Scientists studied the health effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bombings killed over 160,000 people initially and caused radiation sickness in survivors. The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission was established to study the long-term health impacts, helping scientists understand how radiation damaged the human body. Their research laid the foundation for new drugs and medicines to help treat Japanese people affected by the bombings.

1. By: Kevin White, Yah Kamei, Mohammad Bokahri, and
Markus Wakefield

2. Research Question
 How did Scientist help Japan recover it’s human
dignity through innovations in health and medicine
after the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

3. History
 December 1941, following the bombing of Pearl
Harbor, the United States Officially joined WWII
 By 1942, the U.S. government started the Manhattan
project.
 the Manhattan project was a secret government
operation designed to build and test an atomic bomb

4. History
 The decision was made on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am, to
drop the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan
 The bomb exploded 2,000 feet off away from the ground
and instantly killed 80,000 people
 On August 9, 1945 another bomb was dropped, this time in
Nagasaki, Japan
 In total, the two bombs killed over 160,000 people.
Radiation from the bombs had lasting effects that still
impact the lives of Japanese people today

5. Health Effects
 First two weeks: burns from rays and flames, and
wounds (trauma) from blast and falling structures
 3rd week through 8th week: loss of hair, anemia, loss
of white cells, bleeding, diarrhea.
 3rd and 4th months: disfiguration, severe scar
formations (keloids), blood abnormalities, sterility
(both sexes), and psychosomatic disorders.
 Present Day: leukemia, A-bomb cataracts, and cancers
of thyroid, breast, lungs, salivary glands, birth
defects, including mental retardation

6. A-Bomb Illness
 Acute Stages
 Primary
 Flash Burns
 Secondary
 scorch, contact, and
flame burns
 A-Bomb Trauma
 injuries sustained
from flying
debris, burial under
rubble, and blast
compression

7. A-Bomb Illness
 A-bomb Radiation Illness
 cell death, inhibited cell division, abnormalities of
intracellular molecules and membranes
 Actively regenerating and proliferating cells are most
sensitive to radiation
 young blood cells, lymphocytes, sperm, ovaries are most
sensitive; next are mucosal epithelial cells of the mouth, the
esophagus, and stomach, and epithelial cells of the eye
lens, and cells forming the hair

8. A-Bomb Illness
 Blood Injuries
 nausea, vomiting, general malaise.
 loss of hair, marked malaise, persistent fever, decrease of
white blood cells, followed by anemia
 decrease of blood platelets, gingivitis (bleeding
gums), oropharyngitis, and skin perpura

9. Scientist Relief
 The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) was a
commission established in 1946 by Harry S. Truman
 conduct investigations of the late effects of radiation
among the atomic-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
 because it was heavily supported by the United
States, the ABCC was generally mistrusted by most
survivors and Japanese alike
 So it was erected purely for scientific research and
study, not as a provider of medical care

10. Scientist Relief
 The ABCC also drew on the work of Japanese
scientists, who were already studying the survivors
 there were four causes of injury in the bombed cities:
 Heat
 Blast
 primary radiation
 radioactive poisonous gas

11. Scientific Relief
 Answered the Question:
 What does strong radioactive energy do to the human body?
 Answer:
 Damages blood, then hematopoietic organs such as bone
marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes. All are destroyed or
damaged severely. Lungs, intestines, liver, kidney etc are
affected and their functions disturbed as a result
 These discoveries on the effects of the bomb helped set the
foundation for the creation of new drugs and medicine to
help the Japanese people

12. Works Cited
 http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml
 http://www.dmphp.org/cgi/content/full/5/Supplemen
t_1/S122
 http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2012/ph241/tran2/
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC25929
90/