having a sudden beginning-~a sharp rise and a more or less short course would The range of acute effects within this dosage include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching and burning of the skin and mucous membranes, loss of hair, \ be noticed. a7 skin burns, and a lowering, or depression, of various kinds of blood cells Gue to the bone marrow (the material within our bones which makes blood) At about 500 rads (depending upon individual response, health, age, etc.) as nentioned hefore, more than 50 percent of the people exposed would be cor being affected. expected to die. As the amount of exposure increases, fewer neople would be expected to live until at about the 800 rad level generally 100 percent of the exposed persons would be expected to die. Higher doses above 1,000 rads whole-body irradiation would produce what The radiation results in destroying is called "gastro-intestinal death." the lining of the small intestine and causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Death would occur within a few davs or a week, Central nervous system death would occur at doses over 3,000 rads, This size of dose causes extreme excitability, trouble with breathing, lack of balance and coordination, and convulsions. Death may be immediate or after a few hours. Should, somehow, a person survive these extreme dose symptoms, he would undoubtedly die from hemonoietic depression, where severe disorders of the bone marrow, which produce hlood cells, lead to internal bleeding, anemia, and lack of resistance to infection. at the sublethal to lethal range, This effect can also be seen (94, p. 937) Many of the above types of disorders would be brought about by direct exposure to the original explosion of the nuclear blast. 14 Those people who [ | | |