20 February 2020
Article from ANMJ
Nuclear weapons are by far the most evil, destructive and indiscriminate of weapons ever created.
Both in the scale of the devastation they cause and in their uniquely persistent, genetically damaging radioactive fallout, they are unlike any other weapons.
Nuclear weapons have been used twice in warfare- targeting the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in 1945. More than 210,000 civilians died by the end of that year and many more suffered injuries following the blasts. (WHO 1984; WHO 1987; Shapiro et al. 1986).
The failure of nuclear powers to disarm has heightened the risk that other countries will acquire more nuclear weapons. All efforts must be made to eliminate these weapons (WHO1984; WHO 1987; Shapiro et al. 1986; ICAN Australia 2019).
Nine countries possess around 15,000 nuclear weapons: Russia, France, US, India, North Korea, UK, Pakistan, China and Israel. The US and Russia keep about 1,800 of their nuclear weapons on high-alert, ready for launching within minutes. Most are many times more powerful that the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. (WHO 1984; WHO 1987; ICAN Australia 2019; MAPW 2020).
In 1983 the
World Health Organization (WHO) labelled nuclear war as the greatest immediate threat to human health and welfare, with no health service in the world capable of responding (WHO 1984).
Read the full article at
anmj.org.au.
Author: Dr Amanda J Ruler RN, BA (Hons), MACN, Grad Dip Gerontological Nursing, PhD is the SA Branch Convenor and National Vice President Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW)