Chapter 22
Long-Term Public Health, Economic,
and Societal Concerns
Remediation, recovery, rebuilding, and reoccupancy in the aftermath of a radiological
or nuclear attack might take from years to decades to accomplish. But the effects of
such an attack might last for years or decades longer still. The atomic bombings in
Japan, for example, occurred more than 75 years before this writing, but survivors
and their descendants continue to be studied to glean more information about the
long-term health effects of their radiation exposure. The nation of Japan, in spite
of three-quarters of a century of recovery and healing, still suffers remnants of the
psychological trauma inflicted by those attacks, exacerbated by the later accidents
in Tokaimura and Fukushima. Similarly, the consequences of Chernobyl continue to
be felt in Ukraine and Belarus after more then three decades. Even a much smaller
event such as the radiological accident in Goiania Brazil continued to resonate for
years after the event itself had been resolved.
Past experience suggests that the city—and likely the nation—attacked with radiological or nuclear weapons will continue to suffer the aftereffects for a considerable
length of time after the cleanup ends. It behooves governments to develop plans for
addressing this more protracted phase following an attack.
22.1 Public Health Concerns
Radiation’s deterministic effects are largely resolved within weeks or months
(although it is not uncommon for health effects to continue to manifest themselves
for a few to several years following exposure [5, 8, 13]). By and large, however, the
acute radiation injuries and other health effects should be either healed within a year
or so. Other health effects, however, can continue for years or decades and radiogenic cancer usually does not begin to appear for at least five years post-exposure
and can continue to appear for several decades afterwards. The timeline for acute
radiation injury is well-known as is the probability and approximate latency period
© 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_22
271
Long-Term Public Health, Economic,
and Societal Concerns
Remediation, recovery, rebuilding, and reoccupancy in the aftermath of a radiological
or nuclear attack might take from years to decades to accomplish. But the effects of
such an attack might last for years or decades longer still. The atomic bombings in
Japan, for example, occurred more than 75 years before this writing, but survivors
and their descendants continue to be studied to glean more information about the
long-term health effects of their radiation exposure. The nation of Japan, in spite
of three-quarters of a century of recovery and healing, still suffers remnants of the
psychological trauma inflicted by those attacks, exacerbated by the later accidents
in Tokaimura and Fukushima. Similarly, the consequences of Chernobyl continue to
be felt in Ukraine and Belarus after more then three decades. Even a much smaller
event such as the radiological accident in Goiania Brazil continued to resonate for
years after the event itself had been resolved.
Past experience suggests that the city—and likely the nation—attacked with radiological or nuclear weapons will continue to suffer the aftereffects for a considerable
length of time after the cleanup ends. It behooves governments to develop plans for
addressing this more protracted phase following an attack.
22.1 Public Health Concerns
Radiation’s deterministic effects are largely resolved within weeks or months
(although it is not uncommon for health effects to continue to manifest themselves
for a few to several years following exposure [5, 8, 13]). By and large, however, the
acute radiation injuries and other health effects should be either healed within a year
or so. Other health effects, however, can continue for years or decades and radiogenic cancer usually does not begin to appear for at least five years post-exposure
and can continue to appear for several decades afterwards. The timeline for acute
radiation injury is well-known as is the probability and approximate latency period
© 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_22
271