Radiation and EMP

EMP

Radioactive Particles and Living Cells: Penetration Power

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/NRBE/NRBEf3.gif URL: http://www.ratical.org/radiation/NRBE/NRadBioEffects.html Caption: URL: Radioactive Particles and Living Cells: Penetration Power

Img: http://www.ratical.org/radiation/NRBE/NRBEf4z.gif URL: http://www.ratical.org/radiation/NRBE/NRadBioEffects.html Caption: Alpha radiation. Radium 226 nucleus: 138 neutrons 88 protons. Radium 226 loses an alpha particle (2 protons and 2 neutrons) and is reduced to a radon gas nucleus: 136 Neutrons 86 protons.

Radioactive fission products, whether they are biochemically inert or biochemically active, can do biological damage when either outside the body or within.

X-rays and gamma rays are photons, i.e. high-energy light-waves. When emitted by a source, for example, radium or cobalt, located outside the body, they easily pass through the body, hence they are usually called penetrating radiation. The familiar lead apron provided for patients in some medical procedures stops X-rays from reaching reproductive organs. A thick lead barrier or wall is used to protect the X-ray technician. Because X-rays are penetrating, they can be used in diagnostic medicine to image human bones or human organs made opaque by a dye. These internal body parts are differentially penetrable.

Where bones absorb the energy, no X-rays hit the sensitive X-ray film, giving a contrast to form the picture of the bones on the radiation-sensitive X-ray plate. High-energy gamma rays, which easily penetrate bone, would be unsuitable for such medical usage because the film would be uniformly exposed. In photography jargon, the picture would be a `white out’ with no contrasts. No radiation remains in the body after an X-ray picture is taken. It is like light passing through a window. The damage it may have caused on the way through, however, remains.

Some radioactive substances give off beta particles, or electrons, as they release energy and seek a stable atomic state. These are small negatively charged particles which can penetrate skin but cannot penetrate through the whole body as do X-rays and gamma rays.

Microscopic nuclear explosions of some radioactive chemicals release high-energy alpha particles. An alpha particle, the nucleus of a helium atom, is a positively charged particle. It is larger in size than a beta particle, like a cannon-ball relative to a bullet, having correspondingly less penetrating power but more impact. Alpha particles can be stopped by human skin, but they may damage the skin in the process. Both alpha and beta particles penetrate cell membranes more easily than they penetrate skin. Hence ingesting, inhaling or absorbing radioactive chemicals capable of emitting alpha or beta particles and thereby placing them inside delicate body parts such as the lungs, heart, brain or kidneys, always poses serious threats to human health. Plutonium is an alpha emitter, and no quantity inhaled has been found to be too small to induce lung cancer in animals.

The skin, of course, can stop alpha or beta radiation inside the body tissue from escaping outwards and damaging, for example, a baby one is holding or another person sitting nearby. Also, it is impossible to detect these particles with most whole body `counters’ such as are used in hospitals and nuclear installations. These counters can only detect X-rays and gamma rays emitted from within the body.

Splitting a uranium atom also releases neutrons, which act like microscopically small bullets. Neutrons are about one-fourth the size of alpha particles and have almost 2,000 times the mass of an electron. If there are other fissionable atoms nearby (uranium 235 or plutonium 239, for example) these neutron projectiles may strike them, causing them to split and to release more neutrons. This is the familiar chain reaction. It takes place spontaneously when fissionable material is sufficiently concentrated, i.e. forms a critical mass. In a typical atomic bomb the fissioning is very rapid. In a nuclear reactor, water, gas or the control rods function to slow down or to absorb neutrons and control the chain reaction.

Neutrons escaping from the fission reaction can penetrate the human body. They are among the most biologically destructive ot the fission products. They have a short range, however, and in the absence of fissionable material they will quickly be absorbed by non-radioactive materials. Some of these latter become radioactive in the process, as was noted earlier, and are called activation products.

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/NRBE/NRadBioEffects.html

Reprinted with permission from No Immediate Danger, Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth, by Dr Rosalie Bertell. The Book Publishing Company — Summertown, Tennessee 38483. ISBN 0-913990-25-2. Pages 15-63.

Map of possible fallout pattern

Img: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/Images/USAFallout_OTA.jpg URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects20.shtml Caption: The Office of Technology Assessment (1979) estimated the effects of a large-scale nuclear attack on U.S. military and economic targets. This scenario assumes a direct attack on 250 U.S. cities, with a total yield of 7,800 megatons. [..] This map shows a possible long range fallout pattern over the United States.

BRAVO Test fallout pattern

Img: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Maps/Images/Bravo-Fallout.jpg URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Maps/BravoMap.shtml Caption: No one was living on the Bikini atoll at the time of the BRAVO blast. However, a total of 236 people were living on the atolls of Rongelap and Utirik, 100 and 300 miles east of Bikini, respectively. The residents of Rongelap were exposed to as much as 200 rems of radiation. They were evacuated 24 hours after the detonation. The residents of Utirik, which were exposed to lower levels of radiation, were not evacuated until at least two days later. After their evacuation, many experienced typical symptoms of radiation poisoning; burning of the mouth and eyes, nausea, diarrhea, loss of hair, and skin burns.

Ten years after the blast the first thyroid tumors began to appear. Of those under twelve on Rongelap at the time of BRAVO, 90% have developed thyroid tumors. In 1964, the U. S. Government admitted responsibility for exposing the islanders to radiation and appropriated funds to compensate them.

Image: http://www.bikiniatoll.com/bravoMATT.jpg http://www.bikiniatoll.com/ Caption: Above: The March 1, 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb crater. Photo © Matt Harris

Effects on Islanders

No one was living on the Bikini atoll at the time of the BRAVO blast. However, a total of 236 people were living on the atolls of Rongelap and Utirik, 100 and 300 miles east of Bikini, respectively. The residents of Rongelap were exposed to as much as 200 rems of radiation. They were evacuated 24 hours after the detonation. The residents of Utirik, which were exposed to lower levels of radiation, were not evacuated until at least two days later. After their evacuation, many experienced typical symptoms of radiation poisoning; burning of the mouth and eyes, nausea, diarrhea, loss of hair, and skin burns.

Effects on Fishermen

The Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon) was a small Japanese tuna boat, fishing about 90 miles east of Bikini at the time of the test. About two hours after the explosion a ‘snow’ of radioactive ash composed of coral vaporized by BRAVO began to fall on the ship. Within hours, the crew members began to experience burning and nausea. Within a few days, their skin began to darken and some crew members hair started to fall out. Upon returning to Japan, many were hospitalized and one eventually went into a coma and died. Though the U.S. denied responsibility, it sent the widow a check for 2.5 million yen “as a token of sympathy.”

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Maps/BravoMap.shtml

The Fallout Pattern

The details of the actual fallout pattern depend on wind speed and direction and on the terrain. The fallout will contain about 60 percent of the total radioactivity. The largest particles will fall within a short distance of ground zero. Smaller particles will require many hours to return to earth and may be carried hundreds of miles. This means that a surface burst can produce serious contamination far from the point of detonation.

Img: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/Images/FalloutPattern.jpg URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects19.shtml Caption: This map shows the total dose contours from early fallout from a surface burst of a 1-megaton fission yield.

From the 15-megaton thermonuclear device tested at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954 – the BRAVO shot of Operation CASTLE – the fallout caused substantial contamination over an area of more than 7,000 square miles. The contaminated region was roughly cigar-shaped and extended more than 20 miles upwind and over 350 miles downwind.

Fallout can also enter into the stratosphere. In this stable region, radioactive particles can remain from 1 to 3 years before returning to the surface.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects19.shtml

What’s required for nuclear sheltering?

Img: Original URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2 From http://www.survivalring.org/RadiationSafetyInShelters.pdf FEMA Handbook Radiation Safety in Shelters Caption: This degrading effect above is called the “Seven-Ten Rule”. For every seven times older the fallout becomes, it has also decayed to 1/10th of its strength.

This degrading effect above, and also illustrated below, is called the “Seven-Ten Rule”. For every seven times older the fallout becomes, it has also decayed to 1/10th of its strength. So, 90% of the gamma radiation is gone after the first 7 hours. Then, 90% of that remaining 10 percent is largely gone after two days. This is the ‘good news’ and why prompt sheltering is both effective and viable and should be seriously explored and embraced by all.

The myths of nuclear un-survivability, that will have many not even trying for lack of this simple and basic knowledge, holds the potential to become a national, though easily avoidable, tragedy and disgrace.

Img: Original URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2 Caption: The 7-10 Rule. Illustration is from the FEMA handbook Radiation Safety In Shelters. http://www.survivalring.org/RadiationSafetyInShelters.pdf

http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2 (Alternate URL: http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/nuclear_targets_addtl_shelter_info.htm)

Much of the information comes from FEMA’s handbook “Radiation Safety In Shelters” (http://www.survivalring.org/RadiationSafetyInShelters.pdf)

Gamma radiation shielding

Img: Original URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2 Caption:

Img: URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2 From FEMA handbook “Radiation Safety in Shelters”. http://www.survivalring.org/RadiationSafetyInShelters.pdf

Q: What Plans or Ready-Made Shelters are Available?

A: There are expedient (last minute) shelter plans, home built buried shelter plans and FEMA shelter plans, both for remote retreats, backyards or basements. There are also both cheap and expensive ready-to-bury completed shelters and even large survival underground shelters.

http://www.radshelters4u.com/index3.htm#a2

Q: What are the Nuclear Radiation and Fallout Effects?

Img: URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index2.htm#1m Illustration is from the FEMA handbook Radiation Safety In Shelters. http://www.survivalring.org/RadiationSafetyInShelters.pdf

A: All nuclear explosions release radiation, both initial radiation and residual or fallout radiation. The initial radiation makes up about 5% of the total energy released by a nuclear explosion and is released well within the first minute following the detonation.

One other effect of the initial radiation that is of concern only from very high altitude nuclear explosions is called the Electromagnetic Pulse or EMP. This very brief, but powerful electrical field is expected to disable electric power and communications on the ground as well as satellites. While it causes no direct harm to people when detonated at its high altitude optimum heights, it is expected by the DoD to be the first shot fired to effectively knock out the electrical grid and communications below it. Even one large correctly placed nuclear explosion over the center of the U.S. could severely disable most all the electrical power and communications from coast-to-coast. [..]

What will be of concern to the greatest number of people, though, is the remaining 10% of the energy unleashed by a nuclear explosion, the residual or fallout radiation. Any nuclear detonation on the ground, or where an airburst was low enough that the fireball touched the ground, will create tons of radioactive materials that will be sucked up into the classical mushroom shaped cloud to then be spread far downwind. These radioactive particles carried by the wind then later fall out many miles away from ground zero and are the source of what we know as radioactive fallout. Each of these trillions of contaminated particles continuously gives off invisible radiation while in the mushroom cloud, while descending, and after having fallen to earth. [..]

Img: URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index2.htm#1m

The heaviest particles normally fall closest to ground zero and at the other extreme the smallest of the particles, invisible to the naked eye, can travel thousands of miles on the winds and some of it will stay suspended for decades. The larger the bomb the higher the mushroom cloud and the likelihood of the fallout being dispersed and suspended longer in the upper atmosphere. But, with rain showers, all sized radioactive fallout particles can be brought down much sooner and can create localized ‘hot spots’. However, at any one place where the fallout from a single explosion is being deposited on the ground in concentrations strong enough to require the use of protective shelters, this deposition will usually be completed within a few hours.

URL: http://www.radshelters4u.com/index2.htm#1m

The above 15 mph fallout pattern examples do not reflect that the winds are often moving in different directions and at different speeds at different altitudes. Only generalizations should be inferred from them. The maps do show that the highest levels of radioactive fallout can be expected closest to ground zero and then trail off with distance. One exception, though, would be from rain showers creating hotspots downwind.

Bottom Line: While the blast, shock wave and thermal effects are nearest ground zero, the residual radiation effects via fallout can endanger thousands more and for 100’s of miles downwind. It is this radiation hazard carried on the winds that holds the potential to sicken and kill the greatest number of people. As seen above, the fallout radiation, measured in R/hr, is highest nearest to ground zero. But, as Chernobyl proved with documented cases of thyroid cancer 500 km (310 miles) downwind, the danger zone truly is extensive.

http://www.radshelters4u.com/index2.htm#1m

Some useful information about EMP (but very technical) from this URL:

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/emp-radiation-from-nuclear-space.html

Radiation

Text comes from http://www.tpub.com/content/armyintelligence/is0345/is03450015.htm (US Army Chemical School Operations In An NBC Environment – NBC refers to nuclear, chemical, biological) Image comes from there too. Caption: Residual radiation.

