Page 255 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

NAVA L WEAPONS AND A IRCRAFT 261

nd and civilians in danger of being exposed to this kind of attack. explosion, and heavy residual radiation from the highly contam·
Sev(.'n.11 kinds of nntibiotics ;He effective in treating the effects of illatcd base surge. This is the wall of heavy mist at sea, or cloud
Illany kinds of U\ V ngents ilfter e:...vosure. of dust on land, created around ground zero when the column of
w<lter or dirt formed by the explosion ralls back to the Stlrf..1ce.
In the case of mdionctive material dispersed by il conventional
Nuclear Warfare
explosive, there will be some shock and heat dnmnge in close prox·
Nuclear wnrfilre involves the use of weapons or devices armed with imity ns with all such detonations, but the most troublesome efiect
nuclear wilrheilds, or improvised "dirty bombs" with radioactive is the radionctive material that can be sprend ror some distance.
materials dispersed by cOllventional explosives. Anyolle or anything nei.lr the site of sllch nil attack call be contami-
\Vhen a nuclear warhead detonates, alrcmendolls shock wave nated with this material. The site itself mi.ly be ullusable for a long
is released, along with intense pulses of light, heat, and electromag· time until complete decontnlllinatioll cnn be accomplished, if ever.
netic and nuclear radiation. These efiects, though dev<lstating, I<lst The effect of nuclear radintioll on people depends on the
only a few seconds. Subsequent rildioilctive fallout from this kind intensity of the radiation and the time of exposure. The amount of
of attnck c<ln continue for d<l)'s, <lnd spread o\'er I<lrge areas if car- radiation received is called the dosage, and is measured by devices
ried by wind or water clirrents. such ns film badges called dosimeters. The effects of radiation
The shock W<lve, or blast, from a nuclear detonation, just <IS exposure are most severe on soft tissues in the body. They can vary
with any explosion, Can smash ships. level buildings, nnd cause from short-term illness and nausea, to hair loss, imlllune system
casuailics for miles. The light pulse call blind anyone within miles. deficiencies, sterility, long-term genetic defects, skin lesions. leu-
The thermonuclear heat. called thermill radiation, is so intense kemia nnd other cnncers, mentnl impairment, and severe sickness,
that al1Y metal neill" ground zero (the site of the explosion) ma)' delirium, and denth within dnys or weeks, depending all the dos-
melt, nnd tl<llmnable objects will burst into flame. Soft bod}' tissue nge recei\Ted and the time interval over which it occurs. i\·loreover,
of anyone nenrby witl vnporize, and serious burns 10 exposed skin the efiects of radiation dosage are Cllllllflntil'c, meaning that even
can occur out to ns far as 25 miles away. The electron1<lgnetic pulse
(EMP) can fry electronics for miles around.
The illitia/ll//c1ear radiation, or first radiation. e<llmot be seen
or felt, but it 'all be as deadl)' as all)' of the other efTects. This radi-
atioll is made up of alpha (like a heliulll Ilucleus) and beta (high-
energy electron) pnrlicles, high-speed neutrons, and gamma ra),s.
All these pnrticles and rays are lethal to human tisslle. Alphn pnr-
ticles can be stopped b)' a sheet of paper; beta particles can be
stopped by a thin sheet of aluminum. The others are much more
difficult to stop with an)'thing less than heavy lead shielding or
somc other dcnse substance.
Residual radiatioll, or fallollt, consists of radioactive materi·
als produced by the explosion, plus dust contaminated with nlph<l
and beta particles. It l11a), be deposited lor da)'s over a large area by
wind nnd ",enther. This fallout (;111 be detected and mensureci by
special instruments called radiacs (Geiger counters). If it is pres·
ent in hazardous cOllcentrations, the area must be decontnlllinated
(washed clean) before unprotected personnel C<lll enter the area.
Ships I1ln)' be exposed to three types of nuclear bursts: an nir (
~ ,
burst, in which the fireball does not touch the Earth; it surface
, I
burst, in which the fireball tOllches the surface; and il subsurfnce
burst, ill which the explosion is underwater. An nir burst pro·
duces blnst, he<lt, intense light, and initial radintion, but little fall-
out requiring decontamination. A surface burst will produce the
S<l111e effects, plus much residual radiation. The fnHoul will spread
radioactivc contaminiltion o\'er a wide area downwind from the When a CBR attack is antiCipated, a ship will activate the water
explosion. The subsurfnce burst normally produces little heat or washdown system in order to wet all exposed surfaces to make the
decontamination process after the attack easier. Here, a rainbow
light and very little initial radiation. The biggest danger in this type
forms as a crew member checks out the system aboard the amphibi-
of burst is the intense underwater shock wnve resulting from the ous assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). (Rudy Pulach)