Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 August 1950 — Page 23
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in
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_ Blast Would Not Mean Cerlain
_ Death for All in Community
Preposterous ?
WHAT if an atomic bomb fell on Indianapolis?
~~ Civilian defense experts on every level of government
have conceded, for the last two years, the possibility that American cities will be atom bombed. Last night the Atomic Energy Commission released
subject.
_its new book, “The Effects of Atomic Weapons,” which” "represents "the latest official thiriking oh an “awesome
— —-Avmaster defense: plan-for-communities- now-is-being - ? drafted in Washington.
Government experts do not think the A-bomb, most powerful destructive mstrument yet used by man, will fall
today or tomorrow.
But they look on it as a horrible possibility for which
everyone in the sation must be Prepared
” » THIS ARTICLE was prepared fron the AEC book
_and other sources. Its purpose is not.to instill terror-and..
insecurity’ by telling of thie bomb's effects and some of the precautions that can be taken against them. This is instead an attempt to bridge the gap in one of the weakest links in the civilian defense picture—the dissemination of factual information concerning the atom.
Detroit's
director, Clyde V. Dougherty, mir-
rored the feeling of officials in many American cities when
he told a congressional committee recently:
“If it is suggested that
we might stir up fears in our people, I say to you that it is far better that they be disturbed in time of peace than ° thrown into a panic in time of disaster. “I further suggest that our people have demonstrated their ability, time and again, to meet
‘catastrophe, especially when they are well
informed.” » ® ” IT IS erroneous to believe that an atom bomb burst means certain death for everyone in the community hit. It is also wrong to assume that such a blast would mean total destruction. : However, it must be remembered that the bomb is just about everything it is cracked up to be by competent authorities. While an “estimated one-half
blasts at Nagasaki and Hiro-
shima in Japan, the bomb took a terrible toll. ‘More than 70,000 were killed fn Hiroshima as a result of the single blast. An additional 37,000 died in Nagasaki. There is no doubt that had these Japanese cities been prepared, fewer casualties would have resulted. .» #” - ’ A-BOMB injuries can be divided into four classes—those caused by blast pressure, those
caused by radiation directly or through contamination. In an underwater blast, the water would absorb the radiant heat, light and nuclear radiation, and direct injuries from those sources would not occur. The water, however, Would be contaminated. Radiation sufficléft to cause *
acute sickness “will occur fre-
quently for wholly exposed per-
and défense department. “Under 1000 yards (from ground — zero) exposed people will certainly be killed.” Within a half-mile radius’ of ground zero if the bomb were detonated at 2000 feet on a dry day the - pressure would demolish #1 buildings not of rein-
ed”
suffered third-degree burns up
plosion are uncertain and perhaps exaggerated.” The remaining fatalities were caused primarily (by falling buildings and burns, » » » WHAT HAPPENED in those history-making blasts in August, 1945? The Atomic Energy Commission and the Depart ment of Defense says: “The Hiroshima and NagaSaki bombs be sawed total de-
iy Setion "anh uu and injury
to people—for two miles from the point at which the bomb was Set off. “The extreme limit of damage was about four miles.” At least 50 per cent of the first atomic casualties in Japan, the government experts estimate, died of burns “of one kind or another.” At Hiroshima, an estimated 34,000 persons suffered some kind of burn after the atom bomb fell, Many of the burns were fatal. In a United States bombing survey, a resident of Hiroshima told investigators: “My clothes were burned off and I received burns on my legs, arms and back. The skin was just hanging loose. The first thing I did was run into the air-raid shelter. Then I thought of my baby in the house and I ran back for it. “The whole house was knocked down and burning. My mother and father came crawling out. Their face and arms
. were just black.
