Consequences of a nuclear attack...
MrNightly
Posts: 3,370
http://www.swnebr.net/newspaper/cgi-bin/ar...hiver.pl?159937
How would a Nuclear Attack Impact U.S. Cities?
A new study by researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD) at the University of Georgia details the catastrophic impact a nuclear attack would have on American cities.
The study, which the authors said was the most advanced and detailed simulation published in open scientific literature, highlights the inability of the nations current medical system to handle casualties from a nuclear attack. It also suggests what the authors said are much needed yet relatively simple interventions that could save tens of thousands of lives.
The likelihood of a nuclear weapon attack in an American city is steadily increasing, and the consequences will be overwhelming said Cham Dallas, CMADD director and professor in the UGA College of Pharmacy. So we need to substantially increase our preparation.
Dallas and co-author William Bell, CMADD senior research scientist and faculty member of the UGA College of Public Health, examined four high-profile American cities New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta and modeled the effects of a 20 kiloton nuclear detonation and a 550 kiloton detonation. (For comparison, the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the 12 to 20 kiloton range). Bell explained that a 20 kiloton weapon could be manufactured by terrorists and fledgling nuclear countries such as North Korea and Iran, while a 550 kiloton device is commonly found in the arsenal of the former Soviet Union and therefore is the most likely to be stolen by terrorists.
The study, which took three years to complete and appears in the current issue of the International Journal of Health Geographics, combines data on the impact of the devices, prevailing weather patterns and block-level population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a level of detail previously unavailable.
Among the studys findings:
A 20-kiloton detonation would leave debris tens of feet thick in downtown areas with buildings 10-stories or higher. Roughly half of the population in downtown areas would be killed, mainly from collapsing buildings. Most of those surviving the initial blast in downtown areas would be exposed to a fatal dose of radiation.
While the main effects from a 20-kiloton explosion would be from the blast and the radiation it releases, a 550-kiloton explosion would create additional and substantial casualties from burns. Such an explosion would superheat the blast zone, causing buildings to spontaneously combust. Mass fires would consume cities, reaching out nearly four miles (6.3 km) in all directions from the detonation site.
A 550 kiloton detonation in New York would result in a fallout plume extending the length of Long Island, resulting in more than 5 million deaths.
A 550 kiloton detonation in Washington, D.C. would destroy hospitals in the District, but its fallout plume would also incapacitate hospitals in Baltimore, nearly 40 miles away.
The researchers note that in all four cities studied, hospitals are concentrated in the area most likely to be destroyed. Another weak link is the inability of the nations hospital system to treat the burn victims a 550-kiloton detonation would create. A 550-kiloton detonation in Atlanta, the least densely populated of the four cities studied, would result in nearly 300,000 serious burn victims.
The hospital system has about 1,500 burn beds in the whole country, and of these maybe 80 or 90 percent are full at any given time, Bell said. Theres no way of treating the burn victims from a nuclear attack with the existing medical system.
Dallas acknowledges that the consequences of a nuclear attack would be grim, but stresses that there are ways that tens of thousands lives could be saved.
If a nuclear detonation were to occur in a downtown area, the picture would be bleak there, Dallas said. But in urban areas farther from the detonation, there actually is quite a bit that we can do. In certain areas, it may be possible to turn the death rate from 90 percent in some burn populations to probably 20 or 30 percent and those are very big differences simply by being prepared well in advance.
One intervention is to mount a public awareness campaign to teach civilians what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Since radioactive plumes move downwind, a person can look up at the trees to see which way the wind is blowing and then flee perpendicular to the wind. Because the plumes are significantly longer than they are wide, moving as little as one to five miles perpendicular to the plume can mean the difference between life and death. People in areas upwind of the detonation site, on the other hand, are safest staying where they are.
There are certain areas where people should flee, Dallas said. But in most areas, it would be much safer for people to stay put.
Dallas said todays hospital burn units provide exemplary but time consuming care to burn victims, who typically arrive sporadically and in small numbers. A nuclear attack would bring a sudden surge of patients, but the medical system could dramatically minimize fatalities by training staff and equipping non-medical people to treat second-degree burn victims in much larger numbers. Dallas said the focus must be on cleaning the wounds to avoid fatal infections, administering painkillers and then moving on to the next patient. And all of this must occur in the field, since thousands of victims would not make it to a hospital.
