Chapter II

A NUCLEAR WEAPON OVER DETROIT

OR LENINGRAD: A TUTORIAL ON THE
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Chapter ll.A NUCLEAR WEAPON OVER DETROIT

OR LENINGRAD: A TUTORIAL ON THE
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Pdge

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
General Description of Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Blast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Direct Nuclear Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Thermal Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Electromagnetic Pulse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fallout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Combined Injuries (Synergism). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Detroit and Leningrad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1Mt on the Surface in Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Physical Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Infrastructure Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Radioactive Fallout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
1-Mt Air Burst on Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
25-Mt Air Burst on Detroit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Leningrad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
l-Mtand 9-Mt Air Bursts on Leningrad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ten 40-kt Air Bursts on Leningrad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1-kt Terrorist Weapon at Ground Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

TABLES
Page

3. Blast Effects of a 1-Mt Explosion 8,000 ft Above the Earths

Surface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4. Casualty Estimates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
S. Burn Casualty Estimates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
FIGURES
Page

l. Vulnerability of Population in Various Overpressure Zones . . 19

2. Main Fallout Pattern Uniform 15 mph Southwest Wind . . . . 24
3. Main Fallout Pattern Uniform 15 mph Northwest Wind . . . . 25
4. Detroit 1-Mt Surface Burst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5. Detroit 1-Mt Air Burst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6. Casualties. ......., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
7. Detroit 25-Mt Air Burst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
8. Leningrad Commercial and Residential Sections . . . . . . . . . 40
9. Leningrad Populated Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
IO. Leningrad l-Mt Air Burst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
11. Leningrad 9-Mt Air Burst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
12. Leningrad Ten 40-kt Air Burst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter II

A NUCLEAR WEAPON OVER DETROIT

OR LENINGRAD: A TUTORIAL ON THE
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents a brief description of the major effects of nuclear explosions on the people and structures in urban areas. The details of such effects would
vary according to weapons design, the exact geographical layout of the target area,
the materials and methods used for construction in the target area, and the weather
(especially the amount of moisture in the atmosphere). Thus, the reader should bear
in mind that the statements below are essentially generalizations, which are subject
to a substantial range of variation and uncertainty.
To convey some sense of the actual effects of large nuclear explosions on urban
areas, the potential impact of explosions is described in two real citiesDetroit and
Leningrad. To show how these effects vary with the size of the weapon, the effects
have been calculated in each city for a variety of weapon sizes.
The descriptions and analysis assume that there is no damage elsewhere in the
country. This may appear unlikely, and in the case of a surface burst it is certainly
wrong, since a surface burst would generate fallout that would cause casualties
elsewhere. However, isolating the effects on a single city allows the setting forth in
clear terms of the direct and immediate effects of nuclear explosions. The result is a
kind of tutorial in nuclear effects. Subsequent sections of this report, which deal with
the effects of larger attacks, discuss the indirect effects of fallout and of economic
and social disruption.
Although it is outside the scope of a discussion of nuclear war, there has been
considerable public interest in the effects of a nuclear explosion that a terrorist
group might succeed in setting off in an urban area. Accordingly, a discussion of this
possibility y is added at the end of this chapter.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF EFFECTS

The energy of a nuclear explosion is released
in a number of different ways:

pulses of electrical and magnetic energy,

called electromagnetic pulse (EM P); and

an explosive blast, which is qualitatively

similar to the blast from ordinary chemical explosions, but which has somewhat
different effects because it is typically so
much larger;
direct nuclear radiation;
direct thermal radiation, most of which
takes the form of visible Iight;

the creation of a variety of radioactive

particles, which are thrown up into the air
by the force of the blast, and are called
radioactive fallout when they return to
Earth.

The distribution of the bombs energy

among these effects depends on its size and on
15

16 . The Effects of Nuclear War

the details of its design, but a general description is possible.

Thermal radiation
and EMP

Blast and shock

Blast
Most damage to cities from large weapons

(called static overpressure) that can crush objects, and high winds (called dynamic pressure)
that can move them suddenly or knock them
down. In general, large buildings are destroyed
by the overpressure, while people and objects
such as trees and utility poles are destoyed by
the wind.

/
\

Initial
nuclear radiation

For example, consider the effects of a 1megaton (Mt) air burst on things 4 miles [6 km]

Thermonuclear ground burst

Residual nuclear
radiation (fallout)

Effects of a nuclear explosion

Photo credit: U S Department of Energy

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons 17

away. The overpressure will be in excess of 5

pounds per square inch (psi), which will exert a
force of more than 180 tons on the wall of a
typical two-story house. At the same place,
there would be a wind of 160 mph [255 km];
while 5 psi is not enough to crush a man, a
wind of 180 mph would create fatal collisions is ions
between people and nearby objects.
The magnitude of the blast effect (generally
measured in pounds per square inch) diminishes with distance from the center of the explosion. It is related in a more complicated
way to the height of the burst above ground
level. For any given distance from the center of
the explosion, there is an optimum burst height
that will produce the greatest overpressure,

and the greater the distance the greater the optimum burst height. As a result, a burst on the
surface produces the greatest overpressure at
very close ranges (which is why surface bursts
are used to attack very hard, very small targets
such as missile silos), but less overpressure
than an air burst at somewhat longer ranges.
Raising the height of the burst reduces the
overpressure directly under the bomb, but
widens the area at which a given smaller overpressure is produced. Thus, an attack on factories with a l-Mt weapon might use an air
burst at an altitude of 8,000 feet [2,400 m],
which would maximize the area (about 28 mi2
[7,200 hectares]) that would receive 10 psi or
more of overpressure.