“I heard the baby crying, so I crawled in and dug it out from under the burning lumber. It was pretty badly burn-
= ” " INJURY from the intense heat given off by the bomb may occur in less than a second after it bursts. The AEC points out: “Japanese people in the open
from the core of the blast. “The effect was instantaneous.—Nuclear radiation con--tinues in dangerous quantities for 60 seconds, but most of it
"is concentrated in the first few
seconds, 50 per cent occurring ‘in the first second.” People suffered radiation in-
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_ altitude an area — small com-
forced concrete and steel con-
“Even buildings of this type. would suffer 70 per cent destruction. Persons not in a shelter able to withstand the blast in this area would be killed. Extensive damage and death ‘would-extend to two miles-from-the center of the blast. As the distance from the center becomes greater, death and demelition Seerease. ” L THE NEW AEC book does a good job of laying the ghost of once-dreaded radiation. Estimates are that in an A-bomb explosion over an American city radiation would cause a maximum of not more than 15 per cent of the deaths. A military spokesman commenting on the radiation aspects of the bomb said it would be “probably very safe” to go into the heart of the bomb area
within 10 seconds after the
uries, but beyond a mile
8 quarter such injuries fell off
sharply. The blast shock wave sweeps outward rapidly and in Japan took up to 10 seconds to travel two miles to the perimeter of geatest damage. - -Injuries from the shock effect occurred throughout this region. Hiroshima was harder hit by the bomb. After the bomb burst, 85,000 persons were injured and in need of immediate care. The city’s population normally was 300,000. : That city is tremendously congested and has no parallel in
blast, 90 seconds at most. He
was speaking of a homb ex-
ploded above the earth, as in Japan. The AEC book says: “After an air burst at low
pared with the damage area due to the bomb—near the explosion center would be uninhabitable because of the radiation hazard.” It goes on to say
that a vehicle traveling fairly fast could - cross the contami- °
nated area about 15 minutes after the explosion. . It would be safe to walk across the area after six hours.
It would probably be some time, °
“however, before unprotected
‘persons could remain in the lim- §
ited center area for more than a few hours at a time.
—-
he >
’ INJURED WOULD | . SUFFER. SECOND -DEGREE BURNS
=~ "a A oe
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE AND DEATH WOULD EXTEND
buildings are of the flimsiest construction.
~ » . DESPITE those facts, the bomb’s effect cannot be minimized. Consider for a moment, only
those 34,000 persons who re- |
ceived burns. .
—For-one of those 34,000 with a
40 per cent burn (not uncommon in an A-bomb blast) here's what would be required as reportéd by private and government medical researchers:
The victim would need 42
tanks of oxygen, 36 pints of plasma, 40 pints of whole blood and 100 pints of other fluids. He would need 2.7 miles of gauze, three nurseg and two doctors. In addition drugs would have to be administered such as morphine and antibiotics. All of these things would be required for- ideal care. The needs, ideally, for the 34.000 burn victims at Hiroshima are staggering. It is. estimated that to care properly for them, 170,000 professional persons would be required. That is about the population of New Haven; Conn. ou addition, a Liberty ship
forth. ” . » GOVERNMENT point out ‘that: + “Had proper ‘medical care been available, it is probable that many of the Japanese who. died from burns, as from other
authorities
-sayed. » cine “Widespread-: idea after the ¥oounen: bombing was that many of the residents of the cities were permanently sterilized. United States Casualty Com-
mission studies show that tem-
—=porary-sterility.-
many Japanese. The report stricken city. i
adds: “But the vast majority of them have returned to normal. “Many have produced normal children” subsequent to the bombing. Also; discounted by “The Ef-
‘fects of Atomic Weapons” is”
the 61d prediction that the long-
ia
so i nn bon i Li face
‘The basement A on anainst the-thickest wall.
ER blood and $0
probable,” say the experts
Authorities have i ee a large number of inquiries con- : cerning drinking water con-
tamination.
In high above the ground
bursts,
get into your water tap. » - ”
INHALING radioactive particles in the air also presents
some danger. Relatively few can pass through the nose's natural filter. Gas masks would serve as an ideal device to filter all of those particles. Dr. Shields Warren, of Harvard University, who serves as director of the medical division of the AEC, has this to say on the positive side of the picture: “A most significant finding is that the vast majority of the survivors are in surprisingly good shape at the présent—once recovered from the initial in-
TWO MILES FROM CENTER OF BLAST
the United States. Many of its time effects of radiation would produce a race of monsters, Such a thing “is extremely im-
maximum destruction) it is- Py - likely that a sufficient amount of radioactive materials would
J TRAVELS TWO MILES IN 10 SECONDS on
RR
3S 5 § BERN
J 14 debe.
