Accidental Nuclear War--A Post-Cold War Assessment; Special Report--Reprinted from The New England Journal of Medicine 338:1326-1331 (April 30), 1998

Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Medical Society, 1998. Reprint of article. Wraps. 1326-1331, [2] pages. Table. References. The Future of Life Institute states that "The most devastating military threat arguably comes from a nuclear war started not intentionally but by accident or miscalculation. Accidental nuclear war has almost happened many times already, and with 15,000 nuclear weapons worldwide — thousands on hair-trigger alert and ready to launch at a moment’s notice — an accident is bound to occur eventually....Many nuclear experts are concerned about a war between India and Pakistan, and if one of them were to accidentally start a nuclear war, the resulting nuclear winter could kill 1 billion people worldwide. Moreover, there are signs of the Cold War restarting. The U.S. and Russia are both upgrading their arsenals, which means new weapons and new ways for something in the system to go wrong. The risk of accidental nuclear war is only growing, and barring major initiatives for risk reduction, it’s merely a matter of time until our luck runs out." The team of medical professionals reviewed the recent literature on the status of nuclear arsenals and the risk of nuclear war. They then estimated the likely medical effects of a scenario identified by leading experts as posing a serious danger; an accidental launch of nuclear weapons. They assessed possible measures to reduce the risk of such an event. They found that U.S. and Russian nuclear-weapons systems remain on high alert. This fact, combined with the aging of Russian technical systems, had recently increased the risk of an accidental nuclear attack. As a conservative estimate, an accidental intermediate-sized launch of weapons from a single Russian submarine would result in the deaths of 6,838,000 persons from firestorms in eight U.S. cities. Millions of other people would probably be exposed to potentially lethal radiation from fallout. An agreement to remove all nuclear missiles from high-level alert status and eliminate the capability of a rapid launch would, in their view, put an end to this threat. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Nuclear War, Nuclear Weapons, Accidental Launch, Weapon Systems, Weapon Effects, Fallout, Medical Care, Ballistic Missile Defense, Medical Treatment, Health Care

[Book #75102]

Price: $25.00