Under the current system and in these extraordinary conditions, theyre going to be able to treat a hundred people well and not treat 99,900 people, Dallas said. So weve got to change those gears.
On April 19, Dallas will address the United Nations for the second time in as many years. He will discuss options for repairing the crumbling sarcophagus surrounding the reactor that triggered the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. He also will discuss the consequences of a nuclear attack and what nations can do to prepare.
We want to try to encourage people to pay attention to this, because its not all the end of the world, Dallas said. There are actually steps that one can take to save lives. But were running out of time.
___________________________________
I think we should all prepare for an attack, and pray it never happens...
How would a Nuclear Attack Impact U.S. Cities?
A new study by researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense (CMADD) at the University of Georgia details the catastrophic impact a nuclear attack would have on American cities.
The study, which the authors said was the most advanced and detailed simulation published in open scientific literature, highlights the inability of the nations current medical system to handle casualties from a nuclear attack. It also suggests what the authors said are much needed yet relatively simple interventions that could save tens of thousands of lives.
The likelihood of a nuclear weapon attack in an American city is steadily increasing, and the consequences will be overwhelming said Cham Dallas, CMADD director and professor in the UGA College of Pharmacy. So we need to substantially increase our preparation.
Dallas and co-author William Bell, CMADD senior research scientist and faculty member of the UGA College of Public Health, examined four high-profile American cities New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta and modeled the effects of a 20 kiloton nuclear detonation and a 550 kiloton detonation. (For comparison, the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the 12 to 20 kiloton range). Bell explained that a 20 kiloton weapon could be manufactured by terrorists and fledgling nuclear countries such as North Korea and Iran, while a 550 kiloton device is commonly found in the arsenal of the former Soviet Union and therefore is the most likely to be stolen by terrorists.
The study, which took three years to complete and appears in the current issue of the International Journal of Health Geographics, combines data on the impact of the devices, prevailing weather patterns and block-level population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a level of detail previously unavailable.
Among the studys findings:
A 20-kiloton detonation would leave debris tens of feet thick in downtown areas with buildings 10-stories or higher. Roughly half of the population in downtown areas would be killed, mainly from collapsing buildings. Most of those surviving the initial blast in downtown areas would be exposed to a fatal dose of radiation.
While the main effects from a 20-kiloton explosion would be from the blast and the radiation it releases, a 550-kiloton explosion would create additional and substantial casualties from burns. Such an explosion would superheat the blast zone, causing buildings to spontaneously combust. Mass fires would consume cities, reaching out nearly four miles (6.3 km) in all directions from the detonation site.
A 550 kiloton detonation in New York would result in a fallout plume extending the length of Long Island, resulting in more than 5 million deaths.
A 550 kiloton detonation in Washington, D.C. would destroy hospitals in the District, but its fallout plume would also incapacitate hospitals in Baltimore, nearly 40 miles away.
The researchers note that in all four cities studied, hospitals are concentrated in the area most likely to be destroyed. Another weak link is the inability of the nations hospital system to treat the burn victims a 550-kiloton detonation would create. A 550-kiloton detonation in Atlanta, the least densely populated of the four cities studied, would result in nearly 300,000 serious burn victims.
The hospital system has about 1,500 burn beds in the whole country, and of these maybe 80 or 90 percent are full at any given time, Bell said. Theres no way of treating the burn victims from a nuclear attack with the existing medical system.
Dallas acknowledges that the consequences of a nuclear attack would be grim, but stresses that there are ways that tens of thousands lives could be saved.
If a nuclear detonation were to occur in a downtown area, the picture would be bleak there, Dallas said. But in urban areas farther from the detonation, there actually is quite a bit that we can do. In certain areas, it may be possible to turn the death rate from 90 percent in some burn populations to probably 20 or 30 percent and those are very big differences simply by being prepared well in advance.
