The document discusses several consequences of nuclear accidents and nuclear war. It notes that nuclear reactor accidents can have drastic effects by releasing radioactive debris. A large nuclear exchange of over 5,000 megatons could be expected in a world war. Nuclear explosions would cause widespread fires that produce thick black soot, reducing sunlight and causing global cooling known as a "nuclear winter" that could lower temperatures and reduce crop production, leading to famines. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed over 100,000 people immediately and caused long-term health effects from radiation exposure.
The document discusses several consequences of nuclear accidents and nuclear war. It notes that nuclear reactor accidents can have drastic effects by releasing radioactive debris. A large nuclear exchange of over 5,000 megatons could be expected in a world war. Nuclear explosions would cause widespread fires that produce thick black soot, reducing sunlight and causing global cooling known as a "nuclear winter" that could lower temperatures and reduce crop production, leading to famines. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed over 100,000 people immediately and caused long-term health effects from radiation exposure.
The document discusses several consequences of nuclear accidents and nuclear war. It notes that nuclear reactor accidents can have drastic effects by releasing radioactive debris. A large nuclear exchange of over 5,000 megatons could be expected in a world war. Nuclear explosions would cause widespread fires that produce thick black soot, reducing sunlight and causing global cooling known as a "nuclear winter" that could lower temperatures and reduce crop production, leading to famines. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed over 100,000 people immediately and caused long-term health effects from radiation exposure.
The document discusses several consequences of nuclear accidents and nuclear war. It notes that nuclear reactor accidents can have drastic effects by releasing radioactive debris. A large nuclear exchange of over 5,000 megatons could be expected in a world war. Nuclear explosions would cause widespread fires that produce thick black soot, reducing sunlight and causing global cooling known as a "nuclear winter" that could lower temperatures and reduce crop production, leading to famines. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed over 100,000 people immediately and caused long-term health effects from radiation exposure.
Nuclear accidents can occur at any stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. However, the possibility of reactor accidents is viewed more seriously because the effects of reactor accidents are more drastic.
Many estimates of hypothetical accidents in a nuclear power station are made.
Such estimates are made taking into consideration various parameters like reactor safety measures which if fail would release large amount of reactor contents, that is, radioactive debris affecting a substantial portion of human population within a particular site in a particular area.
The modern fusion bombs (nuclear bombs) are of the explosive force of 500 kilotons and 10 megatons.
In case of a world war total nuclear exchange of more than 5,000 megatons can be expected.
Nuclear bombardment will cause combustion of wood, plastics, petroleum, forests etc.
Large quantity of black soot will be carried to the stratosphere.
Black soot will absorb solar radiations and won’t allow the radiations to reach the earth. Therefore, cooling will result.
The infrared radiations which are re-radiated from the atmosphere to the earth will have very less water vapours and carbon dioxide to absorb them.
If they leave the lower atmosphere the green house effect will be disturbed and cooling will occur. Due to this cooling effect, water evaporation will also reduce.
Therefore, infra-red radiations absorbing water vapours will reduce in the atmosphere. This will also cause cooling.
In the stratosphere there won’t be significant moisture to rainout the thick soot.
So, due to nuclear explosions, a phenomenon opposite to global warming will occur. This is called nuclear winter. It may result in lower global temperature. Even the summer time will experience freezing temperature. It will drastically affect crop production. Crop productivity
1 will reduce substantially causing famines and human sufferings. The Chernobyl nuclear accident, 1986 has resulted in wide spread contamination by radioactive substances. (already mentioned in air pollution episodes). The devastation caused by nuclear bombs are not only immediate but may be long lasting. Towards, the end of World War II, bombing of Dresden, Germany caused huge firestorms. This caused particle ladden updrafts in the atmosphere.
In Nuclear holocaust in Japan 1945, two nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities of Japan. One fission bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. This holocaust (large scale destruction of human lives by fire) killed about 100,000 people and destroyed the city. This forceful explosion emitted neutrons and gamma radiations. It had the force of 12 kilotons of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The radioactive strontium (Sr90) liberated in the explosion resembles calcium and has the property of replacing calcium of the bones. As a result large scale bone deformities occurred in the inhabitants of these cities. Even after more than 50 years the impacts of the nuclear fallout are still visible.
