But such bigger bombs may prove to be even more dangerous in an indirect way. The same activity, if present even in many thousands of times as great amounts, would not impair living organisms. If the activity liberated at Bikini were miltiplied by a factor of a hundred thousand or a million, and if it were to be released off our Pacific Coast, the whole of the United States would be endangered. Sci., Feb. 1947, at 36. Studies requested by the Commission have dince indicated that the number of such weapons necessary to pollute the earth's atmosphere would run into many hundreds.
Atmospheric pollution is a consequence of present atomic bombs if used in quantity.
Radiation may hurt the individual. It may also be harmful for our children and hurt the race. Von Neumann, among others, agreed that these studies deserved a high priority and that the president should be aware of the results, which should be continually reassessed. This concern shows that all those present were conscious of at least some of the limits the finite size of the earth imposes on the scale of nuclear war, lest the earth itself become unsuitable for human habitation. The insurance industry of the United States refused to provide complete insurance against so widespread a potential peril to human life and property damage as an atomic power plant represents.