For the first two weeks, people mainly died from burns, wounds from falling structure, and rays. In the 3rd week, people suffered from symptoms of radioactive rays. Symptoms were loss of hair, bleeding, diarrhea. Radiation wave effects were called A-Bomb Illness. Radiation injury penetrates into the human body and harms cells, which causes cell abnormalities. Radiation also causes the destruction of bone marrow and a huge drop in white blood cells.
People also had radiation scars. Keloids were the most common, they were overgrown scar tissue and creates shells on the skin. Years after the bombing, many survivors were diagnosed with Leukemia. This is because of an overgrowth of white blood cells. Thyroid, breast, and lung cancers were also developed. Chromosome changes were also present in some survivors.
The blast itself was not the most significant cause of death, it's the time that followed that ended up killing more people. Even today, Hiroshima and Nagasaki still contain some radiation from the blast. Some argue that if the bomb wasn't dropped, less people would have died, some think otherwise. The majority of Americans today think that the bombing was justified, while the majority of Japanese think opposite.
Sources:
http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml
https://k1project.columbia.edu/news/hiroshima-and-nagasaki
I thought you did an exceptional job with exploring not only how the Atomic Bomba affected the overall outcome of World War II, rather you examined closely as well on the social effects of its launch. Your post allows for more readers to better understand the negative effects of nuclear warfare and its lasting effects on its victims. However, it is important to discuss the reason for creating the bomb and the differences among nuclear versus chemical or regular war machines as well as what tactics of war were common on the side of the Japanese. That way, scholars would be better able to understand the mindset of Americans during the 1940s and why they considered the Atomic Bombs to be the best and optimal solutions. For further reading and insight, I would suggest reading http://www.hiroshima-spirit.jp/en/museum/morgue_e12.html.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post about a very tragic event and decision by the US government and military. The bombs that were dropped still have lasting effects on many Japanese civilians today. Cell mutations that were caused by the radiation from the bomb have led to many birth defects in children whose mothers were pregnant with them at the time of the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The only proven birth defect is microcephaly, which is characterized by abnormally small head size with the lack of brain growth. However, instances of higher rates of cancer in the generations after the war are still being looked in to.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.boundless.com/chemistry/textbooks/boundless-chemistry-textbook/nuclear-chemistry-19/effects-of-radiation-on-life-140/genetic-defects-from-radiation-554-3617/