Japan’s Nagasaki, Hiroshima No Longer Radioactive [Report]

Despite having a negative reputation, nuclear power appears to be getting a makeover as interest in this zero-emission energy source grows.

While big nuclear catastrophes like the Fukushima meltdown in Japan are evidence of how catastrophic the consequences may be when they happen, WeForum said nuclear reactors don't frequently go wrong.

The most reliable estimates of the combined death toll from both attacks, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, vary from 110,000 to 210,000 fatalities, including men, women, and children-the majority of them were civilians. These fatalities were brought on by the initial devastating blast, flames, radiation sickness, and other factors.

One of the factors that makes nuclear weapons so devastating is radiation sickness. Atoms are either broken apart or fused together in a quick nuclear reaction that causes nuclear bombs to detonate.

This causes the production of radioactive particles and dangerous electromagnetic waves like gamma rays that can cause damage to individuals not only right away but also for some time after the explosion in the form of residual radiation.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki No Longer Radioactive

According to Newsweek, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are no longer radioactive.

Radiation residue was left behind after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it quickly disappeared. Newsweek added, citing the city of Hiroshima's local government website, that 80 percent of the leftover radiation was emitted within 24 hours of the blast,

The majority of the radioactive fallout from the bombings was scattered in the atmosphere or carried away by the wind, according to the University of Columbia Center for Nuclear Studies. There was little contamination in terms of neutron activation, which turns non-radioactive objects radioactive because the bombs exploded far above the earth.

Peter Kuznick, head of the Nuclear Studies Institute and professor in the Department of History at American University told Newsweek that most of the radiation would have evaporated fast, according to the scientific consensus. After a week, it would be down to 1/1,000,000 and 1/1000th after 24 hours.

(Photo : Hiromichi Matsuda/Handout from Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum/Getty Images)
The radioactive plume from the bomb dropped on Nagasaki City, as seen from 9.6 km away, in Koyagi-jima, Japan, August 9, 1945. The US B-29 superfortress Bockscar dropped the atomic bomb nicknamed 'Fat Man,' which detonated over the northern part of Nagasaki City just after 11am.

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Contradictions Seen In Claim?

A Hibakusha-a word used in Japanese to describe a survivor of the bombings-by the name of Koko Kondo, Kuznick noted that anecdotal evidence occasionally contradicts this.

Koko, who was 8 months old at the time and was less than a mile from the explosion, survived the bombing despite contracting radiation illness.

Three days later, when experts now think radiation levels were significantly lower, her aunt and the aunt's small daughter arrived in the city to look for family, Kuznick said.

However, Koko's little cousin was not as fortunate and passed away from radiation exposure, he said. According to experts, within the first minute of the detonation, the majority of the radioactive harm was done. No intelligent individual thinks there is any remaining health danger from residing in Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Both cities are thriving metropolitan centers today, and the radiation levels there are comparable to the global background radiation levels.