On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped one of the two bombs that ended the Second World War. It was such a deadly device that by the end of 1945, over 140,000 residents of Hiroshima were killed as a result of the uranium bomb. Ground temperatures reached 4,000 degrees Celsius, and radioactive/acidic rain poured down on the city.

Immediate aftermath

Unfortunately for Hiroshima, 90 percent of the doctors in Hiroshima were killed as a result of the bombs. Victims came from all over the city and had devastating burns and other injuries. People who came into the city from elsewhere were also killed due to the exposure of so much radioactivity.

Effects observed after a while

From 1950-1951 scientists noticed that leukemia in the survivors increased dramatically. Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow) Women who were pregnant at the time of the bombing had an extremely high chance of miscarriage and those babies that were born had a high chance of having learning disabilities, as well as an increased risk of contracting cancer. Anemia also noticeably increased amongst survivors. Anemia is a disease in which blood does create enough red blood cells. Other notable diseases that increased were cataracts and keloids. The former is caused when the lens of the eyes get too foggy, and the latter occurs when a scar essentially over heals and swells up.

Effects of Radioactive poisoning

Even if an atomic bomb is not dropped near you, there are ways that people can contract radioactive poisoning. One such way is working with x-rays. Here is a list of potential diseases caused by prolonged exposure to radioactive materials.

• Cancer
• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Multiple myelomas
• Non-malignant thyroid nodular disease
• Parathyroid adenoma
• Posterior subcapsular cataracts
• Tumors of the brain and central nervous system

Prolonged exposure to any radioactive substance isn’t good. Although completely shunning any gadget that uses radioactivity is impractical we can take steps to limit our exposure to this harmful substance.

-Yash Banga

Author at StemTalksNC

Sources:

https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/radiation/diseases.asp

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160811120353.htm

https://www.icanw.org/the-facts/catastrophic-harm/hiroshima-and-nagasaki-bombings/