Evening star., 1950-12-03
Every One Is Fearing
His State Is Prime
Target for A-Bomb

Target for A-Bomb
Continued From First Page)
ing science all over the United
States that the majority Of read
ers-when these statements were
made-believed that anything a
scientist said must be true. And
that millions then looked to
scientists to be their saviors.
Based on Assumption.
The frightening statements
came from a minority of the
scientists who worked on A-bombs.
Their avowed purpose was to stop
war. The statements were scien-
tifically correct but based on an
assumption.
1t is customary in science to
assume certain facts, and after
that assumption. everything that
follows is correct. Change the
assumption and the statement
would also be changed.
The public missed the assump-
tions-such as perfect timing.
perfect accuracy and complete
lack of preparedness-if 40 mil
lions were to die in an hour.
Readers missed the key as
sumption on which was built a
very famous theory-that single
bomb, by exploding over the
Pacific, could destroy all life in
the United States with its drift
ing radioactive ashes. The as
sumption was a certain very high
level of radioactivity, theoretically
possible, but not a probability
under present knowledge.
RadiOactivity Has Little Basis.
These first impressions not only
were shocking, but came when
there was no general information
available against which to judge
them.
The worst of the inspired fears
was about radioactivity, and this
had the least basis in fact. Radio
activity does not strike anyone
dead. 1t shrivels nothing. 1t is the
least painful of all A-bomb
injuries. It caused the smallest
proportion of deaths in Japan.
Except for the flash of an A
bomb, and one minute thereafter,
you always have time to protect
yourself against radioactivity.
Even in the first perilous mo-
ment. you can be safe from radio
activity if you have warning
enough to take shelter. 1t is true
that not enough shelters exist.
But that is largely due to indo-
lence caused by fear. In Japan
even the ordinary underground
shelters of World War II were
complete protection for those who
needed the warnings.
The things you do to avoid
radioactivity are told in one and
two syllable words in the publica-
tions named. A child can under
stand and do many of them. They
are as simple as staying indoors
to keep out the rain-this time
radioactive-or to keep out of dust
radioactive. They really will
work. and yet without them many
thousands will risk radiosctivity
forms of death.
Burns Are Grave Danger.
Radioactivity Is one OF. three
menaces from A-bombs. The other
two are heat and blast. There Is
nothing different in this nuclear
heat and blast, except more OF
each.
The heat starts fires. It also
does something most laymen never
heard of. even though doctors
knew long before A-bombs and
learned in ordinary explosions
This is death. or terrible burns
from f1ash-heat. At the instant
the bomb explodes. a tremendous
flash of heat travels just like sun
shine, and burns bare flesh up to
distances of nearly three miles
These are never more than skin
deep, but up to nearly one mile
they can be fatal.
The f1ash-heat lasts three sec
onds, and then is finished COM
pietely. just like cloud passing
over the sun. Any kind of shadow
is complete protection from these
f1ash-burns, even against the fatal
one, even directly under an A
bomb. Paper-f1imsiest of shell
ters-gives complete protection
until it burns, and at more than
q mile-and-a-half white paper will
last long enough.
These fash-burns caused about
one-third of the deaths ane
casualties in Japan. No Japanese
was atomized. No Japanese wa
vaporized. Some, already dead
were consumed by buildings that
burned for hours.
Easements Can Be Shelters.
The atomic blast knocks dowr
nearly all buildings within / mile
badly damages many up to
miles, causes freak damage up tt
10 miles. After the bombing ot
Hiroshima, Japan, first report:
said that everything was totally
destroyed within a 1-mile radius
That is still believed.
But within that circle of "totaI
destruction" about so buildings
remained standings, outwardly
little damaged. American sky.
scrapers and steel apartments viii
stand the same sort of blast. Ir
their Easements, good shelters car
be set up, even for an A-bomt
close by.
For the H-bomb, if it is thou