What to expect in the event of nuclear war?
This post, based on the video interview with Dr. Moondust, cancer biologist, author, speaker and founder of Moondust Cosmetics®, concerns a topic that is more present and dangerous than we had ever imagined. Dr. Moondust unravels ‘What to Expect in the Event of Nuclear War’, from a medical, social and environmental take. Her hope is to reawaken people their choices for safer modes of conflict resolution and healthier ways of living on the earth and enjoying our planet’s rich offerings.
A transcription of ‘What to expect in the event of nuclear war,’ follows. The full video interview can be found on the Moondust Cosmetics YouTube channel
Helena: Welcome Dr. Moondust. Today we tackle a heavier topic in our interview series.
Dr. Moondust: This is a taboo subject nobody likes to talk about. That’s unfortunate because it could serve as one of the most powerful motivators against nuclear war for present and future politicians and generations. There is a very unstable political situation in the world and the prevailing philosophy of self-interest at all costs without concern for others could ignite the fuse of nuclear war at any time.
H: Can you take us through it, step by step?
Dr. M: Well, yes, let’s do a blow-by-blow experience of nuclear holocaust from past experience and medical knowledge:
- The immediate human experience might include a blinding bluish-white light with a sudden and overwhelming wave of heat.
- One might hear nothing but one might hear a tremendous explosion depending upon one’s distance from the hypocentre of the nuclear detonation.
- A loss of consciousness might follow if one were inside a building, or one might become trapped once it collapsed by falling timbers or be thrown up into the air - most people would be knocked off their feet; one might instinctively hide behind rocks if one were outside in a garden.
- One would see clouds of dust everywhere and one might see screaming people in terrible pain with blood running from their heads, chests, and backs.
H: Wow, that’s pretty graphic!
Dr. M: Yes, it is – I’ve compiled it from eyewitness accounts and there’s still more.
- All but the very strongest structures built of stone or concrete would collapse burying those inside alive.
- The people closest to the explosion would die instantly, their bodies reduced to black char (C), birds burst into flames in mid-flight, and trees and plants be burnt to charcoal.
- Ninety percent of the people within a half mile/mile radius or even more (as nuclear weapons get more sophisticated) of the blast would be dead in a matter of minutes.
- Those further away would suffer severe burns as small fires erupted around the target city and merged into a firestorm trapping more victims in a wall of fire.
- If one survived, one would see the dead and injured everywhere.
- All the infrastructure like hospitals, banks, schools, and factories would be destroyed.
- Medical supplies, food, and water would be scarce; all transport & communications would be disrupted.
H: That’s really frightening! It means there would be no medical attention for the wounded and people would be left entirely on their own.
Dr. M: Yes, that’s right. You would be totally on your own, possibly, having lost all your family members including pets.
Then, survivors would start to experience acute radiation sickness/syndrome (ARS) like the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant event within minutes to days of exposure. ARS includes three separate syndromes:
1. Gastrointestinal (GI) syndrome
It involves irreparable changes that occur in the GI tract because of whole-sale cell death and these cause infection, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance. Death usually occurs within 2 weeks.
2. Bone marrow syndrome
Destruction of the bone marrow results in infection and hemorrhage. The survival rate of patients decreases with increasing dose of radiation.
3. Cardiovascular (CV)/ Central Nervous System (CNS) syndrome
There is a collapse of the circulatory system as well as increased pressure in the cranium as the result of a buildup of fluid. Death occurs within 3 days.
So, the usual order is – Nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea within minutes to days following exposure to a nuclear event. Then, one or all of the specific syndromes may manifest and last up to several months. Patients who do not recover within several months of radiation exposure die.
H: So, this really sounds like those nuclear war films – no exaggeration.
Dr. M: It’s no exaggeration.
Another newly recognized aspect of acute exposure has been labelled cutaneous radiation syndrome (CRS) to describe the changes that occur when the skin has been exposed to extremely high levels of radiation. The ground temperature in Hiroshima reached 6000 degrees Centigrade after the nuclear explosion generating ultraviolet, infrared, gamma radiation and X-rays.
When the basal layer of skin cells is irreparably damaged by radiation, it results in large-scale cell death (something like in scientific sunburn). The body tries to heal itself via regeneration of the cells (something like the sunburn cycle), but very large radiation doses can result in permanent damage like hair loss, atrophy, fibrosis, necrosis, ulceration and altered skin pigmentation.
Atrocious and disabling scars were observed in Hiroshima survivors caused by third degree burns and ulceration of the skin.
H: What are the environmental conditions survivors would be facing?
Dr. M: The initial environmental effects would mean that post-war survivors would face starvation due to the radioactive contamination/destruction of crops and the soil so that no new crops could be sown.
They would also face freezing cold conditions because the sun would be obliterated by nuclear fallout.
There would be constant exposure of victims to high doses of background radiation daily contributing to radiation sickness and other long-term illnesses such as leukemia, lymphoma, and thyroid cancer.
So, those who did not die from the immediate effects of radiation from a nuclear explosion or a syndrome would suffer a slow and debilitating death from cancer.
Exposure to these abnormal levels of radiation would also increase the likelihood of genetic mutations and birth defects in the progeny of any survivors. Then, there would be the downwinders who would be exposed to wind-borne nuclear radiation, and they would suffer anything from genetic mutations to birth defects in offspring and devastating cancers.
H: Are we doomed then? Can we look for alternatives?
Dr. Moondust: In my opinion, we should be looking for alternatives to war – period. If we don’t, a nuclear confrontation somewhere in the world seems almost unavoidable. There have already been a few close calls like when I was a student in 1983 and England was absolutely ready for nuclear war with Russia – I wouldn’t want to live through that horror, but I certainly wouldn’t want to die like that either!
Helena: And nothing would ever be the same and nobody would ever be healthy again after nuclear war. We need to take care of our planet and the people on it, right now.
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