RESUMO
Explosion of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki corresponds to the only historical moment when atomic bombs were used against civilians. This event triggered countless investigations into the effects and dosimetry of ionizing radiation. However, none of the investigations has used the victims' bones as dosimeter. Here, we assess samples of bones obtained from fatal victims of the explosion by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR). In 1973, one of the authors of the present study (SM) traveled to Japan and conducted a preliminary experiment on the victims' bone samples. The idea was to use the paramagnetism induced in bone after irradiation to measure the radiation dose. Technological advances involved in the construction of spectrometers, better knowledge of the paramagnetic center, and improvement in signal processing techniques have allowed us to resume the investigation. We obtained a reconstructed dose of 9.46 ± 3.4 Gy from the jawbone, which was compatible with the dose distribution in different locations as measured in non-biological materials such as wall bricks and roof tiles.
Assuntos
Osso e Ossos/química , Espectroscopia de Ressonância de Spin Eletrônica/métodos , Guerra Nuclear , Doses de Radiação , Humanos , JapãoAssuntos
Guerra Nuclear/prevenção & controle , Armas Nucleares , Médicos/estatística & dados numéricos , Responsabilidade Social , Seguridade Social/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional , México , Programas Nacionais de Saúde/organização & administração , Liberação Nociva de Radioativos/prevenção & controleAssuntos
Cooperação Internacional , Guerra Nuclear/prevenção & controle , Armas Nucleares , Responsabilidade Social , Seguridade Social/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , América Latina , Programas Nacionais de Saúde/organização & administração , Liberação Nociva de Radioativos/prevenção & controle , Controle Social FormalRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study explored if and to what extent the laws of U.S. states mirrored the U.S. federal laws for responding to nuclear-radiological emergencies (NREs). METHODS: Emergency laws from a 12-state sample and the federal government were retrieved and translated into numeric codes representing acting agents, their partner agents, and the purposes of activity in terms of preparedness, response, and recovery. We used network analysis to explore the relationships among agents in terms of legally directed NRE activities. RESULTS: States' legal networks for NREs appear as not highly inclusive, involving an average of 28% of agents among those specified in the federal laws. Certain agents are highly central in NRE networks, so that their capacity and effectiveness might strongly influence an NRE response. CONCLUSIONS: State-level lawmakers and planners might consider whether or not greater inclusion of agents, modeled on the federal government laws, would enhance their NRE laws and if more agents should be engaged in planning and policy-making for NRE incidents. Further research should explore if and to what extent legislated NRE directives impose constraints on practical response activities including emergency planning.
Assuntos
Planejamento em Desastres/organização & administração , Guerra Nuclear , Saúde Pública/legislação & jurisprudência , Liberação Nociva de Radioativos , Governo Estadual , Defesa Civil/organização & administração , Humanos , Monitoramento de Radiação , Proteção Radiológica , Estados UnidosAssuntos
Clima Frio/efeitos adversos , Desastres/prevenção & controle , Desastres/estatística & dados numéricos , Modelos Teóricos , Guerra Nuclear/prevenção & controle , Armas Nucleares/legislação & jurisprudência , Armas Nucleares/estatística & dados numéricos , Animais , Cuba , Incêndios/prevenção & controle , Incêndios/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , Cooperação Internacional/legislação & jurisprudência , Guerra Nuclear/legislação & jurisprudência , Desenvolvimento Vegetal , Política Pública/legislação & jurisprudência , Fumaça/efeitos adversos , Fumaça/prevenção & controle , Inanição/epidemiologia , Inanição/etiologiaRESUMO
The Pan-American Games are considered to be the fourth most important international athletic event in the world. Hosted by the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the XIV Pan-American Games lasted from 11-17 August 2003. In preparation for the Games, the Security Directorate developed and deployed a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Unit. For operational support, two strike teams (Alpha and Bravo) were active at any given time. Each team consisted of five members including a team leader, field physician, explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) officer, and two tactical officers. Three hospitals-two military and one civilian--were designated as primary medical centers for the event. With the assistance of the WMD Unit, emergency department staff were trained in the medical management of a WMD event, response protocols for WMD were created, and special decontamination areas were designated. Syndromic surveillance was performed by means of direct communications between the hospitals and units, as well as use of an electronic, Web-based surveillance tool.
