What are the long-term consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima?
There were many long-term consequences of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I will focus my response on those related to radiation and health physics. First, it is important to recognize that thousands of Japanese citizens perished in the explosion and the fires that immediately followed. The long-term effects of radiation exposure among the survivors have been extensively studied in what has come to be known as the Life Span Study. The main effect observed has been an excess of approximately 400 cases of cancer among the approximately 100,000 survivors. That means that about 400 more cancers have been observed in this population than would have been expected from a similar, but unexposed population. This excess has been observed among the survivors who received the highest radiation doses (generally, those who were closest to the detonation site).
I hope you find this information useful.
Regards,
Brant Ulsh, PhD, CHP
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