Fireball from an air burst in the megaton energy range

Photo credit: U S Air Force

18 . The Effects of Nuc/ear War

Photo credit U S Uepartmenf of Defense

The faintly luminous shock front seen just ahead of the fireball soon after breakaway

returns to Earth as fallout. An explosion that is

farther above the Earths surface than the
radius of the fireball does not dig a crater and
produces negligible immediate fallout.

Table 3 shows the ranges of overpressures

and effects from such a blast.
When a nuclear weapon is detonated on or
near the surface of the Earth, the blast digs out
a large crater. Some of the material that used
to be in the crater is deposited on the rim of
the crater; the rest is carried up into the air and

For the most part, blast kills people by indirect means rather than by direct pressure.
While a human body can withstand up to 30

Table 3.Blast Effects of a 1-Mt Explosion 8,000 ft Above the Earths Surface

Distance from ground zero

(stat. miles) (kilometers)
1,3
.8

Peak
overpressure

Peak wind
velocity (mph)

20 psi

470

Typical blast effects

Reinforced concrete structures are leveled.

30

48

10 psi

290

Most factories and commercial buildings are

collapsed. Small wood-frame and brick
residences destroyed and distributed as
debris,

4.4

7.0

5 psi

160

Lightly constructed commercial buildings and

typical residences are destroyed, heavier
construction IS severely damaged

5.9

95

3 psi

95

Walls of typical steel-frame buildings are

blown away: severe damage to residences.
Winds sufficient to kill people in the open.

11 6

18.6

1 psi

35

Damage to structures, people endangered by

flying glass and debris

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

psi of simple overpressure, the winds associated with as little as 2 to 3 psi could be expected to blow people out of typical modern
office buildings. Most blast deaths result from
the collapse of occupied buildings, from people being blown into objects, or from buildings
or smaller objects being blown onto or into
people. Clearly, then, it is impossible to
calculate with any precision how many people
would be killed by a given blastthe effects
would vary from buiIding to buiIding.
In order to estimate the number of casualties from any given explosion, it is necessary to
make assumptions about the proportion of
people who will be killed or injured at any
given overpressure. The assumptions used in
this chapter are shown in figure 1. They are
relatively conservative. For example, weapons
tests suggest that a typical residence will be
collapsed by an overpressure of about 5 psi.
People standing in such a residence have a 50percent chance of being killed by an overpressure of 3.5 psi, but people who are lying
down at the moment the blast wave hits have a
50-percent chance of surviving a 7-psi overpressure. The calculations used here assume a
mean lethal overpressure of 5 to 6 psi for people in residences, meaning that more than half
of those whose houses are blown down on top
of them will nevertheless survive. Some studies
use a simpler technique: they assume that the
number of people who survive in areas receiving more than 5 psi equal the number of peoFigure 1 .Vulnerability of Population in Various

Overpres-sure Zones

50

75

25

Over 12 psi

5-12 psi

2-5 psi

1-2 psi

19

ple killed in areas receiving less than 5 psi, and

hence that fatalities are equal to the number
of people inside a 5-psi ring.

Direct Nuclear Radiation

Nuclear weapons inflict ionizing radiation
on people, animals, and plants in two different
ways. Direct radiation occurs at the time of the
explosion; it can be very intense, but its range
is Iimited. Fallout radiation is received from
particles that are made radioactive by the effects of the explosion, and subsequently distributed at varying distances from the site of
the blast. Fallout is discussed in a subsequent
sect ion.
For large nuclear weapons, the range of intense direct radiation is less than the range of
lethal blast and thermal radiation effects.
However, in the case of smaller weapons, direct radiation may be the lethal effect with the
greatest range. Direct radiation did substantial
damage to the residents of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
Human response to ionizing radiation is subject to great scientific uncertainty and intense
controversy. It seems likely that even small
doses of radiation do some harm, To understand the effects of nuclear weapons, one
must distinguish between short- and long-term
effects:

Short-Term Effects.-A dose of 600 rem

within a short period of time (6 to 7 days)
has a 90-percent chance of creating a fatal
ilIness, with death occurring within a few
weeks. (A rem or roentgen-equivalentman is a measure of biological damage:
a rad is a measure of radiation energy
absorbed; a roentgen is a measure of radiation energy; for our purposes it may be
assumed that 100 roentgens produce 100
rads and 100 rem. ) The precise shape of
the curve showing the death rate as a
function of radiation dose is not known in
the region between 300 and 600 rem, but a
dose of 450 rem within a short time is estimated to create a fatal illness in half the
people exposed to it; the other half would

20 The Effects of Nuclear War

get very sick, but would recover. A dose of

300 rem might kill about 10 percent of
those exposed. A dose of 200 to 450 rem
will cause a severe illness from which
most people would recover; however, this
illness wouId render people highly susceptible to other diseases or infections. A
dose of so to 200 rem will cause nausea
and lower resistance to other diseases, but
medical treatment is not required. A dose
below so rem will not cause any shortterm effects that the victim will notice,
but will nevertheless do long-term damage.

Long-Term Effects.-The effects of smaller

doses of radiation are long term, and
measured in a statistical way. A dose of 50
rem generally produces no short-term effects; however, if a large population were
exposed to so reins, somewhere between
0.4 and 2.5 percent of them would be expected to contract fatal cancer (after
some years) as a result. There would also
be serious genetic effects for some fraction of those exposed. Lower doses produce lower effects. There is a scientific
controversy about whether any dose of
radiation, however small, is really safe.
Chapter V discusses the extent of the longterm effects that a nuclear attack might
produce. It should be clearly understood,
however, that a large nuclear war would
expose the survivors, however well sheltered, to levels of radiation far greater
than the U.S. Government considers safe
in peacetime.