Nuclear Radiation.

Nuclear radiation is a form of electromagnetic energy that is beneficial in small doses, such as in medicine. In massive doses, as in a nuclear explosion, nuclear radiation can cause sickness and death.

Initial Nuclear Radiation.

Radiation emitted within the first minute after detonation is the initial nuclear radiation. It consists primarily of neutrons and gamma rays. Both neutrons and gamma rays, although different in character, can travel considerable distances through the air and can produce harmful effects in humans. Gamma rays are invisible rays similar to X-rays. These penetrating rays interact with the human body and cause damage to tissues and blood-forming cells. The effects of neutrons on the body resemble those of gamma rays. The major problem in protecting against the effects of initial radiation is that a soldier may receive an incapacitating or lethal dose of radiation before he can take any protective action.

Residual Radiation.

Residual nuclear radiation is that which lasts after the first minute and consists primarily of fallout and neutron-induced radiation. The primary hazard of residual radiation results from the creation of fallout.

Fallout is produced when material from the Earth is drawn into the fireball, vaporized, combined with radioactive material, and condensed to particles which then fall back to the Earth. The larger particles fall back immediately in the vicinity of ground zero. The smaller particles are carried by the winds until they gradually settle on the Earth’s surface. The contaminated areas created by fallout may be very small or may extend over many thousands of square miles. The dose rate may vary from an insignificant level to an extremely dangerous one for all personnel not taking protective measures. Fallout of radioactive material from an airburst is not of military significance unless rain or snow falls through the radioactive cloud and brings the material to earth.

Neutrons from the detonation will cause induced radiation in the soil around ground zero. Except for very high airbursts, neutron-induced radiation in the area of ground zero will be of concern to both mounted and dismounted personnel who must enter or cross the area. As units pass through such an area, they must conduct radiological monitoring to detect hazardous levels of radiation that they must avoid if possible. Induced radiation is present in a surface burst but will become residual radiation from fallout. The fallout produced by a surface burst is by far its most dangerous effect in that it can cover thousands of square kilometers with high levels of radioactivity.

If the fireball of a subsurface burst breaks through the surface, it will produce fallout. Thermal radiation will not present a significant hazard; the soil will almost completely absorb it. Blast effects will also reduce significantly, but shock waves passing through the ground or water will extend for a limited distance. The range of the nuclear radiation will be considerably less than that from either of the other two types of bursts, because the soil will absorb much of the radiation. However, extremely hazardous residual radiation will occur in and around any crater. If the fireball does not break the surface, shock waves will pass through the ground and cause craters because of settling.

A secondary hazard that may arise is the neutron-induced radioactivity on the earth’s surface in the immediate vicinity of ground zero. The intensity and extent of the induced radiation field depends on the type of soil in the area around ground zero, the height of burst, and the type and yield of the weapon.

The only significant source of residual radiation from an airburst weapon is induced activity in the soil of a limited circular pattern directly beneath the point of burst. The EMP is a broad band-width pulse of electromagnetic energy of a short duration produced by a nuclear burst. The range of effect is measured in hundreds of kilometers for a high-altitude airburst and tens of kilometers for a surface burst. It does not affect personnel but damages electronic equipment and blanket radio communications systems. Steps to counter EMP include:

Disconnect cables
Dismantle or shorten antennas
Enclose electronic equipment in metal containers

Effect of nuclear radiation on the body.

Initial nuclear radiation and residual radiation, either neutron- induced or fallout, do not damage materiel; they damage human tissues. When the body absorbs radiation, the radiation kills the body’s cells. The amount of radiation a soldier can receive and still survive depends on such factors as the soldier’s weight, general state of health, personal biochemistry, and previous exposure to radiation.

Radiation doses are measured in units called centigray (cGy). Fewer than 5 percent of soldiers who receive a dose of 0 to 70 cGy will show early symptoms of radiation poisoning. Almost all soldiers receiving 800 cGy will show symptoms, and fatalities will be more than 50 percent within 45 days, shown in Table 1-1. d.

Symptoms of Radiation Poisoning.

Symptoms of radiation poisoning may occur immediately if the soldier receives a very high dose. Otherwise, the symptoms will appear within a few hours. Depending upon the dosage received, the symptoms may disappear after a short time and not return, or they may return within a few days or not for several weeks. When the symptoms do reappear, they may be more severe than they were initially and can result in death. Radiation symptoms include: Weakness, nausea, vomiting or dry heaving, diarrhea, lethargy, depression, mental disorientation, shock and coma. At present there is no cure for radiation sickness; however, the symptoms can be treated.

http://www.geocities.com/tominelpaso/NuclearConditions.html (Dead link)

Alternate link: http://www.tpub.com/content/armyintelligence/is0345/is03450016.htm

http://www.tpub.com/content/armyintelligence/is0345/is03450016.htm

(US Army Chemical School Operations In An NBC Environment – NBC refers to nuclear, chemical, biological)

319. Residual Radiation.

The residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion is in the form of radioactive fallout and neutron-induced activity. Residual ionizing radiation arises from:

a. Fission Products. These are intermediate weight isotopes which are formed when a heavy uranium or plutonium nucleus is split in a fission reaction. There are over 300 different fission products that may result from a fission reaction. Many of these are radioactive with widely differing half-lives. Some are very short, i.e., fractions of a second, while a few are long enough that the materials can be a hazard for months or years. Their principal mode of decay is by the emission of beta and gamma radiation. Approximately 60 grams of fission products are formed per kiloton of yield. The estimated activity of this quantity of fission products 1 minute after detonation is equal to that of 1.1 x 1021 Bq (30 million kilograms of radium) in equilibrium with its decay products.

b. Unfissioned Nuclear Material. Nuclear weapons are relatively inefficient in their use of fissionable material, and much of the uranium and plutonium is dispersed by the explosion without undergoing fission. Such unfissioned nuclear material decays by the emission of alpha particles and is of relatively minor importance.

c. Neutron-Induced Activity. If atomic nuclei capture neutrons when exposed to a flux of neutron radiation, they will, as a rule, become radioactive (neutron-induced activity) and then decay by emission of beta and gamma radiation over an extended period of time. Neutrons emitted as part of the initial nuclear radiation will cause activation of the weapon residues. In addition, atoms of environmental material, such as soil, air, and water, may be activated, depending on their composition and distance from the burst. For example, a small area around ground zero may become hazardous as a result of exposure of the minerals in the soil to initial neutron radiation. This is due principally to neutron capture by sodium (Na), manganese, aluminum, and silicon in the soil. This is a negligible hazard because of the limited area involved.

From: SECTION IV – NUCLEAR RADIATION (from FAS) NATO HANDBOOK ON THE MEDICAL ASPECTS OF NBC DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS AMedP-6(B) PART I – NUCLEAR

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/fm8-9/1toc.htm

From: Nuclear Survival Skills

[Reprinted as permitted by U.S. Department of the Army from field manual FM 21-76]

Shielding

Shielding is the most important method of protection from penetrating radiation. Of the three countermeasures against penetrating radiation, shielding provides the greatest protection and is the easiest to use under survival conditions. Therefore, it is the most desirable method. [..]

Shielding actually works by absorbing or weakening the penetrating radiation, thereby reducing the amount of radiation reaching your body. The denser the material, the better the shielding effect. Lead, iron, concrete, and water are good examples of shielding materials.

Shelter

As stated earlier, the shielding material’s effectiveness depends on its thickness and density. An ample thickness of shielding material will reduce the level of radiation to negligible amounts.

The primary reason for finding and building a shelter is to get protection against the high-intensity radiation levels of early gamma fallout as fast as possible. Five minutes to locate the shelter is a good guide. Speed in finding shelter is absolutely essential. Without shelter, the dosage received in the first few hours will exceed that received during the rest of a week in a contaminated area. The dosage received in this first week will exceed the dosage accumulated during the rest of a lifetime spent in the same contaminated area.

Shielding Materials

The thickness required to weaken gamma radiation from fallout is far less than that needed to shield against initial gamma radiation. Fallout radiation has less energy than a nuclear detonation’s initial radiation. For fallout radiation, a relatively small amount of shielding material can provide adequate protection. Figure 23-1 gives an idea of the thickness of various materials needed to reduce residual gamma radiation transmission by 50 percent.

Img: http://www.lastalive.com/fm21-76/FM21-76_files/image162.gif URL: http://www.lastalive.com/survival_guide/nuclear/nuclear_survival.htm Caption: Shielding against gamma radiation.

Thickness of materials to reduce gamma radiation

The principle of half-value layer thickness is useful in understanding the absorption of gamma radiation by various materials. According to this principle, if 5 centimeters of brick reduce the gamma radiation level by one-half, adding another 5 centimeters of brick (another half-value layer) will reduce the intensity by another half, namely, to one-fourth the original amount. Fifteen centimeters will reduce gamma radiation fallout levels to one-eighth its original amount, 20 centimeters to one-sixteenth, and so on. Thus, a shelter protected by 1 meter of dirt would reduce a radiation intensity of 1,000 cgys per hour on the outside to about 0.5 cgy per hour inside the shelter.

Natural Shelters

Terrain that provides natural shielding and easy shelter construction is the ideal location for an emergency shelter. Good examples are ditches, ravines, rocky outcropping, hills, and river banks. In level areas without natural protection, dig a fighting position or slit trench.

Trenches

When digging a trench, work from inside the trench as soon as it is large enough to cover part of your body thereby not exposing all your body to radiation. In open country, try to dig the trench from a prone position, stacking the dirt carefully and evenly around the trench. On level ground, pile the dirt around your body for additional shielding. Depending upon soil conditions, shelter construction time will vary from a few minutes to a few hours. If you dig as quickly as possible, you will reduce the dosage you receive.

Other Shelters

While an underground shelter covered by 1 meter or more of earth provides the best protection against fallout radiation, the following unoccupied structures (in order listed) offer the next best protection:

Caves and tunnels covered by more than 1 meter of earth.
Storm or storage cellars.
Culverts.
Basements or cellars of abandoned buildings.
Abandoned buildings made of stone or mud.

http://www.lastalive.com/survival_guide/nuclear/nuclear_survival.htm

Fallout – from “Protect and Survive” booklet

http://www.sonicbomb.com/content/html/pas/img/fallout.gif URL: http://www.sonicbomb.com/content/html/pas/index.html

Fall-out is dust that is sucked up from the ground by the explosion. It can be deadly dangerous. It rises high in the air and can be carried by the winds for hundreds of miles before falling to the ground.

The radiation from this dust is dangerous. It cannot be seen or felt. It has no smell, and it can be detected only by special instruments. Exposure to it can cause sickness and death. If the dust fell on or around your home, the radiation from it would be a danger to you and your family for many days after an explosion. Radiation can penetrate any material, but its intensity is reduced as it passes through – so the thicker and denser the material is, the better.

http://www.cercidas.com/Nukes/ProtectAndSurvive/protect_and_survive.htm (dead link) New link: http://www.sonicbomb.com/content/html/pas/index.html (“Protect and Survive”. This booklet tells you how to make your home and family as safe as possible under nuclear attack. Prepared for the Home Office by the Central Office of Information 1976 (Reprinted 1980). UK.)

New York City Example – from Atomic Archive

A 150 kiloton bomb constructed by terrorists is detonated in the heart of Manhattan, at the foot of the Empire State Building. The bomb goes off without warning at noon time. It’s a clear spring day with a breeze to the east.

Assumptions

There is no warning. The population has not been evacuated nor sought shelter. Both measures could reduce casualties.

There is clear weather, with visibility of 9 miles (16 km).

This is an isolated attack, leaving the rest of the country free to respond.

A large percentage of the day time population is outside – 25%.

The daytime population density is roughly uniform and about 125,000 per square mile.

The shock wave will spread out uniformly in all directions, being minimally affected by structures.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example1.shtml

New York City Example: 1 second after detonation

Img: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image2.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example2.shtml Caption: Overpressure is 20 psi at 1 second after detonation.

Blast Wave

At the end of the first second, the shock wave will have an overpressure of 20 psi. at a distance of four tenths of a mile from ground zero. Even the most heavily reinforced steel and concrete buildings will be destroyed. These buildings include the Empire State Building, Madison Square Gardens, Penn Central Railroad Station and the New York Public Library. Most of the material that comprises these buildings will remain and pile up to a depth of hundreds of feet in places, but nothing inside this ring will be recognizable.

