needs of
the various populations within. The shelters in Fukushima Prefecture, for example,
made an effort to place elderly and infirm residents in proximity to the medical station
whenever possible, as well as stocking children’s games, books for all ages, and even
arranging for regular visits by celebrities and various performers (e.g. high school
bands, dance groups, etc.) for residents who were sheltering for several weeks.
During the nuclear terrorism exercise mentioned earlier the issue of public security
was also discussed. Law enforcement officials noted the possibility of looting and
lawlessness in the immediate aftermath of a large-scale attack and suggested the
potential need to ask residents to shelter in place until civil order can be restored,
providing this will not cause excessive radiation exposure among those located in
the fallout plume. This is another example in which safety involves many factors of
which radiation is only one, and in which one must not only be aware of, but must
be able to prioritize the entire panoply of risks posed by a complex environment
(Fig. 12.1).
Another aspect of security to consider is the security of emergency and medical
personnel. During a conversation with emergency room physicians from New York
City’s Saint Vincent’s Hospital one of the staff physicians mentioned that, in the
aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, injured patients were
lined up in the street in front of the hospital while staff performed triage. The physician
12 Societal Effects of a Nuclear Attack
trips to grocery stores. Thus, a city such as New York City can include hundreds of
thousands or even millions of residents who lack more than a minimal food supply. In
New York City, for example, the author visited a few hundred families in the aftermath
of a major storm, noting that many were running short of food and water even just
one week after the storm; the author saw something similar in the Fukushima area
following the 2011 tsunami and nuclear accident. Not only that, but in the Fukushima
area, although roads were open and not heavily contaminated, drivers were unwilling
to make deliveries into contaminated areas, leaving those who did not evacuate with
difficulties finding food for several weeks post-accident.
Providing shelter for residents will also pose a serious public health concern in
the first days and weeks post-blast. Many in the moderate and light damage zones
as well as those in areas suffering from thermal radiation effects will be forced from
their homes due to blast damage and/or fires; others by radiation dose rates from
fallout. Broken windows may make many dwellings unlivable (particularly during
very hot, cold, or rainy weather), and in the absence of electrical power, apartments
on high floors might be virtually unreachable by all but the most fit residents. Thus,
there might be a need to provide shelter for tens or hundreds of thousands of people
for the first few weeks, until utilities begin to be restored, food and water become
more widely available, and radiation dose rates in parts of the fallout plume fall to
acceptable levels.
Once shelters are established it will be necessary to minimize the spread of
radioactive contamination to them. In Japanese shelters following the Fukushima
accident this was accomplished by establishing a survey point at the entrance and
all persons returning to the shelter were required to be surveyed prior to entry. It
will also be necessary to ensure that shelters are provided with food, water, bedding,
medical supplies, and recreational materials, as well as attending to the needs of
the various populations within. The shelters in Fukushima Prefecture, for example,
made an effort to place elderly and infirm residents in proximity to the medical station
whenever possible, as well as stocking children’s games, books for all ages, and even
arranging for regular visits by celebrities and various performers (e.g. high school
bands, dance groups, etc.) for residents who were sheltering for several weeks.
During the nuclear terrorism exercise mentioned earlier the issue of public security
was also discussed. Law enforcement officials noted the possibility of looting and
lawlessness in the immediate aftermath of a large-scale attack and suggested the
potential need to ask residents to shelter in place until civil order can be restored,
providing this will not cause excessive radiation exposure among those located in
the fallout plume. This is another example in which safety involves many factors of
which radiation is only one, and in which one must not only be aware of, but must
be able to prioritize the entire panoply of risks posed by a complex environment
(Fig. 12.1).
Another aspect of security to consider is the security of emergency and medical
personnel. During a conversation with emergency room physicians from New York
City’s Saint Vincent’s Hospital one of the staff physicians mentioned that, in the
aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, injured patients were
lined up in the street in front of the hospital while staff performed triage. The physician