What You Can Do:
“If you catch a direct hit, you've had it,” as a British bomb was dropped?
pamphlet on A-bombs says succintly. “But that was true
in the last war, too.”
In case you don't “catch” a direct hit, several things (which would cause can be done to increase your chances of survival. How much you can do depends considerably on the amount of
i of an impending attack. . Here are some general rules:
ONE: Put as much solid material between yourself
and the blast as possible.
TWO: If you're driving, look immediately for shelter. THREE: Basements provide a relatively high degree
of safety.
4
FOUR: Lie face down in the basement next to the
thickest wall.
FIVE: Wear loose, lightcolored or white clothing. SIX: Avoid clothing which has shoulder straps. SEVEN: Shower or bathe repeatedly after an attack. FIGHT: Wash your hair repeatedly and make sure your fimgernails are always clean. ‘NINE: House and car windows should be- rolled up.
TEN: Remove as many
inflammable objects as pos-
juries there has been very satis- = Sible from the house before the attack.
factory. recovery and the vast
majority are back at their ¢ ors
dingy a activities.”
being ou in an atomic 2 ro tack? The responsibility of every person is driven home by statements like these made by Dr. Norvin C. Kiefer, of the. Na. tional Becurity Resource Board:
__ might have BONN! it Auiarionn. cities, 80 . to 90 per cent of the hospitals
would-be unusable because of total destruction or severe damage. “Thousands of physicians, nurses and health personnel would have to be mobilized in nearby and distant cities and ted quickly to the
The individual's dilemma assumes truly tremendous proportions in the light of the bomb’s effectiveness. Yet, assuming there is even a few minutés’ warning, people can do a great deal to reduce their chances of death or serious- injury; by taking shelter before thé blast and by avoiding - radiation hazards afterward.
” ” . " Conceding the possibility that an enemy might successfully carry oul a sneak attack as far inland as Indianapolis, and that there would be no warning, the prospect is less assuring. .Blinding light from a ball of fire hot as the sun and a hundred times brighter to look at probably would be the first warning that a surprise-attack atom bomb had hit Indianapo-
lis.
If it were the same size dropped over Japan and exploded. at about the same height from the ground, you
very pocsibly would never know
what hit you if you were within a half-mile of it. But even in the half-mile radius
_ would be some
survivors. "Don’t look toward the blinding light of the explosion, the authorities warn. It could destroy your sight, temporarily. Ci
IF YOU are En the open, drop to the ground. Curl up and try {o shield the exposed parts of Joue boay such as hands, neck
J
there *
it : only. m
“parts of your body.
ELEVEN: Turn off stove-pilot lights. - TWELVE: If you're in the open and have no advance warning drop to the ground + at the first - flash Curl up
THIRTEEN: Bury or burn the clothes you were .
wearing during the attack.
FOURTEEN: After an attack do not ander around the city. Enter only areas classified as safe.
Lie with your back to the
around your neck, and fold | your: oe “hands over your stomach. Ail * this will help reduce flash burns.
and injury from the blast. Stay in the curled up position 10 seconds. Then it's safe to stand
p“If you're able to look around
and say, "My this place 18 06r- Gradly when splintered by an
tainly beaten up,’ after the bomb falls, you can be sure of two things,” sald one atomic expert. “You will be perfectly correct. And you have a pretty fair chance of keeping alive.” Emphasizing the importance of shelter during an A-bonib
raid, a member of the first
medical team told this story: “Not too many blocks from the blast, a Jap hopped into a sewer ditch, which could not have been more than 21; feet deep. “He left one heel above the surface of the ditch. The only injury he suffered was a burned heel.” In a slit trench in your back yard, you would be virtually out of danger as close as 4500 feet, or just under a mile, » ” " i IF YOU are caught outside by a surprise blast and are within a step of two of some protection such as a doorway, a tree or corner of a building, get behind. it—quickly. If the shelter is more than a step or two away - when the flash comes, don't try to make it. Just drop and curl up. The safest place to be, according to the AEC report, is in
into Nagasaki
the basement, if if has been fit-
ted with some kind of escape hateh in event the house above collapses or catches fire. — “Even loose clothing afforded some protection against atomic flash burns and color
nite ‘clothing: tended to re-
ing o absorb hea t. ght “¢lothing was a pro‘tective. Burns were inflicted where straps crossed the shoulders, where clothing was loose, burns were less severe or nonexistent. » .
