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e. Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. [1] It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes.
Types of radioactive exposure after a nuclear attack. Radiation poisoning. Toggle Radiation poisoning subsection. Prodromal syndrome. Bone marrow death. Gastrointestinal death. Central nervous system death. Short-term effects (6–8 weeks) Toggle Short-term effects (6–8 weeks) subsection.
Much of the destruction caused by a nuclear explosion is from blast effects. Most buildings, except reinforced or blast-resistant structures, will suffer moderate damage when subjected to overpressures of only 35.5 kilopascals (kPa) (5.15 pounds-force per square inch or 0.35 atm).
Regardless, Buddemeier says sheltering in place for at least 12 to 24 hours is a key way to survive the threat of fallout, since that's how long the worst of this radiation usually lasts.
A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (nuclear EMP or NEMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation created by a nuclear explosion. The resulting rapidly varying electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical and electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage surges. The specific characteristics of a particular nuclear EMP event ...
The non-nuclear explosives in two of the weapons detonated upon impact with the ground, resulting in the contamination of a 2-square-kilometer (490-acre) (0.78 square mile) area by radioactive plutonium. [80] The fourth, which fell into the Mediterranean Sea, was recovered intact after a 2 1 ⁄ 2-month-long search. [81]
The main health effect of nuclear fallout is cancer and birth defects because radiation causes changes in cells that can either kill or make them abnormal. [12] Any nuclear explosion (or nuclear war) would have wide-ranging, long-term, catastrophic effects. Radioactive contamination would cause genetic mutations and cancer across many ...
Nuclear meltdown. A simulated animation of a core melt in a light-water reactor after a loss-of-coolant accident. After reaching an extremely high temperature, the nuclear fuel and accompanying cladding liquefies and flows to the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel. Three of the reactors at Fukushima I overheated because the cooling systems ...