Man-made Radiation (Part 2)

[Zuru]

On July 16, 1945 a white bright enough to challenge the sun was unleashed upon Los Alamos, New Mexico. It was the breath of the fire orange mushroom monster born from the greatest minds of all time. This vicious creature ripped open the door to the atomic age and left radioactive fecal matter before flying away. This was, of course, the Manhattan Project.



That same year, on the August 6th, an atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima. Only 3 days later did Fat Man follow suit with Nagasaki. The a-bombs leveled the two cities and left nothing but fowl debris behind. There was nothing left of the people, the buildings, the plant life after the core impact. Afterwards, a radioactive rain came and washed the blood out with a blackness. Yet, there were survivors. Although a more fitting name would be sufferers. These people would come down with illnesses known as Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS).



ARS has three stages. Prodromal, Latent, and Manifest Illness. A Prodromal period is the initial onset of the sickness. After a while the victim would have a sense of well being in a stage known as the latent period. Then soon after it would bloom into the full blown Manifest Illness. For all these stages, the higher the radiation the worse the symptoms would be.

The survivors furthest away from the bomb’s core would experience burns. Those still in the line of fire of the heavy radiation would develop Hemotologic symptoms. These were blood disorders, the most popular being Leukemia. There was a decrease in all blood cells. One type of white blood cell, called a granulocyte, has the unique quality of increasing in cell count after radiation exposure before it plummets. In the Prodromal stage, the victim had a slim chance of becoming nauseas but it generally only lead to a headache. The Manifest Illness was weakness and fatigue. The majority of the people that got Hemotologic symptoms recovered with minimal medical care. People with underlying conditions or people that already had compromised blood levels had less chance for survival.

Closer to the bomb, you would experience Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms as well as the Hemotologic symptoms. The radiation level is now high enough to affect your intestines. A couple of hours after exposure, you would have nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. During the latent period some people would experience hair loss. Then when you hit the final stage you realize that your bowls have ceased working properly. Anorexia, bleeding, infection, and fever PLUS all the effects that come with Hemotologic symptoms. There was still chance of survival with proper surveillance and care. On the high end of the dosage, about 50% of GI suffers survived the lethality of the radiation.

The survivors closest to the bomb would only live 3 days at most, if they were just unlucky enough. They had Hemotologic and the GI symptoms but now there brain was microwaved. These were the Central Nervous System symptoms, CNS for short. These people were vomiting out both ends and then right after they began convulsing, lost their eye sight, and had no idea what going on around them any longer. The chances of recovery at this stages were very slim and many died within a short time. Aggressive medical care was needed for those who stood any chance of survival and the recovery could take anywhere from week to years.

The amount of radiation someone received determined the symptoms they received. Not everyone got all the symptoms that were described on each level. But, the effects of radiation didn’t stop there. The survivors of the a-bomb who had offspring saw that the radiation had effected their genetics. The children were born with various birth defects from physical deformities to mental retardation to compromised health.

Man played with the elements and created a powerful and unforgiving weapon that would never let us forget. They literally held death in their hand. You don’t need an atom bomb to experience the effects of radiation, however. Nuclear accident can have similar outcomes as with any highly radioactive material. We all are familiar with some particular types of radiation effects, it’s just people don’t realize it or fully understand it. One might wonder each and every living being is altered by radiation on smaller scales.

Next time: How Radiation Affects Us Today.