One intervention is to mount a public awareness campaign to teach civilians what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. Since radioactive plumes move downwind, a person can look up at the trees to see which way the wind is blowing and then flee perpendicular to the wind. Because the plumes are significantly longer than they are wide, moving as little as one to five miles perpendicular to the plume can mean the difference between life and death. People in areas upwind of the detonation site, on the other hand, are safest staying where they are.
There are certain areas where people should flee, Dallas said. But in most areas, it would be much safer for people to stay put.
Dallas said todays hospital burn units provide exemplary but time consuming care to burn victims, who typically arrive sporadically and in small numbers. A nuclear attack would bring a sudden surge of patients, but the medical system could dramatically minimize fatalities by training staff and equipping non-medical people to treat second-degree burn victims in much larger numbers. Dallas said the focus must be on cleaning the wounds to avoid fatal infections, administering painkillers and then moving on to the next patient. And all of this must occur in the field, since thousands of victims would not make it to a hospital.
Under the current system and in these extraordinary conditions, theyre going to be able to treat a hundred people well and not treat 99,900 people, Dallas said. So weve got to change those gears.
On April 19, Dallas will address the United Nations for the second time in as many years. He will discuss options for repairing the crumbling sarcophagus surrounding the reactor that triggered the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. He also will discuss the consequences of a nuclear attack and what nations can do to prepare.
We want to try to encourage people to pay attention to this, because its not all the end of the world, Dallas said. There are actually steps that one can take to save lives. But were running out of time.
___________________________________
I think we should all prepare for an attack, and pray it never happens...
Honoured to be, an original SOPA founding member
Stuff...
RTi12's - front
CSi5 - center
FXi3's - surrounds
RTi4's - surrounds
SVS PB12-NSD/2 - sub
Denon 3805
Rotel RB-985 5-Channel Amplifier
Stuff...
RTi12's - front
CSi5 - center
FXi3's - surrounds
RTi4's - surrounds
SVS PB12-NSD/2 - sub
Denon 3805
Rotel RB-985 5-Channel Amplifier
Post edited by MrNightly on
Comments
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I'm prepared... the garage fridge is full of beer...
We have to get the family's together before the war.
twin***WAREMTAE*** -
Well that was depressing. I think I will return to my cave now.Sharp Elite 70
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Parasound 5250
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Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
Sony PS3
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Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door. -
Screw this scenario. Find someone to love.
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I'm going to France, everyone likes the French right?
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Be sure to turn off the amps, as the pulse may fry your tweeters.>
>
>This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.< -
Polkersince85 wrote:Be sure to turn off the amps, as the pulse may fry your tweeters.
Good to see you have your priorities straight! -
There was a TV movie from the BBC called "Dirty War" that is very thought provoking and well done.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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MrNightly wrote:I think we should all prepare for an attack, and pray it never happens...
I am. I have a years worth of canned goods (good for food poisioning attacks and natural emergencies as well), two way radio equipment, good flashlights, weapons, water (well, some anyway, need to store more), kerosene and gasoline for some period of time, camping gear and yea, the most important, all analog sources and tube equipment which should still work if the EMT effect causes problems...
madmaxVinyl, the final frontier...
Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... -
ONE-headed people coming across the river from Transylvania are bad enough.
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That's too funny...:DGeorge Grand wrote:ONE-headed people coming across the river from Transylvania are bad enough. -
Hmmm, I live less than two miles from downtown Chicago. I guess I'm f&*cked, because I'm not going anywhere."I got into the music business thinking it was really radical, that it wasn't really a business at all, that it was a lot of people being artistic and creative. Not true, and it made me very depressed."
Thom Yorke of Radiohead
SOPA. Bow down before me, ****. Want a cookie?
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We live very close to Offutt AFB. When it's time for WW3, the first three targets in the USA will be Washinton DC, NORAD Hq in CO, and STRATCOM here in Nebraska. In case of a nuclear war, I'll be one of the first Kingsfords Kids!
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I can't wait to glow like a tube. I wonder if I'll be microphonic?CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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BaggedLancer wrote:I'm going to France, everyone likes the French right?
LOL,
France will be an Islamic nation within 10 years, so they will probably not bomb themselves. But who knows?
V
