Examining Long-term Radiation Effects: Case Studies of the Atomic Bombings of Japan and the Chernobyl Power Plant Thermal Explosion

Comprehensive Unit113 pagesGrade Level: High School – Community CollegeIncludes curriculum unit + CD-ROM In August 1945, the first nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, killing an estimated 210,000 people. Approximately 80 percent of the deaths in these bombings were the result of burns or other injuries caused by the blasts. However, 20 percent of the fatalities were the result of radiation sickness. While the majority of deaths took place at the time of the bombings or by the end of 1945, atomic bomb survivors continued to die from atomic bomb related injuries or illnesses for decades afterward. Since World War II, nine countries have developed and detonated nuclear weapons. In that time, the use of nuclear power has also expanded beyond a military focus. Today, nuclear power is used for civilian purposes such as generating electricity. Accidents in nuclear power plants have shown that nuclear power is not without risk. Such accidents can release radiat