BECAUSE. glass can be so
explosion, if should be employed “only to the extent essential for use of the building.” say writers of the new AEC handbook. Based on observed effects on Japan, the experts conclude that a well-built frame house will stand a lot of punishment in an atomic bombing. At the same time brick houses with load-bearing walls showed tendency to “buckle” early. Certain Nagasaki houses built in ravines or protected by hills suffered little damage.
SHOCK FRONT
iy
Sketches by J.
WHAT DID the atomic bomb do to the spirit of those against whom it was used? How did they react after the
“The primary reaction of the populace of the target areas to the bomb was fear-—unqualified terror ~— strengthened by the sheer horror -of the destruction and suffering.” ~—— That comes from a strategic bombing study made by the federal government in Japan after the war. The possibility of mags hysteria and panic would probably be the major disruptive element in any attacked area. Growth of the seeds of panie must be studied if this nation again becomes involved in glo~ bal war, ” ~ ” “CIVILIAN defense training is now survival training,” according to the Rev. Fr. Paul C. Potter, consultant to the national security training commit tee of the American Legion. He has told Congressmen that Russian military students now are studying a verbatim translation of a book entitled “Invasion From Mars,” written by Prof. Hadley Cantril of Princeton University. :
It gives a play by play ac-
" count of what happened on the
in many parts of the United
States into panic, There ¢an be but one cori" clusion,” says Father Potter, “the Kremlin planners know
the weakest point of the world’s . strongest nation-—-its Sustuphis x
bility to panic.” He adds that * system of national defense “Which does “not” give “specific” attention to the panic-proofing of personnel, civilian as well as military, is as useless ax a gun with a cardboard barrel.” > ” ” ” THE EXPERTS haven't entirely ruled out radiological “warfare, but it would seem fo be still a Tong way off. Until now deadly rays from fissionable materials have been
‘only a by-product’ of atomic
bombing. Making them an objective by themselves has been under discussion. Radiological wafare would he compact. “A few pounds of certain radioisotopes,” spread °
evenly over a large city, could = termed by
immobilize it without the destructiveness of bombing. However, the report sees a number of problems. For one
JOTAL DESTRUCTION p- SERIOUS DAMAGE
DND
Hugh O'Donnell, Times Sat? Artist thing, the strength of the rae diation falls off with time. A big decrease may be noted at the end of one day.
” " - WHAT SHOULD be the scope of our national defense effort? Answering that question, Paul J. Larsen, of the National Be curity Board de« clares: “One hundred gt Po curity obviously is not possis ble. “Nor is an attempt to a absolute security des! une der present conditions unless we are willing to become a garrison state. “The dollars and cents cost of decentralizing the some 200 cities in the United States have ing populations of more than 50,000 would probably be ia the neighborhood of $300 bil= lion. “The social and political costs might end democracy as we know it. “Do we. want our women and children evacuted from our cities? Can our cities stand the cost- of moving their hospitals and fire stations to outlying areas? : “Should one of our cities he -attacked it would have to rely primarily on existing services— on its own fire-fighting, police od) and ti
MR. "LARSEN plans to rou lease to state governors next month a. full-scale blueprint fo¥ civil defense planning from the federal level down to muniels’ palities, E The Atomic Energy Commise sion has completed the traine ing of radiological specialists . from nearly every state. have returned: “home to trate others, The Red Cross has stepped w its preparedness work, and pros grams for training doctors is the various aspects of atomis ‘medicine have been sharply ac:
_celerated in recent weeks. F.
“At present It 1s expec over-all. defense program for the country can be completed less than two years. In case an emergency the time could be cut down to about six months; an OCD spokesman sald. 7 Local planning now on “how evacuation and aid between _ cities would be handled were Mr, Larson “the soundest approach. But somewhere “panic proof ing” must enter into the civilian defense picture,
£l.