Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T14:46:35.596Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Foreseeable Effects of Nuclear Detonations on a Local Environment: Boulder County, Colorado

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Jeffrey O. Bennett ,
Patricia S.C. Johnson ,
Jeffrey R. Key ,
Douglas C. Pattie  and
Alan H. Taylor
Jeffrey O. Bennett
Affiliation:
Department of Astra-Geophysics
Patricia S.C. Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Jeffrey R. Key
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Douglas C. Pattie
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Alan H. Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The effects on Boulder County, Colorado, of a major nuclear war are predicted. Although many of the effects of such a horrific event would be global in nature, the direct ones on Boulder County were considered in terms of being primarily due to three one-megaton blasts in Denver, situated 40 km to the south-east. Under assumed wind conditions, agricultural crops would be contaminated with radionuclides for prolonged periods, rendering them dangerous for human consumption. Loss of animal life, flooding, increased sedimentation, and extensive soil-erosion, should also be expected. Recovery times for environmental systems are difficult to predict. Indeed, unknown synergistic effects and global changes in atmospheric conditons might preclude eventual recovery.

Although numerous assumptions were made in these predictions, and the impacts described are scenario-dependent, the implications are clear: even if Boulder County received no direct hit, a nuclear war would have a devastating impact on the environmental systems that were considered.

The prognosis from this study and others for human societies and involved ecosystems in the event of nuclear war is grim. We hope that continued research and dignified publicity of results on the effects of nuclear war will increase the urgency with which solutions to the nuclear dilemma are sought.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , Summer 1984 , pp. 155 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, Augustine (1961). The Radiation Chemistry of Water and Aqueous Solutions. Van Nostrand, New York etc.: 201 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Annenkov, B.N., Dibobes, I.K. & Aleksakin, R.M. (Ed.) (1973). Radiobiology and Radioecology of Farm Animals. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Technical Information Center, Oak Ridge, Tennesse, USA: 221 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Ayensu, E.S., Berry, J., Ehrlich, A.H., Ehrlich, P.R., Eisner, T., Gould, S.J., Grover, H.D., Harte, J., Harwell, M., Herrera, R., May, R.M., Mayr, E., McKay, C.P., Monney, H.A., Plmental, D., Raven, P.H., Sagan, C., Teal, J.M. & Woodwell, G.M. (1983). The Long-term Biological Consequences of Nuclear War. (Paper prepared for a meeting on the Long-term Worldwide Consequences of Nuclear War, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.) Reprints available from the Committee on the Longterm Worldwide Biological Consequences of Nuclear War, 1735 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20006, USA. [See also Ehrlich et al. (1983), of which the above is noted by a referee as being a ‘precursor’.]Google Scholar
Barnaby, F.B., Rotblat, J., Rodhe, H., Kristoferson, L., Prawitz, J. & Peterson, J. (1982). Reference scenario: how a nuclear war might be fought. Ambio, 11(2–3), pp. 94–9.Google Scholar
Basham, P.W. & Hormer, R.B. (1972). Seismic magnitudes of underground nuclear explosions. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 63(103), pp. 1–17.Google Scholar
Bensen, D.W. & Sparrow, A.H. (Ed.) (1971). Survival of Food Crops and Livestock in the Event of Nuclear War. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Symposium Series No. 24, Washington, DC, USA: xi + 745 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Bolt, B. (1976). Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: The Parted Veil. W.H. Freeman & Co., San Francisco, California, USA: 309 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Bormann, F.H. & Likens, G.E. (1979). Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York & Berlin: 253 pp., illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, G.H. & McConaghy, J.A. (1972). Generalized surficial geologic map of the Denver Area, Colorado. USGS Misc. Invest. Series, Map 1–731.Google Scholar
