Human Effects:
Human Effects:
The atomic bomb did not only alter the environment it detonated, it altered the people who survived it as well. One of the horrors the victims lived through was flash burns. Depending on the distance they were from the explosion, people were burned with first, second, and third degree burns. People were burned as far as seven miles away. “It has been estimated that burns caused some 50 percent of the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (atomicarchive.com, pg. 12)
Flash blindness was also an ailment that accompanied the nuclear bomb. The initial flash of the bomb’s detonation could bleach the visual pigment in the retina and cause short-term blindness. The effect lasts longer if it occurs at night than during the day, due to the pupils of the eyes being dilated.
The radiation that the bomb gives off also takes its toll on victims. “Several factors are involved in determining the potential health effects of exposure to radiation. These include:
1. The size of the dose (amount of energy deposited in the body)
2. The ability of the radiation to harm human tissue
3. Which organs are affected” (15)
The size of the dose is the most important factor on how severe the damage is. “The more [radiation] absorbed by cells, the greater the biological damage”(15). If the radiation reaches a certain point, hair begins to fall out. Radiation can also affect the lymphocytes in the blood, causing increased vulnerability to infections and disease. If the reproductive system gets tampered with, radiation can even cause sterility.
Some effects of the radiation could not show up for weeks, months, or even years after the explosion. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered an increased rate of cataract problems, blood disorders, and keloids. One of the most prevalent effects was the occurrence of tumors. “The cancer incidence among survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is significantly larger than that of the general population, and a significant correlation between exposure level and degree of incidence has been reported for thyroid cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and cancer of the salivary gland. Often a decade or more passes before radiation-caused malignancies appear”(16).
The atomic bomb did not only alter the environment it detonated, it altered the people who survived it as well. One of the horrors the victims lived through was flash burns. Depending on the distance they were from the explosion, people were burned with first, second, and third degree burns. People were burned as far as seven miles away. “It has been estimated that burns caused some 50 percent of the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (atomicarchive.com, pg. 12)
Flash blindness was also an ailment that accompanied the nuclear bomb. The initial flash of the bomb’s detonation could bleach the visual pigment in the retina and cause short-term blindness. The effect lasts longer if it occurs at night than during the day, due to the pupils of the eyes being dilated.
The radiation that the bomb gives off also takes its toll on victims. “Several factors are involved in determining the potential health effects of exposure to radiation. These include:
1. The size of the dose (amount of energy deposited in the body)
2. The ability of the radiation to harm human tissue
3. Which organs are affected” (15)
The size of the dose is the most important factor on how severe the damage is. “The more [radiation] absorbed by cells, the greater the biological damage”(15). If the radiation reaches a certain point, hair begins to fall out. Radiation can also affect the lymphocytes in the blood, causing increased vulnerability to infections and disease. If the reproductive system gets tampered with, radiation can even cause sterility.
Some effects of the radiation could not show up for weeks, months, or even years after the explosion. The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered an increased rate of cataract problems, blood disorders, and keloids. One of the most prevalent effects was the occurrence of tumors. “The cancer incidence among survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is significantly larger than that of the general population, and a significant correlation between exposure level and degree of incidence has been reported for thyroid cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and cancer of the salivary gland. Often a decade or more passes before radiation-caused malignancies appear”(16).