Environmental Chemistry Assignment 2

Prof.Dr Tahani ElZayat

Name: Yomna Adel El-Arabi

ID: 1951320500

1
 HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI BOMBINGS
Year:
6 and 9 August 1945 respectively.
Location:
The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, in Japan.
Why did it Happen?
After the conclusion of the World War II in 1945, the relations between Japan
and the US worsened, The Japanese had publicly stated their intent to fight to
the bitter end, and were using tactics such as kamikaze attacks, in which pilots
would suicide-dive against US warships. Therefore, the US president at that
time, Harry Truman, authorized the use of atomic bombs in order to make Japan
surrender.
Impact of Nuclear Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
 The explosion produced a supersonic shock wave followed by extreme
winds that remained above hurricane force over three kilometers from
ground zero.

 Another devastating wind followed, flattening and severely damaging

homes and buildings several kilometers further away.

 The intense heat of the Hiroshima bomb reached several million degrees
Celsius and scorched flesh and other flammable materials.
 Black rain laden with radioactive soot and dust contaminated areas far
away from ground zero.

2
Impact of Nuclear Attack on Populations?

 By the end of 1945, the bombing had killed an estimated 140,000 people
in Hiroshima, and a further 74,000 in Nagasaki. In the years that followed,
many of the survivors would face leukemia, cancer, or other terrible side
effects from the radiation.

 In Hiroshima 90% of physicians and nurses were killed or injured; 42 of 45

hospitals were rendered non-functional; and 70 per cent of victims had
combined injuries.

 In Hiroshima and Nagasaki, most victims died without any care to ease
their suffering. Some of those who entered the cities after the bombings
to provide assistance also died from the radiation.

 Pregnant women exposed to the bombings experienced higher rates of

miscarriage and deaths among their infants; their children were more
likely to have intellectual disabilities, impaired growth and an increased
risk of developing cancer.

How long are the effects extended?

After about a decade after the bombing, survivors began suffering from thyroid,
breast, lung and other cancers at higher than normal rates.
And for all survivors, cancers related to radiation exposure still continue to
increase throughout their lifespan, even to this day, seven decades later.