August 6, 1945: during the final stage of
World War II, with the consent of the United
Kingdom as outlined in the Quebec Agreement,
President Harry S. Truman ordered that an
atomic bomb be deployed and dropped over Hiroshima
City.
The resulting 13-kiloton explosion destroyed
4.7 square miles of the city.
The explosion then triggered a stratospheric
firestorm cloud, which scientists estimate
released approximately 1,000 times the energy
of the bomb itself.
Fires broke out throughout the city.
Ultimately, 70 to 80 thousand people were
killed by the blast and firestorm, and another
70,000 people were injured.
Three days later, on August 9, 1945, President
Truman ordered that an atomic bomb be dropped
on Nagasaki City as well.
Though its power, approximately 21-kilotons,
was greater than that of the bomb dropped
on Hiroshima, the blast was confined to Urakami
Valley, and the majority of the residents
of Nagasaki were protected by the intervening
hills.
Nevertheless, more than 39,000 people were
killed and another 60,000 were injured.
How does the military use of nuclear weapons,
such as those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
compare with incidents and accidents at nuclear
energy plants in terms of their threat to
public health?
Listen to the other reports recorded here
and find out!
