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effects on a person from a nuclear blast will
depend on the size of the bomb and the distance
the person is from the explosion. However, a nuclear
blast would likely cause great destruction, death,
and injury, and have a wide area of impact.
In a nuclear
blast, injury or death may occur as a result
of the blast itself or as a result of debris
thrown from the blast.
People
may experience moderate to severe skin burns,
depending on their distance from the blast site.
Those who look directly at the blast could experience
eye damage ranging from temporary blindness
to severe burns on the retina. Individuals near
the blast site would be exposed to high levels
of radiation and could develop symptoms of radiation
sickness (called acute radiation syndrome, or
ARS). While severe burns would appear in minutes,
other health effects might take days or weeks
to appear. These effects range from mild, such
as skin reddening, to severe effects, such as
cancer and death.
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