Casualties

This circle contains a daytime population of roughly 75,000. There will be no survivors. Those caught outside will be exposed to the full effects of the blast, including severe lung and ear drum damage and exposure to flying debris. Those in the direct line of sight of the blast will be exposed to a thermal pulse in excess of 500 cal/sq.cm., causing instant death. Those inside, though shielded from some of the blast and thermal effects, will be killed as buildings collapse.

Fireball

The fireball will have a maximum radius of 1,023 feet (0.2 miles). However, the blast effects will greatly outweigh any direct thermal effects due to the fireball.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example2.shtml

New York City Example: 4 seconds after detonation

TIFF from http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image3.gif and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/PSITable.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example3.shtml Caption: New York City Example: 4 seconds after detonation

Blast Wave

An overpressure of at least 10 psi. extends out for 1 mile. Concrete and steel reinforced commercial buildings will be destroyed or severely damaged out to the edge of this ring. The few buildings that remain standing on the outside edge of this ring will have their interiors destroyed. Though the thermal pulse is intense enough to ignite most materials, the shock wave will likely extinguish most fires in this ring. Landmarks affected by the blast at this distance include the Chrysler Building, Rockerfeller Center, the United Nations, and four hospitals. All of these buildings will be totally destroyed or so severely damaged that they will be unusable and will have to be demolished in the clean-up.

Casualties

Most people inside buildings will be killed by flying debris or die as the buildings collapse. Almost all those outside and not in the direct line of sight of the blast will receive lung and ear drum injuries to varying degrees. Those in the direct line of sight will be killed instantly by the thermal pulse. Fatalities are estimated at 300,000 with many of the remaining 100,000 receiving some form of non-fatal injury. Those people in this ring making use of New York’s subway system will escape with few injuries, though they may be trapped for days by debris blocking entrances and exits.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example3.shtml

New York City Example: 6 seconds after detonation

TIFF from http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image4.gif and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/PSITable.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example4.shtml Caption: New York City Example: 6 seconds after detonation

Blast Wave

In the next two seconds the shock wave moves out another half mile, extending the destruction out to a 1.5 mile radius. The overpressure has dropped to 5 psi. at the outer edge of this ring, which covers an area of 4 square miles. Reinforced structures are heavily damaged and unreinforced residential type structures of brick and wood are destroyed. Affected structures include Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center and the Queensboro Bridge. All the named structures are near the outside edge of this ring. All windows in these structures will be shattered and many interior walls will collapse.

Casualties

This ring contains 500,000 people during the day. About 190,000 will be killed inside buildings by flying debris. This is roughly half of the assumed indoor population. The other 190,000 will suffer varying degrees of injuries. Most of those outside and not in the direct line of sight of the explosion will escape direct injury from the blast, but may be injured by flying objects. The thermal pulse is still sufficiently intense (40 cal/sq.cm.) to kill anyone in the direct line of sight; approximately 30,000. Those people fortunate enough to be under ground will escape with no injuries. The total number of injured will be approximately 220,000, leaving roughly 60,000 uninjured.

Thermal Effects

This region contains the most severe fire hazard, since fire ignition and spread are more likely in partly damaged buildings than in completely flattened areas. Perhaps 5% of the building would be initially ignited, with fire spread to adjoining buildings highly likely. Fires will continue to spread for 24 hours at least, ultimately destroying about half the buildings.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example4.shtml

New York City Example: 10 seconds after detonation

TIFF from http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image5.gif and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/PSITable.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example5.shtml Caption: New York City Example: 10 seconds after detonation

Blast Wave

This band extends out to a 2.5 mile radius and has an overpressure at the outside edge of 2 psi. Reinforced structures will receive varying amounts of damage, with those buildings at the edge being almost completely undamaged. Wood and brick buildings will receive moderate amounts of initial damage, with the damage becoming less significant at the outside edge of the ring.

Casualties

An estimated 235,000 people (15%) will be fatalities in this ring, with another 525,000 injured to varying degrees. No injuries will be due directly to the blast overpressure. However, the thermal pulse will still be sufficient to kill or incapacitate those not indoors or otherwise protected. The degree of injury from the thermal pulse will depend greatly on clothing and skin color. Darker clothing and skin will absorb more of the energy, giving a more severe burn. The material type and thickness will also determine the severity of burns from the thermal pulse.

Thermal Effects

The possibility of delayed damage due to fire is very real in this band. The energy in the thermal pulse will still be sufficient to start combustible materials on fire, yet the overpressure and accompanying wind will be less likely to put out these fires. If only a small percentage of the buildings start on fire many may be damaged as the fire spreads out of control since the capability to fight fires will be non-existent. It may be 24 hours or more before the resources are available to even begin to fight fires.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example5.shtml

New York City Example: 16 seconds after detonation

TIFF from http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image6.gif and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/PSITable.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example6.shtml Caption: New York City Example: 16 seconds after detonation

Blast Wave

This band extends out for almost 4 miles and has an overpressure of 1 psi. at its outside edge. At the inner edge there will be light to moderate amounts of damage to unreinforced buildings of brick and wood. Reinforced structures and commercial buildings will receive light damage at most. This band extends out to the site of the former World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty in the south, across the East River into Queens in the east, and across the Hudson River to New Jersey.

Casualties

Though this ring covers an additional 30 square miles, much of this area is over water or less densely populated areas. The affected population in this ring is estimated to be 500,000. There will be almost no fatalities in this ring and only a small percentage, roughly 30,000, will receive injuries from the thermal pulse. Flashblindness and permanent retinal injuries from the blast will extend out beyond 20 miles. Since this is a ground level explosion, the number of people who will be looking in the direction of the blast and have a clear view, will be much less than if the explosion had taken place several thousand feet above the city.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example6.shtml

New York City Example: Long-Term Fallout Pattern

TIFF from http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/Image7.gif and http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Images/RADTable.gif URL: http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example7.shtml Caption: New York City Example: Long-Term Fallout Pattern

Radioactive Fallout

A surface explosion will produce much more early fallout than a similarly sized air burst where the fireball never touches the ground. This is because a surface explosion produces radioactive particles from the ground as well as from the weapon. The early fallout will drift back to earth on the prevailing wind, creating an elliptical pattern stretching from ground zero out into Long Island. Because the wind will be relatively light, the fallout will be highly concentrated in the area of Manhattan just to the east of the blast. Predicting levels of radiation is difficult and depends on many factors like bomb size, design, the ground surface and soil type.

Fallout Effects

Dose-rem	Effects
5-20	Possible late effects; possible chromosomal damage.
20-100	Temporary reduction in white blood cells.
100-200	Mild radiation sickness within a few hours: vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue; reduction in resistance to infection.
200-300	Serious radiation sickness effects as in 100-200 rem and hemorrhage; exposure is a Lethal Dose to 10-35% of the population after 30 days (LD 10-35/30).
300-400	Serious radiation sickness; also marrow and intestine destruction; LD 50-70/30.
400-1000	Acute illness, early death; LD 60-95/30.
1000-5000	Acute illness, early death in days; LD 100/10.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Example/Example7.shtml

Hiroshima after the bomb

Img: http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/97abom/peace/e/05/photo/10days.gif URL: http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/abom/97abom/peace/e/05/kinoko.htm Caption: The gash caused by the A-bomb damage, however, was still wide open and ready to engulf the people and the city of Hiroshima.

Fallout – Maralinga tests

Atomic Weapons Tests—Buffalo 1, 2, 3 and 4 – From: Memories of the Bureau of Meteorology 1946 to 1962

The four Buffalo atomic weapons were exploded at Maralinga but were of much lower yield than the Hurricane and Mosaic G2 tests. Buffalo 1, with a yield of 15 kilotons, was exploded from a tower on 27 September 1956. The atomic cloud reached a height of 37 500 feet; AWRE had predicted a height of 27 900 feet. Bob Southern reports that L. J. Dwyer was highly critical of the error in prediction and amendments were made to the procedure. Fallout was measured by Varsity aircraft for about 300 km from ground zero, by sticky paper and air sampling devices and in rainfall and water in reservoirs. Radioactivity was detected in areas of SA, NT, NSW and Queensland.

Buffalo 2, with a yield of 1.5 kilotons, was exploded at ground level on 4 October. Fallout from this test was difficult to measure because rain (correctly forecast) had washed sticky papers.

The fireball of Buffalo 3, yield 3 kilotons, dropped from an aircraft on 11 October, did not reach the ground, although the top of the atomic cloud reached 15 000 feet. Fallout was small although small amounts were measured in the Maralinga village and parts of NSW and Victoria.

Fallout from Buffalo 4, yield 10 kilotons, exploded from a tower on 22 October 1956, was detected over the whole of Australia north of a line joining Carnarvon, Adelaide and Canberra.

Ground zeros for these tests were spread over an area of 6 km at a distance of about 27 km north of Maralinga township.

Meteorological support for the Buffalo tests was provided by a team of Bureau meteorologists, led by Henry Phillpot, which included Allan Brunt, Errol Mizon, Bob Southern and about six observers making routine surface, radiosonde and radar wind observations. It is obvious that Len Dwyer had decided that the meteorological team needed more people. In earlier consultation with Sir William Penney he had also resolved to establish an upper air station (Giles) in the desert to the north of Maralinga within the line of a proposed rocket range from Woomera to the north-west coast of Australia.

http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/fam/1047.html (Gibbs, W. J. 1999 ‘A Very Special Family: Memories of the Bureau of Meteorology 1946 to 1962’, Metarch Papers, No. 13 May 1999, Bureau of Meteorology)

From Glasstone: Fallout particles

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1931/1487/400/Buffalo-1.jpg URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/04/white-house-issues-new-civil-defence.html Caption: Buffalo-1 fallout particles. Mushroom clouds are of the Buffalo-1 detonation. The fallout photo above was secret during the Cold War but has been declassified in the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment report by D.H. Peirson, et al, report AWRE-T28/57, 1957, page 26. Crown Copyright Reserved.

These Buffalo-1 fallout particles are examples of exactly what would happen if a nuclear weapon was detonated in a city. This bomb was detonated on a metal tower over sand which simulates the concrete and steel frame building material of a modern city that would become fallout. Particles in the lethal short-term danger zone are larger than sand; as shown many of them are 3-4 millimetres in size and will make a noise like hail as they land. [..]

The photos of the mushroom cloud are for the same detonation that created the fallout particles: Buffalo-1. The photos were taken at 8 and 20 seconds after detonation of the 15 kiloton bomb on a 30 metre high tower, Maralinga, 27 September 1956.

The fallout consists of a mixture of large, smooth, globular, glossy, spherical particles resulting from the solidification of melted silicate sand with molten aluminium oxide from the tower, and a variety of unmelted, irregular sand grains. You can hear fallout hitting surfaces and bouncing off. You can also see, touch, and feel them, but you will not smell them (because of gravity, the fallout particles do not tend to enter your nose!). The melted particles are contaminated with insoluble activity trapped throughout their fused volume. Contamination on unmelted particles is limited to the surface, but is relatively soluble.

America also determined that lethal fallout concentrations are visible. If the fallout is on particles so small they can’t be seen, the time taken for fallout ensures that the radiation decays to tolerable levels before that occurs. Obviously you have to be wary of rain for several hours after a nuclear explosion, as it can wash fallout out of the atmosphere, but again rain is visible. Also, rain can carry most of the radioactivity into sewers, where the radiation is well shielded from the pavement.

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/04/white-house-issues-new-civil-defence.html

Fallout particles on a fallout tray

Img: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/Req9RvSNG4I/AAAAAAAAAC0/gCp72i96opw/s400/132c.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: visible dangerous fallout; 1956 secret photo from WT-1317 of a fallout tray automatically exposed for just 15 minutes at 1 hour after detonation of the 3.53 megaton, 15% fission surface burst Zuni at Bikini in 1956. Fallout on barge YFNB 13, at 20 km North-North-West of ground zero (downwind). The tray’s inner diameter is 8.1 cm. This sample is only 22% of the total deposit of 21.9 g/m2 at that location. The barge’s radiation meter recorded a peak gamma intensity of 6 R/hr at 1.25 hours. FROM: Dr Carl F. Miller, “A Theory of Decontamination of Fallout from Nuclear Detonations. Part II. Methods for Estimating the Composition of Contaminated Systems”, U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, report USNRDL-466, 29 September 1961. Dr Terry Triffet and Philip D. LaRiviere, “Operation Redwing. Project 2.63. Characterization of Fallout”, Nuclear Weapon test report WT-1317, 15 March 1961. URL: http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/ihs/marshall/collection/data/ihp1d/78192e.pdf AND http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/wt-1317.pdf

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/04/white-house-issues-new-civil-defence.html

—————————-
Initial radiation and residual radiation

Radiation released from Hiroshima-type bomb

http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/img/ihin_img/dsc00449.jpg URL: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4007&l=e Caption: Radiation Released from the Hiroshima-type A-bomb.