Claassen, H.C. (1981). Conceptual models governing leaching behaviour and their effect on mass transport. Nuclear and Chemical Waste Management, 2(4), 75 pp.Google Scholar
Crosby, E. (1978). Landforms in the Boulder-Fort Collins-Greeley Area, Front Range urban corridor, Colorado. USGS Misc. Geol. Invest. Series, Map I-855-H.Google Scholar
Crutzen, P.J. & Birks, J.W. (1982). Atmosphere after a total war: twilight at noon. Ambio, 11(2–3), pp. 114–25.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, P.R., Harte, J., Harwell, M., Raven, P.H., Sagan, C., Woodwell, G.M., Berry, J., Ayensu, E.S., Ehrlich, A.H., Eisner, T., Gould, S.J., Grover, H.D., Herrera, R., May, R.M., Mayr, E., Mckay, C.P., Mooney, H.A., Pimental, D. & Teal, J.M. (1983). Long-term biological consequences of nuclear war. Science, 222, pp. 1294–300.Google Scholar
Embleton, C. & Thornes, J. (1979). Process in Geomorphology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA: 436 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Fautrier, A.G. (1976). The influence of gamma irradiation on dry seeds of lucerne cv. Warav-I: Observations on the m-1 generation. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 16, pp. 77–81.Google Scholar
Fraley, L. Jr (1980). Effect of chronic ionizing radiation on the production and viability of Lepidium densiflorum Schrad. seed. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 20, pp. 7–10.Google Scholar
Glasstone, S. & Dolan, P.J. (Ed.) (1977). Effects of Nuclear Weapons (3rd edn). US Department of Defense and Energy, Washington, DC, USA: 653 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Hamilton, R.M. & Healy, J.H. (1969). Aftershocks of the Benham nuclear explosion. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 59(6), pp. 2271–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hvinden, C. (1960). Dispersion of radionuclides in groundwater. Nature (London), ‘185, pp. 4716–25’ [not in place indicated, hence not checked].Google Scholar
Igbal, J. & Aziz, G. (1981). Effects of acute gamma radiation, developmental stages and cultivar differences on yield of gamma-2 plants in wheat and sorghum. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 21, pp. 27–33.Google Scholar
Iman, R.L. (1980). Sensitivity Study on the Parameters of the Regional Hydrology Model for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage. US Department of Energy, Conf-791016, Washington, DC, USA: 85 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Johnston, H.S. (1971). Reduction of stratospheric ozone by nitrogen oxide catalysts from SST exhaust. Science, 173, pp. 517–22.Google Scholar
Johnston, H.S. (1974). Catalytic reduction of stratospheric ozone by nitrogen oxides. Advances in Environmental Sciences and Technology, 4, pp. 328–31.Google Scholar
Lewis, K.N. (1979). The prompt and delayed effects of nuclear war. Scientific American, 241(1), pp. 27–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Likens, G.E., Bormann, F.H., Pierce, R.S. & Reiners, W.A. (1978). Recovery of a deforested ecosystem. Science, 199, pp. 492–6.Google Scholar
McCain, J.F. & Hotchkiss, W. (1975). Map showing floodprone areas: Boulder-Fort Collins-Greeley Area, Front Range urban corridor, Colorado. USGS Misc. Geol. Invest. Series, Map I-855-E.Google Scholar
McKeown, F.A. (1975). Relation of geological structure to seismicity at Pahute Mesa, Nevada Test Site. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 65(3), pp. 747–64.Google Scholar
McKeown, F.A. & Dickey, D. (1969). Fault displacements and motion related to nuclear explosions. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 59(6), pp. 2253–69.Google Scholar
Madole, Richard (1965). Environmental Inventory and Landuse Recommendations for Boulder County, Colorado. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Occasional Paper No. 8: 256 pp.Google Scholar
Marr, J.W. (1961). Ecosystems of the East Slope of the Front Range. University of Colorado Studies in Biology No. 8 (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Contribution No. 4): 134 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Martinelli, M. (1976). Water Yield Improvement from Alpine Areas. USDA Forest Service Paper RM-138, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: 32 pp.Google Scholar
Milne, D.H. & McKay, C.P. (1982). Response of marine plankton communities to a global atmospheric darkening. Geological Society of America, Boulder, Colorado, Series: Special Paper 190, pp. 297–303.Google Scholar
