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What long-term health effects did Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors experience?
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atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A gigantic mushroom cloud rising above Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, after a U.S. aircraft dropped an atomic bomb on the city, immediately killing more than 70,000 people.
Survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as hibakusha, experienced significant long-term health consequences due to their exposure to radiation. These effects, which continued to manifest over the succeeding decades, primarily include the following:1
- Increased Cancer Risk: Survivors showed dose-dependent increases in the incidence of various cancers, which typically appeared years after exposure. The most extensive data indicate elevated risks for leukemia and cancers of the breast, thyroid, and lung.2
- Cataracts: Long-term ocular health was impacted by the development of radiation-induced cataracts.3
- Other Health Impacts: Beyond cancer and cataracts, survivors faced ongoing illnesses related to their initial radiation injuries.3
Extensive medical research, notably the Life Span Study conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, has been instrumental in understanding these long-term effects. While researchers have exhaustively studied the potential for heritable genetic mutations in the children of survivors, such effects have not been detectably observed to date, likely due to the limited population size and the radiation doses received by their parents.14