Radiation Released from the Hiroshima-type A-bomb

The radioactive material used in the Hiroshima bomb was uranium. Of the approximately 50 kilograms of uranium packed into the bomb, only about one kilogram underwent fission. About 15% of the energy released was in the form of radiation. The radiation released the instant the nuclear fission took place is called “initial radiation.” The large amounts of radiation remaining on the surface for some time after the explosion is called “residual radiation.”

Effects of Residual Radiation

Residual radiation had devastating effects on human bodies. However, this residual radiation faded rapidly. A week later, it was about one millionth of the original level. Today, residual radiation from the Hiroshima A-bomb has no effect on human bodies.

About 15% of the energy released was in the form of radiation. The radiation released the instant the nuclear fission took place is called “initial radiation.” The large amounts of radiation remaining on the surface for some time after the explosion is called “residual radiation.”

http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4007&l=e

Black Rain

Soon after the explosion, a giant mushroom cloud billowed upward, carrying dirt, dust, and other debris high into the air. After the explosion, soot generated by the conflagration was carried by hot air high into the sky. this dust and soot became radioactive, mixed with water vapor in the air, then fell back to earth in what came to be called “black rain.”

http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4009&l=e

Areas where black rain fell

Image: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/img/ihin_img/kuroiame_e.jpg URL: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4012&l=e Caption: Areas that received black rain

Approximately twenty to thirty minutes after the explosion, rain began falling in northwestern areas of the city. The rain fell in huge black raindrops for an hour or two, then turned to normal rain that continued into the evening. The rain covered an area about 29 kilometers long and about 15 kilometers wide.

http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4012&l=e

Rainout

The action of rainout is to speed up the fallout rate. Either small fallout particles get swept out of the air by much larger raindrops (this process is strictly termed ‘washout’), or the raincloud and fallout cloud combine, allowing small fallout particles to be captured – as a result of their diffusion in all directions as a result of Brownian motion – by small water droplets, which naturally grow (by collisions, condensation, and turbulent attachment) into large raindrops that can then fall out of the raincloud very rapidly (this two-stage mechanism is correctly called ‘rainout’).

Most rainfall occurs from rain clouds at altitudes of 2.5-5 km, i.e., from the altitude range which corresponds to the mushroom top altitude for a 2 kt nuclear explosion at low altitude or surface level. Some rain comes from much higher altitudes due to thunderstorms, but this quite rare.

Rainout poses a fallout danger from low yield air bursts which would not be present in dry weather. This can affect troops and cause collateral damage by exposing civilians to radiation.

Where good drainage exists in well designed cities, the rainout danger is less severe than fallout because most of the radioactivity goes straight down the drains, where the radiation it emits is well shielded from people. Eventually most of the radioactivity ends up in sediments, and a small fraction ends is dissolved and enters rivers and the ocean, where it is diluted to insignificance compared to the natural background radiation from potassium-40.

http://www.glasstone.blogspot.com/

Types of radiation

Img: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/img/ihin_img/hosyasen_e.jpg URL: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4004&l=e Caption: Radiation Type and Penetrating Power

Radiation includes alpha rays, beta rays, gamma rays, X-rays, and neutron rays. This penetrative power varies with the type of radiation.

http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/virtual/cgi-bin/museum.cgi?no=4004&l=e

Ocean acts like a sink for fallout

Because fallout sinks in the ocean (which shields the fallout quite effectively, giving only a small dose rate) and the barge deck is much smaller than a land area, the barge radiation meters record only about 25% of those on land which are contaminated to the same extent.

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/

Particles of fallout particles

Image: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/Ren8yo1xZmI/AAAAAAAAAAs/Lw9k5IkiCCY/s400/135a.BMP URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: Yellow-brown fused-silicate sand from the Nevada Sugar ground burst, 1951. FROM: Dr Carl F. Miller, “A Theory of Decontamination of Fallout from Nuclear Detonations. Part II. Methods for Estimating the Composition of Contaminated Systems”, U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, report USNRDL-466, 29 September 1961. Dr Terry Triffet and Philip D. LaRiviere, “Operation Redwing. Project 2.63. Characterization of Fallout”, Nuclear Weapon test report WT-1317, 15 March 1961. http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/ihs/marshall/collection/data/ihp1d/78192e.pdf AND http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/wt-1317.pdf

Yellow-brown fused-silicate sand from the Nevada Sugar ground burst, 1951: In this and each of the following photographs, the photograph on the left hand side is a picture of a 30 micron thick slice through the particle (produced by gluing the particle into plastic resin and then shaving off a thin slice). The image on the right hand side is an radioautograph, i.e., an x-ray like photo in which the source of the image is the action of beta particles from the fallout particle striking a light proofed packet of photographic film. The radioautograph shows, therefore, precisely where the fission products are distributed within each fallout particle…

Image: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/Ren9rI1xZnI/AAAAAAAAAA0/lXzFdhYWe2U/s1600/135b.BMP URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: Above: yellow/green silicate glass spheres from the Nevada Sugar ground burst, 1951. Pure silicate (quartz) sand particles ejected from the crater remain liquid at temperatures below 2,950 °C, and re-solidify into insoluble glass spheres when the fireball temperature falls below 1,607 °C. Before this time, condensing fission products diffuse inside molten glass droplets, creating insoluble radioactive particles, but at later times fission products are deposited on the outside of solidified glass, giving soluble (biologically available) radioactivity. FROM: Dr Carl F. Miller, “A Theory of Decontamination of Fallout from Nuclear Detonations. Part II. Methods for Estimating the Composition of Contaminated Systems”, U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, report USNRDL-466, 29 September 1961. Dr Terry Triffet and Philip D. LaRiviere, “Operation Redwing. Project 2.63. Characterization of Fallout”, Nuclear Weapon test report WT-1317, 15 March 1961. http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/ihs/marshall/collection/data/ihp1d/78192e.pdf AND http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/wt-1317.pdf

Pure silicate (quartz) sand particles ejected from the crater remain liquid at temperatures below 2,950 °C, and re-solidify into insoluble glass spheres when the fireball temperature falls below 1,607 °C. Before this time, condensing fission products diffuse inside molten glass droplets, creating insoluble radioactive particles, but at later times fission products are deposited on the outside of solidified glass, giving soluble (biologically available) radioactivity. [..]

Silicate minerals are the most common in the Earth’s crust, forming the most rock and sand.

Img: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/ReoAiI1xZqI/AAAAAAAAABM/GN8lMdAwW10/s1600-h/135e.bmp URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: Above: dicalcium ferrite and calcium hydroxide; Inca steel tower shot over coral, 1956. FROM: Dr Carl F. Miller, “A Theory of Decontamination of Fallout from Nuclear Detonations. Part II. Methods for Estimating the Composition of Contaminated Systems”, U. S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, report USNRDL-466, 29 September 1961. Dr Terry Triffet and Philip D. LaRiviere, “Operation Redwing. Project 2.63. Characterization of Fallout”, Nuclear Weapon test report WT-1317, 15 March 1961. http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/ihs/marshall/collection/data/ihp1d/78192e.pdf AND http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/wt-1317.pdf

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/ReoA7I1xZrI/AAAAAAAAABU/sZYUOuRnQjg/s1600-h/135f.BMP URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: lack magnetic fallout particle (magnetite) from Inca steel tower burst, 1956. The Redwing-Inca test was a 15.2 kt-bomb was fired on top of a 61-m steel tower (containing 165 tons of iron) over coral sand at Eniwetok Atoll. Magnetite (Fe3O4) particles formed, and the mixed coral and steel formed marbles of contaminated black dicalcium ferrite (2CaO.Fe2O3) with veins of uncontaminated calcium hydroxide.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/ReoBWY1xZsI/AAAAAAAAABc/SDdyx_JOmbQ/s1600-h/135g.BMP URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html Caption: typical glossy magnetic fallout particle, Upshot Knothole tower burst, 1953

The density of Upshot Knothole fallout from a detonation on a 91-m tall steel tower was 2.15 grams per cubic centimetre, a mixture of black magnetic iron oxide (magnetite, Fe3O4) from the steel tower and silicate glass from melted grains of Nevada sand. The particle core contains air bubbles and is a sand grain, melted into glass. The outer region contains the magnetite and the radioactive fission products. Studies at the 1957 tests Diablo and Shasta showed that steel tower shot fallout is 5% magnetite by mass and can be picked up with a magnet (U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory report USNRDL-466, 1961).

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2007/03/dr-carl-f-millers-fallout-and.html

Particles in the World Trade Center dust

Img: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/images/8142/8142coverstory_36fibs.JPG URL: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/NCW/8142aerosols.html Caption: Electron microscopy imaging of WTC dust.

Img: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/images/8142/8142coverstory_powder.JPG URL: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/NCW/8142aerosols.html Caption: WTC dust

Caption: An analysis of WTC dust (top) revealed many odd-shaped glass fibers that come from slag wool, as shown in this scanning electron microscopy image. USGS PHOTOS

The USGS team also analyzed WTC dust using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Like Lioy’s group, USGS scientists discovered a complex mixture of materials: glass fibers (up to 40% in some samples), gypsum (wallboard), concrete, paper, and other construction debris. “I was just amazed at how many glass fibers there were,” Meeker said. The high concentration of glass was due partially to windows, but primarily to ceiling tiles. SEM revealed that much of the glass was present as odd-shaped fibers and spheres. “It’s not an effect of the collapse,” Meeker said. These compositions are compatible with “slag wool,” a common component of ceiling tiles and other building materials.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/NCW/8142aerosols.html

Boston-Manhattan predicted fallout pattern

Source: Ted Postol, lecture notes [Glaser PDF]

Path of Radiation

SOURCE: Homeland Security Council | THE WASHINGTON POST

http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/nuclear-low-yield-weapons-impact.htm

“About Fallout (1963)”

VIDEO: “About Fallout (1963)” [Dailymotion | ArchiveOrg]

A still from the video.

An example of wind-predicted fallout pattern

The following is the most commonly used prevailing wind predicted fallout pattern, but remember, fallout can go anywhere or everywhere (and probably will).

Continental US Fallout Pattern for Prevailing Winds (FEMA-196/September 1990)

http://www.ki4u.com/nuclearsurvival/states/tx.htm

Wall Street after a 1 megaton nuclear attack

Img: http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/nukedNYC.gif URL: http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/ Caption: Wall Street After 1 Megaton Nuclear Attack

http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/

1 Megaton Surface Blast: Fallout

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/sfeature/images/map2.gif URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/sfeature/1mtfall.html Caption: 1 Megaton Surface Blast: Fallout

One of the effects of nuclear weapons detonated on or near the earth’s surface is the resulting radioactive fallout. Immediately after the detonation, a great deal of earth and debris, made radioactive by the blast, is carried high into the atmosphere, forming a mushroom cloud. The material drifts downwind and gradually falls back to earth, contaminating thousands of square miles. This page describes the fallout pattern over a seven-day period.

Assumptions

Wind speed: 15 mph

Wind direction: due east

Time frame: 7 days

3,000 Rem*

Distance: 30 miles

Much more than a lethal dose of radiation. Death can occur within hours of exposure. About 10 years will need to pass before levels of radioactivity in this area drop low enough to be considered safe, by U.S. peacetime standards.

900 Rem

Distance: 90 miles

A lethal dose of radiation. Death occurs from two to fourteen days.

300 Rem

Distance: 160 miles

Causes extensive internal damage, including harm to nerve cells and the cells that line the digestive tract, and results in a loss of white blood cells. Temporary hair loss is another result.

90 Rem

Distance: 250 miles

Causes a temporary decrease in white blood cells, although there are no immediate harmful effects. Two to three years will need to pass before radioactivity levels in this area drop low enough to be considered safe, by U.S. peacetime standards.

