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22 Long-Term Public Health, Economic, and Societal Concerns
to those affected as well as the financial resources required to pay for not only the
treatment, but also for whatever compensation the government deems appropriate.
22.2 Economic Concerns
The financial impact of a radiological or nuclear attack is likely to be massive. The
financial impact in New York City of the September 11, 2001 attacks has been
estimated as being as high as several hundred billion dollars [14], with a national
impact that was even higher. This is of the same order of magnitude as Loeb and
Zimmerman’s estimates of the economic impact of a radiological attack [20]. and
when the nation’s response to these attacks—wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the
creation of the Department of Homeland Security, an increased military presence
throughout the world, increased funding for law enforcement, security, and other
response capabilities, and the expense of all of these—the cost to the United States
alone rises to several trillion dollars, with additional costs borne by all of the nations
involved in these wars on either side.
Consider some of the costs directly associated with a radiological or nuclear
attack:
• Value of the buildings destroyed
• Value of the furnishings, sales goods, and other materials in the buildings
• Cost of damaged and destroyed infrastructure
• Cost of destroyed and damaged public and private vehicles
• Value of lives lost (estimated at $7 million per life [16])
• Loss of rental income by landlords
• Loss of business income
• Loss of sales and business tax revenue
• Reduction in tourism and tourism-related sales as well as the jobs, incomes, and
the resulting tax revenue
• Loss of income tax revenue from killed or displaced residents
• Salaries (including overtime) of emergency and medical responders
• Renovation and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed buildings
• Remediation of contaminated areas
• Radioactive waste transportation and disposal
• Construction of waste staging area(s)
• Medical care for injured
• Long-term compensation (and possibly medical care) for compensable injuries
and illnesses.
These costs have very little to do with the rest of the state or province the city is
in or with the nation itself. For example, both regional and national resources will
almost certainly be sent to assist with the response and both regional and national
governments will also suffer from lost tax revenues. Beyond that, however, the costs
are more intangible and more difficult to quantify.
22 Long-Term Public Health, Economic, and Societal Concerns
to those affected as well as the financial resources required to pay for not only the
treatment, but also for whatever compensation the government deems appropriate.
22.2 Economic Concerns
The financial impact of a radiological or nuclear attack is likely to be massive. The
financial impact in New York City of the September 11, 2001 attacks has been
estimated as being as high as several hundred billion dollars [14], with a national
impact that was even higher. This is of the same order of magnitude as Loeb and
Zimmerman’s estimates of the economic impact of a radiological attack [20]. and
when the nation’s response to these attacks—wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the
creation of the Department of Homeland Security, an increased military presence
throughout the world, increased funding for law enforcement, security, and other
response capabilities, and the expense of all of these—the cost to the United States
alone rises to several trillion dollars, with additional costs borne by all of the nations
involved in these wars on either side.
Consider some of the costs directly associated with a radiological or nuclear
attack:
• Value of the buildings destroyed
• Value of the furnishings, sales goods, and other materials in the buildings
• Cost of damaged and destroyed infrastructure
• Cost of destroyed and damaged public and private vehicles
• Value of lives lost (estimated at $7 million per life [16])
• Loss of rental income by landlords
• Loss of business income
• Loss of sales and business tax revenue
• Reduction in tourism and tourism-related sales as well as the jobs, incomes, and
the resulting tax revenue
• Loss of income tax revenue from killed or displaced residents
• Salaries (including overtime) of emergency and medical responders
• Renovation and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed buildings
• Remediation of contaminated areas
• Radioactive waste transportation and disposal
• Construction of waste staging area(s)
• Medical care for injured
• Long-term compensation (and possibly medical care) for compensable injuries
and illnesses.
These costs have very little to do with the rest of the state or province the city is
in or with the nation itself. For example, both regional and national resources will
almost certainly be sent to assist with the response and both regional and national
governments will also suffer from lost tax revenues. Beyond that, however, the costs
are more intangible and more difficult to quantify.