NAS—see National Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences [cited as NAS] (1963). Damage to Livestock from Radioactive Fallout in Event of Nuclear War. (NAS Advisory Committee on Civil Defense.) Publication No. 1078, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, USA: vi + 93 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
National Academy Of Sciences [cited as NAS] (1975). Longterm Worldwide Effects of Multiple Nuclear-weapons Detonations. National Research Council, Washington, DC, USA: xiii + 213 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Osborn, W. (1966). Radioecological Concentration Processes. (Proceedings of International Symposium in Stockholm.) Pergamon Press, New York, NY, USA: 786 pp.Google Scholar
OTA (1979). The Effects of Nuclear War. US Congress Office of Technology Assessment, Washington, DC, USA: vii + 151 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Pendleton, J.A. (1978). Geology and the Conduct of Local Government. Ph.D. thesis, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA: xvi + 209 pp. (mimeogr.).Google Scholar
Pfahler, P.L., Linskens, H.F. & Mulcahy, D.L. (1981). Effect of pollen ultraviolet radiation on the abortion frequency and segregation patterns of various endosperm mutant loci in Maize (Zea mays L.). Environmental and Experimental Botany, 21, pp. 5–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polikarpov, G.G. (1966). Radioecology of Aquatic Organisms (Translated from the Russian by Scripta Technica, Ltd.) Reinhold Book Division, New York, NY, USA: xxviii + 314 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Schultz, V. (1982). Radioecological Techniques. Plenum Press, New York, NY, USA: xi+ 165 pp., illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, G.R. (1970). Quaternary faulting and potential earthquakes in East-central Colorado. United States Geological Survey, Professional Paper, 700-C, pp. C11-8.Google Scholar
Sharpe, G.W., Hendee, C.W. & Allen, S.W. (1976). Introduction to Forestry. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, NY, USA: viii + 544 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Stead, F. (1965). Distribution in Groundwater of Radionuclides from Underground Nuclear Explosions. Plowshare Symposium, Washington, DC, USA: 193 pp.Google Scholar
Taylor, O.C. (1980). Photochemical Oxidant Air Pollution Effects on a Mixed Conifer Forest Ecosystem. US Environmental Protection Agency, Corvallis Environmental Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, USA: Report EPA-60013-80-002, 195 pp.Google Scholar
Treshow, Michael (Ed.) (1984). Air Pollution and Plant Life. (Environmental Monographs & Symposia, Gen. Ed. Polunin, Nicholas.) John Wiley & Sons, Chichester-New York-Brisbane-Toronto-Singapore: xii + 486 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Turco, R.P., Toon, O.B., Ackerman, T., Pollack, J.B. & Sagan, C. (1983). Nuclear winter: Global consequences of multiple nuclear explosions. Science, 222, pp. 1283–92.Google Scholar
USDA (1962). Soil, Crops, and Fallout from Nuclear Attack. US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC, USA: 8 pp.Google Scholar
USDC (1964). The Effect of Radioactive Fallout on Soils and Plants, USSR. US Department of Commerce, Office of Technical Services, Washington, DC, USA: 54 pp.Google Scholar
Waddell, R.K. (1981). Modeling of regional groundwater flow near a potential nuclear-waste repository, Nevada Test Site. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 13(7), pp. 13–21.Google Scholar
Westing, A.M. (1981). Environmental impact of nuclear warfare. Environmental Conservation, 8(4), pp. 269–73.Google Scholar
Wetzel, K.G. (1982). Effects on global supplies of freshwater. Ambio, 11, pp. 126–31.Google Scholar
WHO—see World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Woodwell, G.M. (1982). The biotic effects of ionizing radiation. Ambio, 11, pp. 144–8.Google Scholar
Woodwell, G.M. & Whittaker, R.H. (1968). Effects of chronic gamma irradiation on plant communities. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 43, pp. 42–55.Google Scholar
World Health Organization [cited as WHO] (1984). Effects of Nuclear War on Health and Health Services: Report of an International Committee of Experts in Medical Sciences and Public Health… World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland: v + 176 pp., illustr.Google Scholar