*Rem: Stands for “roentgen equivalent man.” This is a measurement used to quantify the amount of radiation that will produce certain biological effects.

NOTE: This information has been drawn mainly from “The Effects of Nuclear War” (Washington: Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the United States, 1979). The zones of destruction described on this page are broad generalizations and do not take into account factors such as weather and geography of the target.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/sfeature/1mtfall.html (From PBS Online)

Nuclear target map of Texas

Img: http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/Texasnucleartargets.jpg URL: http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/ Caption: This is the nuclear target map for Texas, but remember, fallout can go anywhere or everywhere (and probably will).

http://www.ki4u.com/nuclearsurvival/states/tx.htm#continent (dead link)

Alternate link: http://www.carolmoore.net/nuclearwar/

U.S. nuclear reactor locations

http://www.ki4u.com/nuclearsurvival/list.htm (dead link)

http://www.nrc.gov/images/info-finder/reactor/reactors-map.gif URL: http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/ US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Caption: US operating nuclear reactors

Image: Screen capture from a video rnep.swf. It shows the hypothetical fallout zones in an attack by a nuclear bunker buster on Iran. URL: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/the-robust-nuclear-earth-penetrator-rnep.html

Radiation spikes detected in WTC dust samples

Characterization of the Dust/Smoke Aerosol that Settled East of the World Trade Center (WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the WTC 11 September 2001

Radionuclides. We analyzed the gamma spectrum of the samples using an EG&G/Ortec high-purity Ge detector (50% relative efficiency) gamma counter (EG&G/Ortec Instruments, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN). We analyzed approximately 50 peaks based on statistical significance (counting/lack of interferences). These included thorium, uranium, actinium series, and primordial radionuclides. Liquid scintillation analyses were conducted for emissions on the total dust and smoke samples using a Packard Tri-Carb Model 2770 TR/SL (Packard Instrument, Meriden, CT). The MDA for alpha radioactivity was 0.30 DPM (0.14 pCi) based on a NIST-traceable 226Ra standard (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD). When placed in the liquid scintillation fluid, the WTC samples are somewhat darker than the backgrounds and calibration standard, which may cause slight underreporting of the beta activity due to quenching and standard-to-sample efficiency bias.

http://www.ehponline.org/members/2002/110p703-714lioy/lioy-full.html (Characterization of the Dust/Smoke Aerosol that Settled East of the World Trade Center (WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the WTC 11 September 2001. By Paul J. Lioy et al.)

RADIATION and FALLOUT

Chemical Analysis – Fallout cloud and rainfall

In the first four hours after two planes hit the WTC towers, a massive cloud of dust and smoke from the collapse and explosions filled the air. “Basically, you had blackout,” Lioy said. The dust gradually settled, resuspended, and settled again over the next few days. On the third and fourth days, it rained and the dust in the air diminished. Fires continued to burn and the plume lofted, yet was intermittently pushed down by inversions. On the 13th day, search and rescue was abandoned, diesel engines started up, and the site became a construction zone. A plume of smoke rose from ground zero until the fires were extinguished on Dec. 20.

In a broad sense, the WTC attack generated two different kinds of aerosols: pulverized dust from the collapse of the towers and smoke from the fires in the debris pile. Other pollution sources were affected by WTC activity, notably demolition at the site, which started in mid-October; diesel generator emissions; and traffic pollution.

The dust “was unlike any dust and smoke mixture I had ever seen before,” Lioy said. The fluffy, pink and gray powder “was basically a complex mixture of everything that makes up our workplaces and lives.” Six million sq ft of masonry, 5 million sq ft of painted surfaces, 7 million sq ft of flooring, 600,000 sq ft of window glass, 200 elevators, and everything inside came down as dust, said Greg Meeker of USGS.

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/NCW/8142aerosols.html (Chemical and Engineering News magazine. October 20, 2003 Volume 81, Number 42 CENEAR 81 42 pp. 26-30 ISSN 0009-2347 CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF A DISASTER)

EMP

Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is an electro-magnetic wave similar to radio waves, which results from secondary reactions occurring when the nuclear gamma radiation is absorbed in the air or ground. It differs from the usual radio waves in two important ways. First, it creates much higher electric field strengths. Whereas a radio signal might produce a thousandth of a volt or less in a receiving antenna, an EMP pulse might produce thousands of volts. Secondly, it is a single pulse of energy that disappears completely in a small fraction of a second. In this sense, it is rather similar to the electrical signal from lightning, but the rise in voltage is typically a hundred times faster. This means that most equipment designed to protect electrical facilities from lightning works too slowly to be effective against EMP.

The strength of an EMP pulse is measured in volts per meter (v/m), and is an indication of the voltage that would be produced in an exposed antenna. A nuclear weapon burst on the surface will typically produce an EMP of tens of thousands of v/m at short distances (the 10-psi range) and thousands of v/m at longer distances (l-psi range). Airbursts produce less EMP, but high-altitude bursts (above 19 miles [21 km]) produce very strong EMP, with ranges of hundreds or thousands of miles. An attacker might detonate a few weapons at such altitudes in an effort to destroy or damage the communications and electric power systems of the victim.

There is no evidence that EMP is a physical threat to humans. However, electrical or electronic systems, particularly those connected to long wires such as powerlines or antennas, can undergo either of two kinds of damage. First, there can be actual physical damage to an electrical component such as shorting of a capacitor or burnout of a transistor, which would require replacement or repair before the equipment can again be used. Second, at a lesser level, there can be a temporary operational upset, frequently requiring some effort to restore operation. For example, instabilities induced in power grids can cause the entire system to shut itself down, upsetting computers that must be started again. Base radio stations are vulnerable not only from the loss of commercial power but from direct damage to electronic components connected to the antenna. In general, portable radio transmitter/receivers with relatively short antennas are not susceptible to EMP. The vulnerability of the telephone system to EMP could not be determined.

http://www.aussurvivalist.com/nuclear/blasteffects.htm

Patricia Ondrovic Interview – Motorola Radio Troubles and Cellphone Problems

KT: After you witnessed the explosions in the lobby of the WTC 6, you started running in which direction and then what happened?

PO: I kept running west on Vesey. I got hit with the cloud shortly after being turned away from 6 WTC. I was probably at the corner of Vesey/West Street at that point running. I ran towards the West Side Highway — there is a park area there. I remember running across grass and there was now lots of grey and black smoke. I was just trying to get to the water because nothing was exploding, or on fire from what I could see. There were lots and lots of people also running that way at this point.

KT: When were you able to escape the dust cloud and what happened after that?

PO: I was now at the water’s edge. There were no boats I could see, so I started to run north along the side of the West Side Highway. I was about 9 or 10 blocks north of Vesey on the West Side Highway. I found the first FDNY EMS vehicle and knew the crew as they were also from my station. I remember not being able to breathe so well — felt like someone was standing on my chest. When I looked back, I could see people coming out of the black cloud and continuing to run and walk north on the West Side Highway as well.

KT: Did you notice any firefighters or other rescuers having technical problems with their Motorola radios or any other equipment?

PO: Oh yeah, at one point there was a loud “buzzing” sound and none of the EMS radios worked for maybe 30 seconds? We all used Motorola radios and I believe our repeaters were on top of the towers, so when the tower came down our radios failed. I tried to use my cellphone, but that too did not work.

KT: Do you know if anybody’s cellphone worked and were able to get through to anybody?

PO: A few of my co workers had Nextel phones. Theirs worked, but they couldn’t talk to anyone who didn’t have a Nextel because all the other services were out at the time.

http://killtown.blogspot.com/2006/02/911-rescuer-saw-explosions-inside-wtc.html

(February 10, 2006 9/11 Rescuer Saw Explosions Inside WTC 6 Lobby. In an exclusive Killtown interview, Ground Zero EMT Patricia Ondrovic talks about her harrowing day at the WTC on 9/11. Within minutes after the South Tower collapses, she witnessed the WTC 5 blowing up, cars exploding, and explosions inside the lobby of the WTC 6, all the while narrowly escaping with her own life.)

Schema of different nuclear test explosions

EMP

Img: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1931/1487/400/AWE.jpg URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/emp-radiation-from-nuclear-space.html [Illustration credit: Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermastion, http://www.awe.co.uk/main_site/scientific_and_technical/featured_areas/dpd/computational_physics/nuclear_effects_group/electromagnetic_pulse/index.html (this site page removed since accessed in 2006.] Caption: EMP, deflected Compton electrons

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/

Img: https://apunked.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/AWE1.1.jpg URL: http://www.glasstone.blogspot.com/ Caption: EMP

http://www.glasstone.blogspot.com/

Img: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/SfUeagMtQ4I/AAAAAAAAAl8/KWm7TPH_TkI/s1600-h/Starfish+mass+asymmetries+from+device+and+missile.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/emp-radiation-from-nuclear-space.html Caption: Above: the STARFISH (1.4 Mt, 400 km detonation altitude, 9 July 1962) detonation. Report; http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=A955411&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

http://www.glasstone.blogspot.com/

EMP effects from surface bursts, tower bursts, and free air bursts (not high altitude bursts) – Glasstone Blogspot

Img: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/S_-Y8ePGGOI/AAAAAAAABek/SQBkeR8wCEI/s400/Mike+lightning.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2008/11/radiation-and-emp-chapters-from-dolans.html (EMP effects from surface bursts, tower bursts, and free air bursts (not high altitude bursts) ) Caption: Above: nuclear lightning observed in film of the 10 megatons H-bomb test, Ivy-Mike, Elugelab Island, Eniwetok Atoll, 1 November 1952 (click on photos for larger view). The nuclear lightning was visible clearly at times of 3-75 milliseconds after burst. (Images are taken from the excellent quality Atomic Energy Commission film, “Photography of Nuclear Detonations”, embedded below.)

The nearest lightning bolts (between the sea water around the island and the non-thunderstorm scud cloud) are both 925 metres from ground zero, and other lightning flashes at are 1,100, 1,280 and 1,380 metres from ground zero. The best estimate, by J. D. Colvin, et al., “An Empirical Study of the nuclear explosion-induced lightning seen on Ivy-Mike”, Journal of Geophysical Research, v92, 1987, p5696, is that each lightning bolt carried between 150 and 250 kA. The lightning bolts curve to follow constant radii around ground zero, corresponding to equal intensities of air conductivity and EMP Compton current. [..]

EMP (“radioflash”) is also emit by conventional chemical explosives, due to the charge separation: exploding TNT ionizes some of the product molecules at a temperature of thousands of degrees C, thereby propelling some free electrons outwards faster than the heaver ions, which causes a charge separation, and thus an EMP emission, just like radio emission from electric charge moving in an antenna (in cases where there is asymmetry caused by the ground or other absorber on one side of the explosion). Chemical explosive EMP was first reported in 1954 in Nature v173, p77. The peak electric field strength falls off by the reciprocal of the cube of distance near the detonation, but only inversely with distance far away. Extensive EMP measurements were reported for TNT explosions by Dr Victor A. J. van Lint, in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science, volume NS-29, 1982, pp. 1844-9. He showed that chemical explosion surface burst EMP is vertically-polarized and first peaks in the negative direction (i.e. due to free electrons moving upwards, or “conventional current” moving downwards) at 8 milliseconds after detonation. The average first peak electric field strength for 46 kg of TNT ranged from -389 v/m at 35 metres distance to -5.20 v/m at 140 metres.

In chemical explosion, EMP creation is limited to the hot fireball region where air is ionized by the heat. But in a nuclear explosion, the Compton effect produces an EMP far more effectively, with gamma rays knocking electrons off air molecules in the forward direction, even well outside the hot fireball.

Img: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/SfiscGWIArI/AAAAAAAAAq0/tvOf84S3F9U/s400/Mike+lightning.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2008/11/radiation-and-emp-chapters-from-dolans.html Caption: the dramatic visible EMP-related lightning bolts induced by the 10.4 Mt Ivy-Mike detonation around the fireball, Eniwetok Atoll, 1 November 1952. The nuclear lightning flashes at about 1.4 km from ground zero, around the Mike fireball, were visible in the film from 4-75 milliseconds after burst. (From Glasstone Blogspot: EMP effects from surface bursts, tower bursts, and free air bursts (not high altitude bursts))

The mechanism of nuclear lightning was predicted by the physicist Enrico Fermi [..] as reported by Robert R. Wilson in his ‘Summary of Nuclear Physics Measurements’ (in K.T. Bainbridge, editor, Trinity, Los Alamos report LA-1012, 1946 (http://www.lanl.gov/history/pdf/00317133-Trinity.pdf) (declassified and released as LA-6300-H, p. 53, in 1976):

‘… the gamma rays from the reaction will ionise the air… Fermi has calculated that the ensuing removal of the natural electrical potential gradient in the atmosphere will be equivalent to a large bolt of lightning striking that vicinity … All signal lines were completely shielded, in many cases doubly shielded. In spite of this many records were lost because of spurious pickup at the time of the explosion that paralysed the recording equipment.’

