Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Bombs

GENERAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF NUCLEAR BOMBS

According to the movie, TRINITY AND BEYOND: THE ATOMIC BOMB MOVIE, on July the sixteenth year 1945, at a site called “Trinity”, a ‘plutonium bomb’ was piled and taken up the top of a tower. This ‘plutonium bomb’ was exploded thereby generating a very high measure of flash light and a fireball that radiated through 0.6 kilometers (0.37 miles) in 2 seconds. The detonative energy or power was equivalent to 18.6 kilotons of TNT. This fume grew up to an upward height of more than 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), flaming up in the shape of a mushroom. (See page six of this article for sample picture of the mushroom-like fume copied from the movie’s website, vce.com). Forty seconds later, the blast of hot air or heat from the bomb reached the observation stations, along with a long and deafening bang of sound. As this experience began the so-called ‘atomic age’, this movie is a historical perspective and documentary of the development of nuclear weapons (Atomic Central).

My aim of writing this article is basically not to argue for or against nuclear weapons but perhaps to write about my opinions, reactions, and the environmental impact of nuclear weapons on human lives and non-living organisms on this planet earth; our beautiful environment that make life sustainable. Of course, the impact of nuclear bombs has the capacity or potential of being so catastrophic that it needs to be seriously discussed.

Historically, in 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both in Japan, were the first sample cities in the history of humanity to experience the dropping of nuclear bombs. Within a twinkle of an eye, these cities were completely annihilated causing the loss of many lives. The minds and bodies of the survivors were deeply wounded, and the pain, anguish, anger, and hatred that this situation had caused have continued down to this day (Atomic Central).

By reminiscing over the actual gory effect of what took place when these atomic bombs were exploded over those two cities, one could not but think positively about how these so-called devilish acts ,that is, nuclear tests, could be stopped and adequate compensation be paid to the victims’ families and survivors, if nothing had been done. For example, within the period of 24 hours, the city of Hiroshima lost over 45,000 of its citizens to death and many to injuries of various kinds, when just a primitive nuclear device of 13-kiloton bomb exploded over it leaving several generations to continue languishing as casualties down to this day (Hiroshima). Another Japanese city, Nagasaki, on the other hand, “suffered [a] catastrophic damage with 73,884 people died and 74,909 people injured by a blistering blast wind, heat rays, and radiation” (Nagasaki). These stories are not just fairy tales or whatsoever, they are true-life stories and experiences, real and supported with historically facts, and have been documented for future purposes.

In addition to these, after the world's first nuclear test was done by the United States in 1945, the former USSR, China, France, and United Kingdom were also triumphant in the manufacture of nuclear weapons and often-times conducted nuclear tests. These tests were recorded to have injured and killed many persons and caused massive global contamination (Hiroshima).

How are these atomic bombs or nuclear weapons made? Experts say the making of nuclear weapons readily relies on extreme energy. According to them, unlike common and ordinary explosives which rely on the simple heat energy produced by chemical combustion through a chemical bond, a nuclear weapon heavily relies on the extreme heat energy which is generated when an atomic reaction or bond occurs in which one element is converted into another element, for instance, when hydrogen is converted to helium. The difference in the energy produced is immeasurable. For example, a sphere of plutonium, a material used in the making of nuclear weapons, about the size of a cricket ball has the capacity to produce a detonation which might be equivalent to about 20,000 tons of Tri-Nitro-Toluene (TNT) (Atomic Central). THIS IN FACT, IS SO POWERFUL AND CATACLYSMIC!!!

Chemically speaking, when a nuclear explosion occurs, it releases some radioactive materials which have the capacity of causing cellular damage to organisms. The cumulative effects of these radioactive materials are said to be Carcinogenic and Teratogenic, which means that, it causes cancer and birth defects in human and animals respectively. This in fact is the most dangerous environmental impact on life here on earth. Another medical effect is the risk of acquiring acute leukemia. For example, on April 16, 1986 in Chernobyl, a city of north-central Ukraine near the border of Belarus which was evacuated and remains uninhabited as a result of a major nuclear power plant accident nearby. A study,