Environmental consequences of nuclear war

Environmental consequences of nuclear war

groups made valuable contributions to elaborating the consequences of nuclear warfare.1 Paul Crutzen and John Birks proposed that massive fires and smoke emissions in the lower atmosphere after a global nuclear exchange would create severe short-term environmental aftereffects. Extending their work, two of us (Toon and Turco) and colleagues discovered “nuclear winter,” which posited that worldw...

Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War Volume I: Physical and Atmospheric Effects

It is impossible to forecast the initiation and detailed conduct of a nuclear war. Despite this fact, all nations with nuclear weapons have elaborate plans for the deployment, targeting-and firing-of their warheads. Because of the reality of massiv~ nuclear arsenals, and the unprecedented nature of nuclear conflict, many strategists believe that almost any use of nuclear weapons could escalate ...

The Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors and Related Environmental Consequences The Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors and Related Environmental Consequences

A few decades ago, it was said that the debate on nuclear power had “reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies” (Kitschelt 1986). However, the controversy over nuclear power has resurfaced today with a similar gravity. Advocates point to nuclear power as a much-needed energy source in an era of rising demand and the need to curb carbon emission levels, and of...

Evaluating War: Outcomes and Consequences

The medical consequences of radiation accidents and nuclear war. Health Policy Committee, American College of Physicians.

THE EXISTENCE OF fissionable materials raises the specter of radiation accidents. Partial nuclear reactor core meltdowns have occurred already; the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 was the fourth such episode to have occurred in America since 1952. Further, “significant release” episodes have taken place in five states, and the potential exists for radiation accidents during storage, trans...