The earth has a natural vertical potential (electric field) between ground and ionosphere; the ionization of the air by bomb radiation suddenly makes the air conductive, shorting out the natural electric field and thereby inducing lightning discharges to flow vertically through the relatively conductive air.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/SX8iIEjjtfI/AAAAAAAAAaU/NiKZ_6U2RfY/s400/EMP+collectors.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2008/11/radiation-and-emp-chapters-from-dolans.html Caption: EMP energy collector

http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2008/11/radiation-and-emp-chapters-from-dolans.html

EMP Effects

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/SfL1FJyP-YI/AAAAAAAAAkk/dzSF5-kH9BE/s1600-h/radio+and+radar.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html Caption:
‘For detonations below about 80 km and weapon yields greater than 100 kt, absorption through the fireball is expected to exceed 25 decibels for about 50 seconds at 10 gigahertz and for longer than 100 seconds at 1 gigahertz.’ – DNA-EM-1, 1978, c. 8, p. 19. ( PDF download of Philip J. Dolan (Editor), DNA-EM-1 Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons, Part 2 preliminary pages and contents pages, Change 2, August 1981 (50 pages, 1.7 MB) – http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/em1-part-2-prelims-ada955385.pdf)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/SfL13ZHSOWI/AAAAAAAAAk0/xaRLfRfUnNs/s1600-h/trapped+radiation+belt2.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html Caption:
The analysis of STARFISH on the right was done by the Nuclear Effects Group at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, and was briefly published on their website, with the following discussion of the ‘patch deposition’ phenomena which applied to bursts above 200 km: ‘the expanding debris compresses the geomagnetic field lines because the expansion velocity is greater than the Alfven speed at these altitudes. The debris energy is transferred to air ions in the resulting region of tightly compressed magnetic field lines. Subsequently the ions, charge-exchanged neutrals, beta-particles, etc., escape up and down the field lines. Those particles directed downwards are deposited in patches at altitudes depending on their mean free paths. These particles move along the magnetic field lines, and so the patches are not found directly above ground zero. Uncharged radiation (gamma-rays, neutrons and X-rays) is deposited in layers which are centered directly under the detonation point. The STARFISH event (1.4 megatons at 400 km) was in this altitude regime. Detonations at thousands of kilometres altitude are contained purely magnetically. Expansion is at less than the local Alfven speed, and so energy is radiated as hydromagnetic waves. Patch depositions are again aligned with the field lines.’

Lightning seen in Maralinga (British) tests

maralinga_340_x_371

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2009/11/17/maralinga_(340_x_371).jpg URL: http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/11/17/122875_bizarre-news.html Caption: Atom bomb blast at Maralinga in the 1950s.

Maralinga

Img: http://www.meteorites.com.au/images/Maralinga.jpg URL: http://www.meteorites.com.au/favourite/february2005.html Caption: Nuclear testing at Maralinga

img: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_klPH-OTfCQ8/R7JpBOKLUWI/AAAAAAAAAl8/-63PtmyTKQE/s320/maralinga+OneTree-d.BMP URL: http://mike-servethepeople.blogspot.com/2008/02/maralinga-inhabited.html Caption: Nuclear testing at Maralinga

Radiation injury in the Nagasaki bombing

Aerial view of Nagasaki cloud

Another bomb was assembled at Tinian Island on August 6. On August 8, Field Order No.17 issued from the 20th Air Force Headquarters on Guam called for its use the following day on either Kokura, the primary target, or Nagasaki, the secondary target. Three days after Hiroshima, the B-29 bomber, “Bockscar” piloted by Sweeney, reached the sky over Kokura on the morning of August 9 but abandoned the primary target because of smoke cover and changed course for Nagasaki.

Nagasaki was an industrialized city with a natural harbor in Western Kuushu, Japan. At 11:02 a.m., this bomb, known as the “Fat Man” bomb, exploded over the north factory district at 1,800 feet above the city to achieve maximum blast effect. Buildings collapsed. Electrical systems were shorted. A wave of secondary fires resulted, adding to their holocaust.

Flash burns from primary heat waves caused most of the casualties to inhabitants. Others were burned when their homes burst into flame. Flying debris caused many injuries. A fire storm of winds followed the blast at Hiroshima as air was drawn back to the center of the burning area. Trees were uprooted. The bomb took the lives of 42,000 persons and injured 40,000 more.

It destroyed 39 percent of all the buildings standing in Nagasaki. According to U.S. estimates, 40,000 people were killed or never found as a result of the second bomb. Highly penetrating radiation from the nuclear explosion had a heavy casualty effect. Energy released by the explosion of this type of atomic bomb used over Nagasaki is roughly equivalent to the power generated by exploding 20,000 tons of TNT or 40 million pounds of TNT. It would fill two good sized cargo ships.

In the early stages of the explosion, temperatures of tens of millions of degrees were produced. The light emitted is roughly ten times the brightness of the sun. During the explosion, various types of radiations such as gamma rays and alpha and beta particles eminate from the explosion. These radiative particles give the atomic bomb its greatest deadliness. They may last years or even centuries in dangerous amounts. Gamma radiation and neutrons caused thousands of cases of radiation sickness in Japan. First the blood was affected, and then the blood making organs were impaired including the bone marrow, the spleen and the lymph nodes. When radiation was severe, the organs of the body became necrotic within a few days, marking the victim for certain death within a short period of time.

Surveys disclosed that severe radiation injury occurred to all exposed persons within a radius of one kilometer. Serious to moderate radiation injury occurred between one and two kilometers. Persons within two to four kilometers suffered slight radiation effects.

http://www.atomcentral.com/hironaga.html

Area of power outage after the WTC collapse

http://home.debitel.net/user/andreas.bunkahle/jpg/Plate5.JPG URL: http://home.debitel.net/user/andreas.bunkahle/defaulte.htm (dead link) Second URL: http://www.saunalahti.fi/wtc2001/evidence.htm Caption: Power outage in this area.

Also almost all telephone lines were interrupted, likewise fax, email, webcams, etc. The reinstallation took place until December.

On 9-11 the walkie-talkies of the New York fire department didn’t work. Therefore it was not possible for the commander to get his men out of the buildings in time. A similiar outage was seen with the bomb attack in 1994.

Lower Manhattan was separated in those hours completely from the outer world.

How could that come?

http://home.debitel.net/user/andreas.bunkahle/defaulte.htm

Epilation

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8adFNycaanI/Sfhv5HxV4QI/AAAAAAAAAqs/Lnr70J2x1Uc/s1600-h/Bravo+fallout+beta+burns.JPG URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html Caption: The third photo shows hair loss in a young girl due to beta exposure to the scalp from fallout retained in coconut oil-dressed hair, and the full recovery 6 months later. (this photo is from the 22-26 June 1959 U.S. Congressional Hearings on the Biological and Environmental Effects of Nuclear War). (http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/1959-congress-nuclear-war-hearings.pdf)

‘In the case of the Marshallese who were in the fallout from the detonation at the Pacific on March 1, 1954, most of the more heavily exposed showed some degree of skin damage, as well as about half of them showing some degree of epilation [hair loss] due to beta doses. However, none of these effects were present except in those areas where the radioactive material was in contact with the skin, i.e., the scalp, neck, bend of the elbow, between and topside of the toes. No skin damage was observed where there was a covering of even a single layer of cotton clothing.’

The Nature of Radioactive Fallout and Its Effects on Man, 27 May – 3 June 1957, pages 173-216 where Dr Gordon M. Dunning testified that fallout beta burns only occur where fallout is in direct contact with the skin.

URL: http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html

22-26 June 1959 U.S. Congressional Hearings on the Biological and Environmental Effects of Nuclear War. (http://nige.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/1959-congress-nuclear-war-hearings.pdf)

Radiation injuries

As pointed out in another section of this report the radiations from the nuclear explosions which caused injuries to persons were primarily those experienced within the first second after the explosion; a few may have occurred later, but all occurred in the first minute. The other two general types of radiation, viz., radiation from scattered fission products and induced radioactivity from objects near the center of explosion, were definitely proved not to have caused any casualties.

The proper designation of radiation injuries is somewhat difficult. Probably the two most direct designations are radiation injury and gamma ray injury. The former term is not entirely suitable in that it does not define the type of radiation as ionizing and allows possible confusion with other types of radiation (e.g., infra-red). The objection to the latter term is that it limits the ionizing radiation to gamma rays, which were undoubtedly the most important; but the possible contribution of neutron and even beta rays to the biological effects cannot be entirely ignored. Radiation injury has the advantage of custom, since it is generally understood in medicine to refer to X-ray effect as distinguished from the effects of actinic radiation. Accordingly, radiation injury is used in this report to mean injury due only to ionizing radiation.

According to Japanese observations, the early symptoms in patients suffering from radiation injury closely resembled the symptoms observed in patients receiving intensive roentgen therapy, as well as those observed in experimental animals receiving large doses of X-rays. The important symptoms reported by the Japanese and observed by American authorities were epilation (lose of hair), petechiae (bleeding into the skin), and other hemorrhagic manifestations, oropharyngeal lesions (inflammation of the mouth and throat), vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.

Epilation was one of the most spectacular and obvious findings. The appearance of the epilated patient was typical. The crown was involved more than the sides, and in many instances the resemblance to a monk’s tonsure was striking. In extreme cases the hair was totally lost. In some cases, re-growth of hair had begun by the time patients were seen 50 days after the bombing. Curiously, epilation of hair other than that of the scalp was extremely unusual.

Petechiae and other hemorrhagic manifestations were striking findings. Bleeding began usually from the gums and in the more seriously affected was soon evident from every possible source. Petechiae appeared on the limbs and on pressure points. Large ecchymoses (hemorrhages under the skin) developed about needle punctures, and wounds partially healed broke down and bled freely. Retinal hemorrhages occurred in many of the patients. The bleeding time and the coagulation time were prolonged. The platelets (coagulation of the blood) were characteristically reduced in numbers.

Nausea and vomiting appearing within a few hours after the explosion was reported frequently by the Japanese. This usually had subsided by the following morning, although occasionally it continued for two or three days. Vomiting was not infrequently reported and observed during the course of the later symptoms, although at these times it generally appeared to be related to other manifestation of systemic reactions associated with infection.

Diarrhea of varying degrees of severity was reported and observed. In the more severe cases, it was frequently bloody. For reasons which are not yet clear, the diarrhea in some cases was very persistent.

Lesions of the gums, and the oral mucous membrane, and the throat were observed. The affected areas became deep red, then violacious in color; and in many instances ulcerations and necrosis (breakdown of tissue) followed. Blood counts done and recorded by the Japanese, as well as counts done by the Manhattan Engineer District Group, on such patients regularly showed leucopenia (low-white blood cell count). In extreme cases the white blood cell count was below 1,000 (normal count is around 7,000). In association with the leucopenia and the oropharyngeal lesions, a variety of other infective processes were seen. Wounds and burns which were healing adequately suppurated and serious necrosis occurred. At the same time, similar ulcerations were observed in the larynx, bowels, and in females, the gentalia. Fever usually accompanied these lesions.

Eye injuries produced by the atomic bombings in both cities were the subject of special investigations. The usual types of mechanical injuries were seen. In addition, lesions consisting of retinal hemorrhage and exudation were observed and 75% of the patients showing them had other signs of radiation injury.