Assuntos
Bioterrorismo , Terrorismo Químico , Planejamento em Desastres/organização & administração , Guerra Nuclear , Esportes , República Dominicana , HumanosRESUMO
El presente trabajo tiene como objetivos divulgar la construcción de una maqueta representativa de un punto de tratamiento especial y aspectos relacionados con la liquidación de las consecuencias del uso de las armas de exterminio en masa y de productos tóxicos industriales. Sustituye, con el empleo de la maqueta, las visitas a otras unidades con el consiguiente ahorro en consumo de recursos y tiempo del personal. En la confección de esta se produjo un gasto aproximado de $1 050,87; de esto en hombres días de trabajo fue $1 020,50 y en recursos materiales $30,37. Su tiempo de vida útil se calcula en 10 años. El costo de una clase sin la maqueta es igual a $2 063,40 en un año de proceso docente; teniendo en cuenta las clases a impartir en este tiempo, el costo ascendería a $8 253,60
Assuntos
Substâncias para a Guerra Química , Medicina Militar , Ciência Militar , Guerra Nuclear , CubaRESUMO
La revolución científico-técnica contemporánea ha dotado a la humanidad de un importante conjunto de logros en prácticamente todas las esferas. El pensamiento y accionar científico que la originó estaba destinado al progreso en función de la paz , el bienestar y el desarrollo de las fuerzas productivas. El artículo habla del desarrollo de un nuevo tipo de armamento el cual se denomina "no letal". Por la propia denominación de este, tiende a ser presentado como un ejemplo de armamento "tolerable" comparando su relativa incapacidad para la producción de bajas sanitarias con la conocida, mediante el empleo del armamento convencional y el de producción de bajas sanitarias múltiples. Se enfatiza en lo nocivo y engañoso de la denominación de este nuevo tipo de armamento y se alerta sobre el peligro que en guerras futuras emerjan figuras clínicas con lesiones combinadas (arma convencional más armamento no letal) de escaso conocimiento por el personal que en esas circunstancias tengan que prestar la asistencia médica a dichos damnificados. Por último, se hace hincapié en la encrucijada que en el orden ético se enfrenta la medicina contemporánea al tener que reconocer y tratar figuras clínicas resultantes de los efectos mal empleados de los logros de la revolución científico-técnica
Assuntos
Conflitos Armados , Medicina Militar , Guerra Nuclear , Ferido de GuerraAssuntos
Cooperação Internacional , Agências Internacionais , Brasil , Guerra Química , Guerra NuclearRESUMO
The contamination and depth distribution of 137Cs in soil due to the fallout from atmospheric weapons' tests were measured at 29 sites in the 9th and 10th administrative regions in Chile located in the 40 degrees latitude in the southern hemisphere. The depth distribution in most of the sites follows no systematic pattern in the upper few centimetres, but below this depth an exponential decline could be deduced. The calculated relaxation depth appears to be a good indicator for estimating the long-term 137Cs distribution in these soil profiles. It ranges from 4.4 +/- 1.9 cm in Palehumults to 8.4 +/- 4.4 and 9.7 +/- 5.1 cm in Hapludands and Psamments, respectively. For these soil types the value for the relaxation depth tends to increase with decreasing clay content and increasing volume of coarse pores. 137Cs activity densities at the selected sites ranged from 450 to 5410 Bq m(-2) and correlate significantly (r = 0.791) with the mean annual rainfall rate of the sampling sites. 137Cs concentration ratios of prairie plants/soil were found to be in the range 0.008-2.3 and could be related to relaxation depths in undisturbed soils.
Assuntos
Radioisótopos de Césio/análise , Plantas/química , Cinza Radioativa/análise , Poluentes Radioativos do Solo/análise , Chile , Geografia , Humanos , Guerra NuclearRESUMO
To improve the knowledge about the (137)Cs spatial distribution and vertical migration in soils of the Southern Hemisphere, the total areal activity density and the vertical transport parameters of this radionuclide were measured in an Antarctic region. For this purpose vegetation and incremental soil samples were collected at 21 representative sites located at 4 islands of the South Shetland Archipelago: King George, Robert, Greenwich and Snow (62-63 degrees S and 58-62 degrees W). The total (137)Cs activity density varied considerably from 118 to 662 Bq m(-2) (median 384 Bq m(-2), reference date 1995), with a high percentage of the total activity retained in the vegetation cover (5-98% in moss, 3-20% in lichen and 4-12% in grass). At most sites, the maximum activity density in soil was observed in the top layer from where it decreased continuously. To evaluate the transport parameters of (137)Cs from the activity-depth profiles, the classical convection-diffusion model was used based on the time-course of the annual deposition density of (137)Cs at the studied region. The values for the diffusion coefficient D(s) (median 0.043 cm(2) year(-1)) and the convection velocity v(s) (median -0.012 cm year(-1)) of radiocesium observed under a polar climate are small compared to the transport parameters determined in temperate zones. The data also indicate that at these sites the convectional transport of (137)Cs is almost negligible compared to the transport by diffusion. The high vulnerability of the Antarctic soils to (137)Cs deposition, as a consequence of its very slow transport due to the extreme climatic conditions at these latitudes, has been confirmed.