Nuclear flash burns: A review and consideration

摘要

Introduction In past nuclear attacks, many victims suffered flash burns. Although many eyewitness testimonies by hibakusha (the survivors of casualties) exist, they were still treated as anecdotal because of limited scientific records or explanations. Unfortunately, more valid information cannot be shared to citizens worldwide. Methods I collected a few scientific records and additionally >20,000 pages of documents and drawings by hibakusha . Anecdotal stories about the victims immediately after the explosions were mainly focused on the injuries related to the flash light and compression shockwave. Results Although flash burns may be due to a strong flash light, those observed in the atomic attacks are largely different from ordinary flash burns; therefore, they should be called as distinctively nuclear flash burns (NFBs). The symptoms of NFBs can be divided into three groups, depending on the wavelength differences of flash light, infrared ray (IRR, 750?nm.