The progress of radiation disease of various degrees of severity is shown in the following table:

Summary of Radiation Injury
Clinical Symptoms and Findings
Dayafter Explosion	Most Severe	Moderately Severe	Mild
1.	1. Nausea and vomiting after 1-2 hours.	1. Nausea and vomiting after 1-2 hours.	——
2.	——	——	——
3.	NO DEFINITE SYMPTOMS
4.	——	——	——
5.	2. Diarrhea	——	——
6.	3. Vomiting	NO DEFINITE SYMPTOMS	——
7.	4. Inflammation of the mouth and throat	——	——
8.	5. Fever	——	——
9.	6. Rapid emaciation	——	——
10.	Death (Mortality probably 100%)	——	NO DEFINITE SYMPTOMS
11.	——	2. Beginning epilation.	——
12.	——	——	——
13.	——	——	——
14.	——	——	——
15.	——	——	——
16.	——	——	——
17.	——	——	——
18.	——	3. Loss of appetite and general malaise.	——
19.	——	——	1. Epilation
20.	——	4. Fever.	2. Loss of appetite
21.	——	5. Severe inflammation and malaise of the mouth and throat	——
22.	——	——	3. Sore throat.
23.	——	——	4. Pallor.
24.	——	——	5. Petechiae
25.	——	——	6. Diarrhea
26.	——	——	7. Moderate emaciation.
27.	——	6. Pallor.	——
28.	——	7. Petechiae, diarrhea and nose bleeds (Recovery unless complicated by previous poor health or super-imposed injuries or infection).	——
29.	——	——	——
30.	——	——	——
31.	——	8. Rapid emaciation Death (Mortality probably 50%)	——

It was concluded that persons exposed to the bombs at the time of detonation did show effects from ionizing radiation and that some of these patients, otherwise uninjured, died. Deaths from radiation began about a week after exposure and reached a peak in 3 to 4 weeks. They practically ceased to occur after 7 to 8 weeks.

[..]

One of the most important tasks assigned to the mission which investigated the effects of the bombing was that of determining if the radiation effects were all due to the instantaneous discharges at the time of the explosion, or if people were being harmed in addition from persistent radioactivity. This question was investigated from two points of view. Direct measurements of persistent radioactivity were made at the time of the investigation. From these measurements, calculations were made of the graded radiation dosages, i.e., the total amount of radiation which could have been absorbed by any person. These calculations showed that the highest dosage which would have been received from persistent radioactivity at Hiroshima was between 6 and 25 roentgens of gamma radiation; the highest in the Nagasaki Area was between 30 and 110 roentgens of gamma radiation. The latter figure does not refer to the city itself, but to a localized area in the Nishiyama District. In interpreting these findings it must be understood that to get these dosages, one would have had to remain at the point of highest radioactivity for 6 weeks continuously, from the first hour after the bombing. It is apparent therefore that insofar as could be determined at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the residual radiation alone could not have been detrimental to the health of persons entering and living in the bombed areas after the explosion.

The second approach to this question was to determine if any persons not in the city at the time of the explosion, but coming in immediately afterwards exhibited any symptoms or findings which might have been due to persistence induced radioactivity. By the time of the arrival of the Manhattan Engineer District group, several Japanese studies had been done on such persons. None of the persons examined in any of these studies showed any symptoms which could be attributed to radiation, and their actual blood cell counts were consistently within the normal range. Throughout the period of the Manhattan Engineer District investigation, Japanese doctors and patients were repeatedly requested to bring to them any patients who they thought might be examples of persons harmed from persistent radioactivity. No such subjects were found.

It was concluded therefore as a result of these findings and lack of findings, that although a measurable quantity of induced radioactivity was found, it had not been sufficient to cause any harm to persons living in the two cities after the bombings.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/MED/med_chp22.shtml

SECTION IV – NUCLEAR RADIATION (from FAS)

NATO HANDBOOK ON THE MEDICAL ASPECTS OF NBC DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS AMedP-6(B) PART I – NUCLEAR

317. Sources of Nuclear Radiation.

Blast and thermal effects occur to some extent in all types of explosions, whether conventional or nuclear. The release of ionizing radiation, however, is a phenomenon unique to nuclear explosions and is an additional casualty producing mechanism superimposed on blast and thermal effects. This radiation is basically of two kinds, electromagnetic and particulate, and is emitted not only at the time of detonation (initial radiation) but also for long periods of time afterward (residual radiation). Initial or prompt nuclear radiation is that ionizing radiation emitted within the first minute after detonation and results almost entirely from the nuclear processes occurring at detonation. Residual radiation is defined as that radiation which is emitted later than 1 minute after detonation and arises principally from the decay of radioisotopes produced during the explosion.

318. Initial Radiation.

About 5% of the energy released in a nuclear air burst is transmitted in the form of initial neutron and gamma radiation. The neutrons result almost exclusively from the energy producing fission and fusion reactions, while the initial gamma radiation includes that arising from these reactions as well as that resulting from the decay of short-lived fission products. The intensity of initial nuclear radiation decreases rapidly with distance from the point of burst due to the spread of radiation over a larger area as it travels away from the explosion, and to absorption, scattering, and capture by the atmosphere. The character of the radiation received at a given location also varies with distance from the explosion. Near the point of the explosion, the neutron intensity is greater than the gamma intensity, but with increasing distance the neutron-gamma ratio decreases. Ultimately, the neutron component of initial radiation becomes negligible in comparison with the gamma component. The range for significant levels of initial radiation does not increase markedly with weapon yield and, as a result, the initial radiation becomes less of a hazard with increasing yield. With larger weapons, above 50 Kt, blast and thermal effects are so much greater in importance that prompt radiation effects can be ignored.

319. Residual Radiation.

The residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion is in the form of radioactive fallout and neutron-induced activity. Residual ionizing radiation arises from:

320. Fallout.

a. Worldwide Fallout. After an air burst the fission products, unfissioned nuclear material, and weapon residues which have been vaporized by the heat of the fireball will condense into a fine suspension of very small particles 0.01 to 20 micrometers in diameter. These particles may be quickly drawn up into the stratosphere, particularly so if the explosive yield exceeds 10 Kt. They will then be dispersed by atmospheric winds and will gradually settle to the earth’s surface after weeks, months, and even years as worldwide fallout. The radiobiological hazard of worldwide fallout is essentially a long-term one due to the potential accumulation of long-lived radioisotopes, such as strontium-90 and cesium-137, in the body as a result of ingestion of foods which had incorporated these radioactive materials. This hazard is much less serious than those which are associated with local fallout and, therefore, is not discussed at length in this publication. Local fallout is of much greater immediate operational concern.

b. Local Fallout. In a land or water surface burst, large amounts of earth or water will be vaporized by the heat of the fireball and drawn up into the radioactive cloud. This material will become radioactive when it condenses with fission products and other radiocontaminants or has become neutron-activated. There will be large amounts of particles of less than 0.1 micrometer to several millimeters in diameter generated in a surface burst in addition to the very fine particles which contribute to worldwide fallout. The larger particles will not rise into the stratosphere and consequently will settle to earth within about 24 hours as local fallout. Severe local fallout contamination can extend far beyond the blast and thermal effects, particularly in the case of high yield surface detonations. Whenever individuals remain in a radiologically contaminated area, such contamination will lead to an immediate external radiation exposure as well as a possible later internal hazard due to inhalation and ingestion of radiocontaminants. In severe cases of fallout contamination, lethal doses of external radiation may be incurred if protective or evasive measures are not undertaken. In cases of water surface (and shallow underwater) bursts, the particles tend to be rather lighter and smaller and so produce less local fallout but will extend over a greater area. The particles contain mostly sea salts with some water; these can have a cloud seeding affect causing local rainout and areas of high local fallout. For subsurface bursts, there is an additional phenomenon present called “base surge.” The base surge is a cloud that rolls outward from the bottom of the column produced by a subsurface explosion. For underwater bursts the visible surge is, in effect, a cloud of liquid (water) droplets with the property of flowing almost as if it were a homogeneous fluid. After the water evaporates, an invisible base surge of small radioactive particles may persist. For subsurface land bursts, the surge is made up of small solid particles, but it still behaves like a fluid. A soil earth medium favors base surge formation in an underground burst.

c. Meteorological Effects. Meteorological conditions will greatly influence fallout, particularly local fallout. Atmospheric winds are able to distribute fallout over large areas. For example, as a result of a surface burst of a 15 Mt thermonuclear device at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954, a roughly cigar-shaped area of the Pacific extending over 500 km downwind and varying in width to a maximum of 100 km was severely contaminated. Snow and rain, especially if they come from considerable heights, will accelerate local fallout. Under special meteorological conditions, such as a local rain shower that originates above the radioactive cloud, limited areas of heavy contamination may be formed.

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/fm8-9/1toc.htm

EMP – From Wikipedia

The term electromagnetic pulse (sometimes abbreviated EMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that results from an explosion (usually from the detonation of a nuclear weapon) and/or a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field. The resulting rapidly changing electric fields or magnetic fields may couple with electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges.

In military terminology, a nuclear bomb detonated hundreds of kilometers above the Earth’s surface is known as a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) device. Nuclear electromagnetic pulse has three distinct time components that result from different physical phenomena. Effects of a HEMP device depend on a very large number of factors, including the altitude of the detonation, energy yield, gamma ray output, interactions with the Earth’s magnetic field, and electromagnetic shielding of targets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse

EMP – from FAS (need to prune)

Nuclear Weapon EMP Effects

A high-altitude nuclear detonation produces an immediate flux of gamma rays from the nuclear reactions within the device. These photons in turn produce high energy free electrons by Compton scattering at altitudes between (roughly) 20 and 40 km. These electrons are then trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field, giving rise to an oscillating electric current. This current is asymmetric in general and gives rise to a rapidly rising radiated electromagnetic field called an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). Because the electrons are trapped essentially simultaneously, a very large electromagnetic source radiates coherently.

The pulse can easily span continent-sized areas, and this radiation can affect systems on land, sea, and air. The first recorded EMP incident accompanied a high-altitude nuclear test over the South Pacific and resulted in power system failures as far away as Hawaii. A large device detonated at 400-500 km over Kansas would affect all of CONUS. The signal from such an event extends to the visual horizon as seen from the burst point.

The EMP produced by the Compton electrons typically lasts for about 1 microsecond, and this signal is called HEMP. In addition to the prompt EMP, scattered gammas and inelastic gammas produced by weapon neutrons produce an intermediate time signal from about 1 microsecond to 1 second. The energetic debris entering the ionosphere produces ionization and heating of the E-region. In turn, this causes the geomagnetic field to heave, producing a late-time magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) EMP generally called a heave signal.

Initially, the plasma from the weapon is slightly conducting; the geomagnetic field cannot penetrate this volume and is displaced as a result. This impulsive distortion of the geomagnetic field was observed worldwide in the case of the STARFISH test. To be sure, the size of the signal from this process is not large, but systems connected to long lines (e.g., power lines, telephone wires, and tracking wire antennas) are at risk because of the large size of the induced current. The additive effects of the MHD-EMP can cause damage to unprotected civilian and military systems that depend on or use long-line cables. Small, isolated, systems tend to be unaffected.

Military systems must survive all aspects of the EMP, from the rapid spike of the early time events to the longer duration heave signal. One of the principal problems in assuring such survival is the lack of test data from actual high-altitude nuclear explosions. Only a few such experiments were carried out before the LTBT took effect, and at that time the theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of HEMP was relatively poor. No high-altitude tests have been conducted by the United States since 1963. In addition to the more familiar high-yield tests mentioned above, three small devices were exploded in the Van Allen belts as part of Project Argus. That experiment was intended to explore the methods by which electrons were trapped and traveled along magnetic field lines.

The acid test of the response of modern military systems to EMP is their performance in simulators, particularly where a large number of components are involved. So many cables, pins, connectors, and devices are to be found in real hardware that computation of the progress of the EMP signal cannot be predicted, even conceptually, after the field enters a real system. System failures or upsets will depend upon the most intricate details of current paths and interior electrical connections, and one cannot analyze these beforehand. Threat-level field illumination from simulators combined with pulsed-current injection are used to evaluate the survivability of a real system against an HEMP threat.

The technology to build simulators with risetimes on the order of 10 ns is well known. This risetime is, however, longer than that of a real HEMP signal. Since 1986 the United States has used a new EMP standard which requires waveforms at threat levels having risetimes under a few nanoseconds. Threat-level simulators provide the best technique for establishing the hardness of systems against early-time HEMP. They are, however, limited to finite volumes (aircraft, tanks, communications nodes) and cannot encompass an extended system. For these systems current injection must be used.

HEMP can pose a serious threat to military systems when even a single high-altitude nuclear explosion occurs. In principle, even a new nuclear proliferator could execute such a strike. In practice, however, it seems unlikely that such a state would use one of its scarce warheads to inflict damage which must be considered secondary to the primary effects of blast, shock, and thermal pulse. Furthermore, a HEMP attack must use a relatively large warhead to be effective (perhaps on the order of one mega-ton), and new proliferators are unlikely to be able to construct such a device, much less make it small enough to be lofted to high altitude by a ballistic missile or space launcher. Finally, in a tactical situation such as was encountered in the Gulf War, an attack by Iraq against Coalition forces would have also been an attack by Iraq against its own communications, radar, missile, and power systems. EMP cannot be confined to only one side of the burst.

Source Region Electro-magnetic Pulse [SREMP] is produced by low-altitude nuclear bursts. An effective net vertical electron current is formed by the asymmetric deposition of electrons in the atmosphere and the ground, and the formation and decay of this current emits a pulse of electromagnetic radiation in directions perpendicular to the current. The asymmetry from a low-altitude explosion occurs because some electrons emitted downward are trapped in the upper millimeter of the Earth’s surface while others, moving upward and outward, can travel long distances in the atmosphere, producing ionization and charge separation. A weaker asymmetry can exist for higher altitude explosions due to the density gradient of the atmosphere.

Within the source region, peak electric fields greater than 10 5 V/m and peak magnetic fields greater than 4,000 A/m can exist. These are much larger than those from HEMP and pose a considerable threat to military or civilian systems in the affected region. The ground is also a conductor of electricity and provides a return path for electrons at the outer part of the deposition region toward the burst point. Positive ions, which travel shorter distances than electrons and at lower velocities, remain behind and recombine with the electrons returning through the ground. Thus, strong magnetic fields are produced in the region of ground zero. When the nuclear detonation occurs near to the ground, the SREMP target may not be located in the electromagnetic far field but may instead lie within the electro-magnetic induction region. In this regime the electric and magnetic fields of the radiation are no longer perpendicular to one another, and many of the analytic tools with which we understand EM coupling in the simple plane-wave case no longer apply. The radiated EM field falls off rapidly with increasing distance from the deposition region (near to the currents the EMP does not appear to come from a point source).

As a result, the region where the greatest damage can be produced is from about 3 to 8 km from ground zero. In this same region structures housing electrical equipment are also likely to be severely damaged by blast and shock. According to the third edition of The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, by S. Glasstone and P. Dolan, the threat to electrical and electronic systems from a surface-burst EMP may extend as far as the distance at which the peak overpressure from a 1-megaton burst is 2 pounds per square inch.

One of the unique features of SREMP is the high late-time voltage which can be produced on long lines in the first 0.1 second. This stress can produce large late-time currents on the exterior shields of systems, and shielding against the stress is very difficult. Components sensitive to magnetic fields may have to be specially hardened. SREMP effects are uniquely nuclear weapons effects.

During the Cold War, SREMP was conceived primarily as a threat to the electronic and electrical systems within hardened targets such as missile launch facilities. Clearly, SREMP effects are only important if the targeted systems are expected to survive the primary damage-causing mechanisms of blast, shock, and thermal pulse. Because SREMP is uniquely associated with nuclear strikes, technology associated with SREMP generation has no commercial applications. However, technologies associated with SREMP measurement and mitigation are commercially interesting for lightning protection and electromagnetic compatibility applications. Basic physics models of SREMP generation and coupling to generic systems, as well as numerical calculation, use unclassified and generic weapon and target parameters. However, codes and coupling models which reveal the response and vulnerability of current or future military systems are militarily critical.

Sources and Methods

* Adapted from – Nuclear Weapons Effects Technology Militarily Critical Technologies List (MCTL) Part II: Weapons of Mass Destruction Technologies (http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/mctl98-2/p2sec06.pdf)

* Engineering and Design – Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and Tempest Protection for Facilities (http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp/toc.htm)

* NATO HANDBOOK ON THE MEDICAL ASPECTS OF NBC DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS PART I – NUCLEAR (http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/fm8-9/1toc.htm)

http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm

Electromagnetic pulse – from Measurement-Testing.com (Need to prune)

An electromagnetic pulse is a transient electromagnetic signal produced by a nuclear explosion in or above the Earth’s atmosphere. Though not considered (directly) dangerous to people, the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a potential threat to many electronic signals.

In a typical nuclear detonation, parts of the shell casing and other materials are rapidly reduced to a very hot, compressed gas, which upon expansion gives rise to enormous amounts of mechanical and thermal energy. At the same time the nuclear reactions release a tremendous amount of energy as initial nuclear radiation (INR). This INR is in the form of rapidly-moving neutrons and high-energy electromagnetic radiation, called x-rays and prompt gamma rays. Roughly a minute after detonation, the radioactive decay of the fission products gives rise to additional gamma rays and electrons (or beta particles), known as residual nuclear radiation (RNR). The distribution of the total explosive energy of a hypothetical fission detonation in the atmosphere below an altitude of 6 miles (10 km) is 50% blast (mechanical), 35% thermal, 10% RNR, 5% INR. At higher altitudes where the air is less dense, the thermal energy increases and the blast (mechanical) energy decreases proportionally.

EMP is associated with the INR output, which is a small percentage of the total explosive energy. Nevertheless, EMP is still capable of transferring something of the order of 0.1 – 0.9 joule/m2 (0.007 – 0.06 ft-lbf/ft2) onto a collector, more than enough to cause upset or damage to normal semiconductor devices.

As prompt gamma rays move away from a high-altitude nuclear detonation, those gamma rays moving toward the Earth penetrate a more-dense region of the atmosphere called the source or depletion region. In this 6-mile (10-km) region, approximately 15 – 21 miles (25 – 35 km) above the Earth, the highly-energetic gamma rays interact with the air molecules to form Compton electrons (with energies starting at 1 MeV) and less-energetic gamma rays, which then proceed in the same general direction as the original gamma rays. The fast Compton electrons eventually slow down by stripping other electrons from the air molecules to form secondary electron-ion pairs. (Though these secondary electrons and ions do not contribute to the generation of the EMP, they do cause the region to become highly conductive, and therefore play an important role in determining the EMP wave shape and amplitude.) While slowing down, the very-intense, short-duration flux of Compton electrons is also deflected by the Earth’s geomagnetic field. The Compton electrons then spiral about the geomagnetic lines, radiating electromagnetic energy in the form of EMP until they eventually recombine with local, positively-charged ions.

It’s also possible for INR (both x-rays and gamma rays) to directly interact with systems, causing EMP signals internal to structures. This phenomenon has been called internal or system-generated EMP and is potentially a serious problem for satellites in orbit or for electronics in metallic enclosures on or near the ground. These forms of EMP are generated by x-rays interacting with satellites and gamma rays impinging on ground-based enclosures, producing currents of Compton electrons internally that then produce electromagnetic waves.

An estimate of about 1 joule (0.7 ft-lbf) of EMP-coupled energy is considered reasonable for many systems. Even if the coupling onto circuits is inefficient, as little as 10-13 J can upset some semiconductor devices and 10-6 J can cause damage. The potential for such upset and damage in critical electronic circuits has led to the incorporation of EMP protection in many system designs. The protection is most prevalent in communication systems whose disruption by EMP is considered an important civil and military vulnerability.

The most common form of protection incorporated in system designs is a combination of shielding and penetration control. The diagram below shows a protection scheme in which a system’s electronics E is isolated from the external environment by one or more nested, shielded enclosures (often called Faraday cages). Penetration control is then maintained by minimizing the number of shield penetrations (in this case, a power line, a signal line, and a ground wire connecting E to earth ground G) and by applying terminal-protection devices, such as spark gaps, Zener diodes, or metal-oxide varistors, at selected shield-penetration points (A, A’, A”, B, B’, and B”; or Z, Z’, and Z”; or both). In this way, system protection can be designed not only for EMP but also for other electromagnetic transients (such as near-strike lightning and electromagnetic interference). Furthermore, cost-effective, field-maintainable protection can be achieved properly selecting off-the-shelf shielding techniques and terminal-protection devices and applying them to the systems.

http://www.measurement-testing.com/electromagnetic-pulse.html

Surface-Burst EMP –

10.2.2 Surface-Burst EMP. When a nuclear weapon is detonated at or near the surface of the Earth, neutrons and gamma rays are ejected radially outward from the burst center. The gamma ray photons emitted by the bomb, and others produced by neutron inelastic collisions with air, ground, and water, interact with air molecules to produce Compton recoil electrons. At or near sea level, however, the Compton recoil electrons quickly collide with air molecules to provide a copious supply of low-energy secondary electrons and ions. Thus, the Compton recoil electrons account for a large charge separation and, because of the secondary ionization, a fairly conductive air. As illustrated in Figure 10-3, the charge displacement is asymmetrical because of the Earth’s surface. The initial dipole charge is discharged by current through the ionized air and soil. From a large distance, the EMP from a surface burst appears to emanate from a dipole source; it is vertically polarized and attenuated as l/r with distance, r, from the burst point. Thus, the surface-burst EMP is a more localized source than the HEMP. However, within the source region where the Compton electrons, secondary ionization, and relaxation currents occur, the fields are large, and long conductors, such as power lines and communication cables, may have large currents induced on them. These currents may be propagated along the conductors for great distances from their source. Therefore, this source-region EMP (SREMP) may be important to systems far outside the source region if they are connected to the source region through wires, cables, or other conductors.

http://www.tpub.com/content/NAVFAC/hdbk419a_vol1/hdbk419a_vol10322.htm

Pdf URL: http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/FEDMIL/hdbk419a_vol1.pdf

MILITARY HANDBOOK GROUNDING, BONDING, AND SHIELDING

FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENTS AND FACILITIES VOLUME I OF 2 VOLUMES BASIC THEORY – Dept of Defense

EMP

EMP is a massive surge of electrical power. It is created the instant a nuclear detonation occurs and is transmitted at the speed of light in all directions. It can damage solid-state components of electrical equipment (radios, radars, computers, vehicles) and weapon systems (TOW and Dragon). Equipment can be protected by disconnecting it from its power source and placing it in or behind some type of shielding material (armored vehicle or dirt wall) out of the line of sight to the burst. If no warning is received prior to a detonation, there is no effective means of protecting operating equipment.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/21-75/Ch5.htm (from US Military Field Manual 21-75)

Modes of exposure

http://www.radiation-scott.org/radsource/4341-2.gif URL: http://www.radiation-scott.org/radsource/1-0.htm Caption: Figure shows the external and internal models of exposure. Radioisotopes taken into the body deposit in and irradiated different tissue depending on their chemical properties. Radiation sources can also enter the body via wounds.

There are many different radiation exposure scenarios that can be evaluated. Some examples follow:

External exposure from relatively distant radiation sources (e.g., neutrons and/or gamma rays)

External exposure from nearby radioactive soil

External exposure from radioactive contamination on the outside of the body

Internal exposure from inhaled radioactive substances

Internal exposure from ingested radioactive substances

Combinations of the above

http://www.radiation-scott.org/radsource/1-0.htm

Penetrating power of the different radiation types

http://www.breadonthewaters.com/add/0890_radiation_particles_clipart.jpg URL: http://www.breadonthewaters.com/0034_nuclear_attack_info.html Caption: A fallout shelter can help protect you against harmful particles and rays

Radiation and EMP

EMP

BRAVO Test fallout pattern

Effects on Islanders

Effects on Fishermen

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Maps/BravoMap.shtml

The Fallout Pattern

Radiation

From: Nuclear Survival Skills

New York City Example – from Atomic Archive

Fallout – Maralinga tests

Rainout

Path of Radiation

“About Fallout (1963)”

Wall Street after a 1 megaton nuclear attack

1 Megaton Surface Blast: Fallout

Nuclear target map of Texas

U.S. nuclear reactor locations

Radiation spikes detected in WTC dust samples

RADIATION and FALLOUT

EMP

Schema of different nuclear test explosions

EMP

Area of power outage after the WTC collapse

Radiation injuries

EMP – From Wikipedia

EMP – from FAS (need to prune)

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Radiation and EMP

EMP

BRAVO Test fallout pattern

Effects on Islanders

Effects on Fishermen

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Maps/BravoMap.shtml

The Fallout Pattern

Radiation

From: Nuclear Survival Skills

New York City Example – from Atomic Archive

Fallout – Maralinga tests

Rainout

Path of Radiation

“About Fallout (1963)”

Wall Street after a 1 megaton nuclear attack

1 Megaton Surface Blast: Fallout

Nuclear target map of Texas

U.S. nuclear reactor locations

Radiation spikes detected in WTC dust samples

RADIATION and FALLOUT

EMP

Schema of different nuclear test explosions

EMP

Area of power outage after the WTC collapse

Radiation injuries

EMP – From Wikipedia

EMP – from FAS (need to prune)

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