Photo credit U S Air force

Burn injuries from nuclear blasts

Thermal Radiation
Approximately 35 percent of the energy
from a nuclear explosion is an intense burst of
thermal radiation, i.e., heat. The effects are
roughly analogous to the effect of a 2-second
flash from an enormous sunlamp. Since the
thermal radiation travels at the speed of light
(actually a bit slower, since it is deflected by
particles in the atmosphere), the flash of light
and heat precedes the blast wave by several
seconds, just as lightning is seen before the
thunder is heard.

Photo credit U S Department of Defense

The patients skin is burned in a pattern corresponding

to the dark portions of a kimono worn at the time of
the explosion

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

The visible light will produce flashblindness in people who are looking in the direction of the explosion. Flashblindness can last
for several minutes, after which recovery is
total. A l-Mt explosion could cause flashblindness at distances as great as 13 miles [21 km] on
a clear day, or 53 miles [85 km] on a clear night.
If the flash is focused through the lens of the
eye, a permanent retinal burn will result. At
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were many
cases of flashblindness, but only one case of
retinal burn, among the survivors. On the other
hand, anyone flashblinded while driving a car
could easiIy cause permanent injury to himself
and to others.
Skin burns result from higher intensities of
light, and therefore take place closer to the
point of explosion. A 1-Mt explosion can cause
first-degree burns (equivalent to a bad sunburn) at distances of about 7 miles [11 km],
second-degree burns (producing blisters that
lead to infection if untreated, and permanent
scars) at distances of about 6 miles [10 km],
and third-degree burns (which destroy skin
tissue) at distances of up to 5 miles [8 km].
Third-degree burns over 24 percent of the
body, or second-degree burns over 30 percent
of the body, will result in serious shock, and
will probably prove fatal unless prompt, specialized medical care is available. The entire
United States has facilities to treat 1,000 or
2,000 severe burn cases; a single nuclear
weapon could produce more than 10,000.
The distance at which burns are dangerous
depends heavily on weather conditions. Extensive moisture or a high concentration of particles in the air (smog) absorbs thermal radiation. Thermal radiation behaves like sunlight,
so objects create shadows behind which the
thermal radiation is indirect (reflected) and
less intense. Some conditions, such as ice on
the ground or low white clouds over clean air,
can increase the range of dangerous thermal
radiation.

Fires
The thermal radiation from a nuclear explosion can directly ignite kindling materials. In

21

general, ignitible materials outside the house,

such as leaves or newspapers, are not surrounded by enough combustible material to
generate a self-sustaining fire. Fires more likely
to spread are those caused by thermal radiation passing through windows to ignite beds
and overstuffed furniture inside houses. A
rather substantial amount of combustible
material must burn vigorously for 10 to 20
minutes before the room, or whole house,
becomes inflamed. The blast wave, which arrives after most thermal energy has been expended, will have some extinguishing effect on
the fires. However, studies and tests of this effect have been very contradictory, so the extent to which blast can be counted on to extinguish fire starts remains quite uncertain.
Another possible source of fires, which
might be more damaging in urban areas, is indirect. Blast damage to stores, water heaters,
furnaces, electrical circuits, or gas lines would
ignite fires where fuel is plentiful.
The best estimates are that at the 5-psi level
about 10 percent of al I buildings would sustain
a serious fire, while at 2 psi about 2 percent
would have serious fires, usualIy arising from
secondary sources such as blast-damaged utilities rather than direct thermal radiation.
It is possible that individual fires, whether
caused by thermal radiation or by blast damage to utilities, furnaces, etc., would coalesce
into a mass fire that would consume alI structures over a large area. This possibility has
been intensely studied, but there remains no
basis for estimating its probability. Mass fires
could be of two kinds: a firestorm, in which
violent inrushing winds create extremely high
temperatures but prevent the fire from spreading radially outwards, and a conflagration,
in which a fire spreads along a front. Hamburg,
Tokyo, and Hiroshima experienced firestorms
in World War 11; the Great Chicago Fire and
the San Francisco Earthquake Fire were conflagrations. A firestorm is likely to kill a high proportion of the people in the area of the fire,
through heat and through asphyxiation of
those in shelters. A confIagration spreads slowly enough so that people in its path can

22 The Etffects of Nuclear War

escape, though a conflagration caused by a nuclear attack might take a heavy toll of those
too injured to walk. Some believe that firestorms in U.S. or Soviet cities are unlikely
because the density of flammable materials
(fuel loading) is too lowthe ignition of a
firestorm is thought to require a fuel loading of
at least 8 lbs/ft2 (Hamburg had 32), compared
to fuel loading of 2 lbs/ft 2 in a typical U.S.
suburb and 5 lbs/ft2 in a neighborhood of twostory brick rowhouses. The Iikelihood of a conflagration depends on the geography of the
area, the speed and direction of the wind, and
details of building construction. Another variable is whether people and equipment are
available to fight fires before they can
coalesce and spread.

Electromagnetic Pulse
Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is an electromagnetic wave similar to radio waves, which
results from secondary reactions occurring
when the nuclear gamma radiation is absorbed
in the air or ground. It differs from the usual
radio waves in two important ways. First, it
creates much higher electric field strengths.
Whereas a radio signal might produce a thousandth of a volt or less in a receiving antenna,
an EMP pulse might produce thousands of
volts. Secondly, it is a single pulse of energy
that disappears completely in a small fraction
of a second. In this sense, it is rather similar to
the electrical signal from lightning, but the rise
in voltage is typically a hundred times faster.
This means that most equipment designed to
protect electrical facilities from lightning
works too slowly to be effective against EMP.
The strength of an EMP pulse is measured in
volts per meter (v/m), and is an indication of
the voltage that would be produced in an exposed antenna. A nuclear weapon burst on the
surface will typically produce an EMP of tens
of thousands of v/m at short distances (the 10psi range) and thousands of v/m at longer distances (l-psi range). Air bursts produce less
EMP, but high-altitude bursts (above 19 miles
[21 km]) produce very strong EMP, with ranges
of hundreds or thousands of miles. An attacker

might detonate a few weapons at such altitudes in an effort to destroy or damage the
communications and electric power systems of
the victim.
There is no evidence that EMP is a physical
threat to humans. However, electrical or electronic systems, particularly those connected to
long wires such as powerlines or antennas, can
undergo either of two kinds of damage. First,
there can be actual physical damage to an
electrical component such as shorting of a
capacitor or burnout of a transistor, which
would require replacement or repair before the
equipment can again be used. Second, at a
lesser level, there can be a temporary operational upset, frequently requiring some effort
to restore operation. For example, instabilities
induced in power grids can cause the entire
system to shut itself down, upsetting computers that must be started again. Base radio
stations are vulnerable not only from the loss
of commercial power but from direct damage
to electronic components connected to the
antenna. In general, portable radio transmitter/receivers with relatively short antennas are
not susceptible to EMP. The vulnerability of
the telephone system to EMP could not be
determined.

Fallout
While any nuclear explosion in the atmosphere produces some fallout, the fallout is far
greater if the burst is on the surface, or at least
low enough for the firebalI to touch the
ground. As chapter V shows in some detail, the
fallout from air bursts alone poses long-term
health hazards, but they are trivial compared
to the other consequences of a nuclear attack.
The significant hazards come from particles
scooped up from the ground and irradiated by
the nuclear explosion.
The radioactive particles that rise only a
short distance (those in the stem of the
familiar mushroom cloud) will fall back to
earth within a matter of minutes, landing close
to the center of the explosion. Such particles

.-

Ch, IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons 23

are unlikely to cause many deaths, because

they will fall in areas where most people have
already been killed. However, the radioactivity
will complicate efforts at rescue or eventual
reconstruct ion.
The radioactive particles that rise higher will
be carried some distance by the wind before
returning to Earth, and hence the area and intensity of the fallout is strongly influenced by
local weather conditions. Much of the material
is simply blown downwind in a long plume,
The map shown in figure 2 illustrates the
plume expected from a 1-Mt surface burst in
Detroit if winds were blowing toward Canada.
The illustrated plume assumed that the winds
were blowing at a uniform speed of 15 mph
[24 km] over the entire region, The plume
wouId be longer and thinner if the winds were
more intense and shorter and somewhat more
broad if the winds were slower. If the winds
were from a different direction, the plume
would cover a different area. For example, a
wind from the northwest would deposit
enough fallout on Cleveland to inflict acute
radiation sickness on those who did not
evacuate or use effective fallout shelters
(figure 3). Thus wind direction can make an
enormous difference. Rainfal I can also have a
significant influence on the ways in which
radiation from smalIer weapons is deposited,
since rain will carry contaminated particles to
the ground. The areas receiving such contaminated rainfall would become hot spots, with
greater radiation intensity than their surroundings, When the radiation intensity from fallout
is great enough to pose an immediate threat to
health, fallout will generally be visible as a thin
layer of dust.
The amount of radiation produced by fallout materials will decrease with time as the
radioactive materials decay. Each material
decays at a different rate, Materials that decay
rapidly give off intense radiation for a short
period of time while long-lived materials radiate less intensely but for longer periods, Immediately after the fallout is deposited in
regions surrounding the blast site, radiation intensities will be very high as the short-lived

materials decay. These intense radiations will

decrease relatively quickly. The intensity will
have fallen by a factor of 10 after 7 hours, a
factor of 100 after 49 hours and a factor of
1,000 after 2 weeks. The areas in the plume illustrated in figures 2 and 3 would become
safe (by peacetime standards) in 2 to 3 years
for the outer ellipse, and in 10 years or so for
the inner ellipse.
Some radioactive particles will be thrust
into the stratosphere, and may not return to
Earth for some years. In this case only the particularly long-lived particles pose a threat, and
they are dispersed around the world over a
range of latitudes, Some fallout from U.S. and
Soviet weapons tests in the 1950s and early
1960s can still be detected. There are also
some particles in the immediate fallout (notably Strontium 90 and Cesium 137) that remain
radioactive for years. Chapter V discusses the
likely hazards from these long-lived particles.
The biological effects of fallout radiation
are substantially the same as those from direct
radiation, discussed above, People exposed to
enough fallout radiation wiII die, and those exposed to lesser amounts may become ill. Chapter 11 I discusses the theory of fallout sheltering, and chapter IV some of the practical difficulties of escaping fallout from a large counterforce attack.
There is some public interest in the question
of the consequences if a nuclear weapon destroyed a nuclear powerplant. The core of a
power reactor contains large quantities of
radioactive material, which tends to decay
more slowly (and hence less intensely) than the
fallout particles from a nuclear weapon explosion, Consequently, fallout from a destroyed
nuclear reactor (whose destruction would, incidently, require a high-accuracy surface burst)
would not be much more intense (during the
first day) or widespread than ordinary fallout, but would stay radioactive for a considerably longer time. Areas receiving such fallout wouId have to be evacuated or decontaminated; otherwise survivors would have to stay
in shelters for months,

Figure 2. Main Fallout Pattern Uniform 15 mph Southwest Wind (1-Mt Surface Burst in Detroit).
(Contours for 7-Day Accumulated Dose (Without Shielding) of 3,000,900,300, and 90 Rem.)

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

Figure 3. Main Fallout Pattern lJniforrn 15 mph Northwest Wind (1-Mt Surface Burst in Detroit).
(Contours for 7-Day Accumulated Dose (Without Shielding) of 3,000,900,300, and 90 Rem.)

25

26 . The Effects of Nuclear War

posed to 300 reins, particularly if treatment is delayed. Blood damage will clearly make a victim more susceptible to
blood loss and infection. This has been
confirmed in laboratory animals in which
a borderline lethal radiation dose was
followed a week later by a blast overpressure that alone would have produced
a low level of prompt lethality. The number of prompt and delayed (from radiation) deaths both increased over what
would be expected from the single effect
alone.

Combined Injuries (Synergism)

So far the discussion of each major effect
(blast, nuclear radiation, and thermal radiation) has explained how this effect in isolation
causes deaths and injuries to humans. It is customary to calculate the casualties accompanying hypothetical nuclear explosion as follows:
for any given range, the effect most likely to
kill people is selected and its consequences
calculated, while the other effects are ignored.
it is obvious that combined injuries are possible, but there are no generally accepted ways
of calculating their probability. What data do
exist seem to suggest that calculations of
single effects are not too inaccurate for immediate deaths, but that deaths occurring
some time after the explosion may well be due
to combined causes, and hence are omitted
from most calculations. Some of the obvious
possibilities are:
Nuclear Radiation Combined With Thermal
Radiation. Severe burns place considerable stress on the blood system, and often
cause anemia. It is clear from experiments
with laboratory animals that exposure of a
burn victim to more than 100 reins of radiation will impair the bloods ability to support recovery from the thermal burns.
Hence a sublethal radiation dose could
make it impossible to recover from a burn
that, without the radiation, would not
cause death.

Nuclear Radiation Combined With Mechanical Injuries. Mechanical injuries, the indirect results of blast, take many forms.
Flying glass and wood will cause puncture
wounds. Winds may blow people into obstructions, causing broken bones, concussions, and internal injuries. Persons caught
in a collapsing building can suffer many
similar mechanical injuries. There is evidence that all of these types of injuries are
more serious if the person has been ex-

Thermal Radiation and Mechanical lniuries. There is no information available

about the effects of this combination,
beyond the common sense observation
that since each can place a great stress on
a healthy body, the combination of injuries that are individually tolerable may
subject the body to a total stress that it
injuries
cannot tolerate. Mechanical
should be prevalent at about the distance
from a nuclear explosion that produces
sublethal burns, so this synergism could
be an important one.

In general, synergistic effects are most likely

to produce death when each of the injuries
alone is quite severe. Because the uncertainties of nuclear effects are compounded when
one tries to estimate the likelihood of two or
more serious but (individually) nonfatal injuries, there really is no way to estimate the number of victims.
A further dimension of the problem is the
possible synergy between injuries and environmental damage. To take one obvious example,
poor sanitation (due to the loss of electrical
power and water pressure) can clearly compound the effects of any kind of serious injury.
Another possibility is that an injury would so
immobilize the victim that he would be unable
to escape from a fire.

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

27

DETROIT AND LENINGRAD

Detroit and Leningrad are representative industrial cities large enough to warrant the use
of very large weapons. Both have metropolitan
populations of about 4.3 million, and both are
major transportation and industrial centers.
In assessing and describing the damage, several assumptions were made that may not be
realistic, but which assisted in making a clear
presentation of the range of possible effects:

. There is no warning. The popuIations have

not evacuated or sought shelter, both of
which measures could reduce casualties.

The detonations take place at night when

most people are at their residences. This
corresponds to the available census data
about where people are, and indeed people are near their residences more than
half the time.

There is clear weather, with visibility of 10

miles [16 km].

The air bursts are at an altitude that maximizes the area of 30 psi or more overpressure. A higher height of burst would
have increased the range of 5-psi overpressure (i.e. destruction of all residences) by
up to 10 percent, at the cost of less
damage to very hard structures near the
center of the explosion.

No other cities are attacked, an assumption that allows for analyzing the extent
of outside help that would be required, if
it were avaiIable.

The l-Mt explosion on the surface leaves a

crater about 1,000 feet [300 m] in diameter and
200 feet [61 m] deep, surrounded by a rim of
highly radioactive soil about twice this diameter thrown out of the crater. Out to a distance
of 0.6 miles [1 km] from the center there will be
nothing recognizable remaining, with the exception of some massive concrete bridge abutments and building foundations. At 0.6 miles
some heavily damaged highway bridge sections will remain, but little else until 1.3 miles
[2. I km], where a few very strongly constructed
buildings with poured reinforced concrete
walls will survive, but with the interiors totally
destroyed by blast entering the window openings. A distance of 1.7 miles [2.7 km] (1 2-psi
ring) is the closest range where any significant
structure wilI remain standing.
Of the 70,000 people in this area during nonworking hours, there will be virtually no survivors. (See table 4.) Fatalities during working
hours in this business district would undoubtedly be much higher. The estimated daytime population of the downtown area is
something over 200,000 in contrast to the census data of about 15,000. If the attack occurred during this time, the fatalities would be
increased by 130,000 and injuries by 45,000
over the estimates in table 4. Obviously there
would be some reduction in casualties in outlying residential areas where the daytime population would be lower.

Physical Damage

In the band between the 1.7- and the 2.7-mile

(5 psi) circles, typical commercial and residential multistory buildings will have the walls
completely blown out, but increasingly at the
greater distances the skeletal structure will remain standing.

Figure 4 shows the metropolitan area of

Detroit, with Windsor, Canada, across the river
to the southeast and Lake St. Clair directly
east. The detonation point selected is the intersection of 1-75 and 1-94, approximately at
the civic center and about 3 miles [5 km] from
the Detroit-Windsor tunnel entrance. Circles
are drawn at the 12-, 5-, 2-, and 1-psi Iimits.

Individual residences in this region will be

totally destroyed, with only foundations and
basements remaining, and the debris quite uniformly distributed over the area. Heavy industrial plants will be destroyed in the inner part
of the ring, but some industry will remain functional towards the outer edge. The debris
depth that will clutter the streets will naturally

1 Mt on the Surface in Detroit

28

The Effects of Nuclear War

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons . 29

:1

<--

+--~--k

Miles

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

o-1 7
1 7-27
27-47
47-74

91
13.8
465
1026

70
250
400
600

70
130
20
0

0
100
180
150

31

0
20
200
450

depend on both the building heights and how

close together they are spaced. Typical depths
might range from tens of feet in the downtown
area where buildings are 10 to 20 stories high,
down to several inches where buildings are
lower and streets broader in the sector to the
west and north, In this band, blast damage
alone will destroy all automobiles, while some
heavier commercial vehicles (firetrucks and
repair vehicles) will survive near the outer
edges. However, few vehicles will have been
sufficiently protected from debris to remain
useful. The parking lots of both Cobb Field and
Tiger Stadium will contain nothing driveable.

less than 1 percent of the population might be

exposed to direct thermal radiation, while on a
clear summer weekend afternoon more than
25 percent might be exposed (that is, have no
structure between the fireball and the person).
When visibility is 10 miles [16 km], a l-Mt explosion produces second-degree burns at a distance of 6 miles [10 km], while under circumstances when visibility is 2 miles [3 km], the
range of second-degree burns is only 2.7 miles
[4.3 km]. Table 5 shows how this variation
could cause deaths from thermal radiation to
vary between 1,000 and 190,000, and injuries to
vary between 500 and 75,000.

I n this same ring, which contains a nighttime

population of about 250,000, about half will be
fatalities, with most of the remainder being injured. Most deaths will occur from collapsing
buildings. Although many fires will be started,
only a small percentage of the buildings are
Iikely to continue to burn after the blast wave
passes. The mechanics of fire spread in a
heavily damaged and debris strewn area are
not well understood. However, it is probable
that fire spread would be slow and there would
be no firestorm. For unprotected people, the
initial nuclear radiation would be lethal out to
1.7 miles [2.7 km], but be insignificant in its
prompt effects (50 reins) at 2.0 miles [3.2 km].
Since few people inside a 2-mile ring will survive the blast, and they are very Iikely to be in
strong buildings that typically have a 2- to 5protection factor, the additional fatalities and
injuries from initial radiation should be small
compared to other uncertainties.

In the band from 2.7 to 4.7 miles [4.4 to 7.6

km] (2 psi), large buildings will have lost windows and frames, interior partitions, and, for
those with light-walled construction, most of
the contents of upper floors will have been
blown out into the streets. Load-bearing wall
buildings at the University of Detroit will be
severely cracked. Low residential buildings will
be totally destroyed or severely damaged.
Casualties are estimated to be about 50 percent in this region, with the majority of these
injured. There wilI stiIl be substantial debris in
the streets, but a very significant number of
cars and trucks will remain operable. In this
zone, damage to heavy industrial plants, such
as the Cadillac plant, will be severe, and most
planes and hangars at the Detroit City Airport
wilI be destroyed.

The number of casualties from thermal

burns depends on the time of day, season, and
atmospheric visibility. Modest variations in
these factors produce huge changes in vulnerability to burns. For example, on a winter night

In this ring only 5 percent of the population

of about 400,000 will be killed, but nearly half
will be injured (table 4). This is the region of
the most severe fire hazard, since fire ignition
and spread is more likely in partly damaged
buildings than in completely flattened areas.
Perhaps 5 percent of the buildings would be
initially ignited, with fire spread to adjoining

32

The Effects of Nuclear War

buildings highly likely if their separation is less

than 50 feet [15 m]. Fires will continue to
spread for 24 hours at least, ultimately destroying about half the buildings. However, these
estimates are extremely uncertain, as they are
based on poor data and unknown weather conditions. They are also made on the assumption
that no effective effort is made by the uninjured half of the population in this region to
prevent the ignition or spread of fires.
As table 5 shows, there would be between
4,000 and 95,000 additional deaths from thermal radiation in this band, assuming a visibility
of 10 miles [16 km]. A 2-mile [3 km] visibility
would produce instead between 1,000 and
11,000 severe injuries, and many of these
would subsequently die because adequate
medical treatment would not be available.
In the outermost band (4.7 to 7.4 miles [7.6
to 11.9 km]) there will be only light damage to
commercial structures and moderate damage
to residences. Casualties are estimated at 25
percent injured and only an insignificant number killed (table 4). Under the range of conditions displayed in table 5, there will be an additional 3,000 to 75,000 burn injuries requiring
specialized medical care. Fire ignitions should
be comparatively rare (limited to such kindling
material as newspaper and dry leaves) and
easily control led by the survivors.

Whether fallout comes from the stem or the

cap of the mushroom is a major concern in the
general vicinity of the detonation because of
the time element and its effect on general
emergency operations. Fallout from the stem
starts building after about 10 minutes, so during the first hour after detonation it represents
the prime radiation threat to emergency crews.
The affected area would have a radius of
about 6.5 miles [10.5 km] (as indicated by the
dashed circle on figure 4) with a hot-spot a
distance downwind that depends on the wind
velocity. If a 15-mph wind from the southwest
is assumed, an area of about 1 mi2 [260 hectares]the solid ellipse shown would cause
an average exposure of 300 reins in the first
hour to people with no fallout protection at
all. The larger toned ellipse shows the area of
150 reins in the first hour. But the important
feature of short-term (up to 1 hour) fallout is
the relatively small area covered by lifethreatening radiation levels compared to the
area covered by blast damage.
Starting in about an hour, the main fallout
from the cloud itself will start to arrive, with
some of it adding to the already-deposited
local stem fallout, but the bulk being distributed in an elongated downwind ellipse.
Figures 2 and 3 show two fallout patterns, differing only in the direction of the wind. The

Table 5.Burn Casualty Estimates

(1 Mt on Detroit)
Distance from
blast (mi)

Survivors of
blast effects

Fatalities (eventual)
2-mile visibility
10-mile visibility

Injuries
2-mile visibility

10-mile visibility

(1 percent of population exposed to line of sight from fireball)

0 - 1 . 7
1
7 - 2 7
2 7 - 4 . 7 .
47-74.
Total (rounded

120,000
380,000
600,000

1,200
0
0

1, 200
3,800
2,600

1,000

8,000

o
500
0
.
500

0
0
3,000
3,000

(25 percent of population exposed to line of sight from fireball)

0 - 1
7 .
1
7 - 2 7 ,
2 . 7 - 4 7
4 , 7 - 7 4 .
Total (rounded)

o
120,000
380.000
600,000

30,000
0
0

30,000

30,000
95,000
66,000
190.000

11,000

0
11.000

751000
75,000

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons 33

contours marked are the number of reins received in the week following the arrival of the
cloud fat lout, again assuming no fallout protection whatever. Realistic patterns, which will
reflect wind shear, 2 wider crosswind distribution, and other atmospheric vari ~bilities, will
be much more complex than this i lustration.

Infrastructure Status
As a complement to the prece ~ing description of physical destruction, the status of the
various infrastructure elements of the Detroit
metropolitan area, and the potential for their
recovery, can be addressed. The reader should
understand that this tutorial considers Detroit
to be the only damaged area in the United
States, that there is no other threat that would
prevent survivors and those in surrounding
areas from giving all possible aid, and that
Federal and State governments will actively
organize outside assistance.
The near half-million injured present a medical task of incredible magnitude. Those parts
of Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties
shown on the map have 63 hospitals containing about 18,000 beds. However, 55 percent of
these beds are inside the 5-psi ring and thus
totally destroyed. Another 15 percent in the 2to 5-psi band will be severely damaged, leaving
5,000 beds remaining outside the region of significant damage. Since this is only 1 percent of
the number of injured, these beds are incapable of providing significant medical assistance. In the first few days, transport of injured
out of the damaged area will be severely hampered by debris clogging the streets. In general,
only the nonprofessional assistance of nearby
survivors can hope to hold down the large
number of subsequent deaths that would
otherwise occur. Even as transportation for the
injured out of the area becomes available in
subsequent days, the total medical facilities of
the United States will be severely overburdened, since in 1977 there were only 1,407,000
hospital beds in the whole United States. Burn
victims will number in the tens of thousands;
yet in 1977 there were only 85 specialized burn

centers, with probably 1,000 to 2,000 beds, in

the entire United States.
The total loss of all utilities in areas where
there has been significant physical damage to
the basic structure of buildings is inevitable.
The electric power grid will show both the inherent strength and weakness of its complex
network. The CO I lapse of buiIdings and the toppling of trees and utility poles, along with the
injection of tens of thousands of volts of EMP
into wires, will cause the immediate loss of
power in a major sector of the total U.S. power
grid. Main electrical powerplants (near Grosse
Point Park to the east, and Zug Island to the
south) are both in the l-psi ring and should suffer only superficial damage. Within a day the
major area grid should be restored, bringing
power back to facilities located as close to the
blast as the l-psi ring. Large numbers of powerIine workers and their equipment brought in
from the surrounding States will be able to
gradually restore service to surviving structures in the 1- to 2-psi ring over a period of
days.
The water distribution system will remain
mostly intact since, with the exception of one
booster pumping station at 2 psi (which will
suffer only minor damage), its facilities are
outside the damaged area. However, the loss
of electric power to the pumps and the breaking of many service connections to destroyed
buildings will immediately cause the loss of all
water pressure. Service to the whole area will
be restored only when the regional power grid
is restored, and to the areas of Iight and intermediate damage only as valves to broken
pipes can be located and shut off over a period
of days. There will be only sporadic damage to
buried mains in the 2- to 5-psi region, but with
increasing frequency in the 5- to 12-psi region.
Damaged sections near the explosion center
wiII have to be closed off.
The gas distribution system will receive similar damage: loss of pressure from numerous
broken service connections, some broken
mains, particularly in the 5- to 12-psi ring, and

34 The Effects of Nuc/ear War

numerous resulting fires. Service will be slowly

restored only as utility repairmen and service
equipment are brought in from surrounding
areas.

dustry depends heavily on rail transportation,

but rail equipment and lines will usually survive wherever the facilities they support survive.

Rescue and recovery operations will depend

heavily on the reestablishment of transportation, which in Detroit relies on private cars,
buses, and commercial trucks, using a radial
interstate system and a conventional urban
grid. Since bridges and overpasses are surprisingly immune to blast effects, those interstate
highways and broad urban streets without significant structures nearby will survive as far in
as the 12-psi ring and can be quickly restored
to use on clearing away minor amounts of
debris. However, the majority of urban streets
will be cluttered with varying quantities of
debris, starting with tree limbs and other minor
obstacles at 1 psi, and increasing in density up
to the 12-psi ring, where all buildings, trees,
and cars will be smashed and quite uniformly
redistributed over the area. It could take
weeks or months to remove the debris and
restore road transportation in the area.

Most gasoline fuel oil tanks are located out

beyond Dearborn and Lincoln Park and, at 16
miles from the detonation, will have suffered
no damage. Arrival of fuel should not be impeded, but its distribution will be totally
dependent on cleanup of streets and highways.

The Detroit city airport, located in the middle of the 2- to 5-psi ring, will have essentially
all of its aircraft and facilities destroyed.
Usually runways can be quickly restored to use
following minor debris removal but, in this particular example with the southwest wind, the
airport is the center of the fallout hot spot
from the dust column as well as of the intensive fallout from the cloud. Thus, cleanup efforts to restore flight operations could not
commence for 2 weeks at the earliest, with the
workers involved in the cleanup receiving 100
reins accumulated during the third week. The
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
and the Willow Run Airport are far outside the
blast effects area and would be available as
soon as the regional power grid electric service
was restored.
The main train station, near the DetroitWindsor highway tunnel, would have suffered
major damage (5 psi), but since few people
commute to the downtown area by train, its
loss would not be a major factor in the overall
paralysis of transportation. The surrounding in-

The civil defense control center, located just

beyond the Highland Park area in the 1- to 2psi ring, should be able to function without impairment. Commercial communications systems (television and base radio transmitters)
will be inoperable both from the loss of commercial power in the area and, for those facilities in the blast area, from EMP. Those not
blast damaged should be restored in several
days. In the meantime, mobile radio systems
will provide the primary means of communicating into the heavily damaged areas. The
telephone system will probably remain largely
functional in those areas where the lines have
survived structural damage in collapsing buildings, or street damage in areas where they are
not buried.
Radioactive Fallout
The extent and location of radioactive fallout will depend on weather conditions, especially the speed and direction of the wind.
Figures 2 and 3 show how a uniform wind
velocity of 15 mph could distribute fallout
either over sparsely popuIated farming areas in
Canada if the wind is from the southwest, or
over Cleveland and Youngstown, Ohio, and
Pittsburgh, Pa., if the wind is from the northwest. It should not be forgotten that these fallout patterns are idealizedsuch neat elipses
would occur in reality only with an absolutely
constant wind and no rain.
No effort was made to calculate the deaths,
injuries, or economic losses that might result
from such fallout patterns. However, the possibilities are instructive:
. The onset of fallout would depend on
wind velocity and distance from the ex-

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

plosion and it would be most dangerous

during the first few days. In the case of an
attack on a single city (using a surface
burst, as our example does), people living
downwind would probably evacuate.
Those who neither evacuated nor found
adequate fallout shelters would be subjected to dangerous levels of radiation:
people in the inner contour would receive
a fatal dose within the first week; people
in the next contour out would contract
very severe radiation sickness if they
stayed indoors and would probably receive a fatal dose if they spent much time
outdoors; people in the next contour out
would contract generally nonfatal radiation sickness, with increased hazards of
deaths from other diseases. People in the
outer contour (9o roentgens in the first
week) would suffer few visible effects, but
their life expectancy would drop as a
result of an increased risk of eventual
cancer.
As time passes, the continuing decay of
fallout radiation could be accelerated by
decontamination. Some decontamination
takes place naturally, as rain washes
radioactive particles away, and as they
are leached into the soil which attenuates
the radiation. It is also possible to take
specific measures to speed decontamination. Presumably evacuees would not
move back into a contaminated area until
the effects of time and decontamination
had made it safe.
A Iimiting case is one in which no significant decontamination takes place, and
areas receiving fallout become safe only
when the radioactive particles have decayed to safe levels. Decay to a level of
500 millirems per year would require 8 to
10 years for the inner contour (3,000 roentgens in the first week); 6 years or so for the
next contour (900 roentgens in the first
week); 3 to 4 years for the next contour
(300 roentgens in the first week); and
about 3 years for the outer contour (90
roentgens in the first week).
Natural
processes could concentrate
some radioactive particles, and those that

35

entered the food chain could pose an additional hazard.

Summary
It should be emphasized that there are many
uncertainties in the assumptions underlying
the description of the results of a l-Mt surface
burst in Detroit. Nevertheless, several salient
features stand out:

seventy square miles of property destruction (2 psi),

a quarter-of -a-roil I ion fatalities, plus half a
million injuries,
additional damage from widespread fires,
casualties could have been greatly re
duced by an alert and informed population, and
rescue and recovery operations must be
organized and heavily supported from
outside the area (food, medical, utility restoration, and cleanup).

l-Mt Air Burst on Detroit

For comparison, the same l-Mt nuclear
weapon was assumed to have been air burst at
an altitude of 6,000 feet [1.8 km] over the same
interstate intersection as used in the preceding
ground burst discussion. This altitude will maximize the size of the 30-psi circle, but the
radius of the 5-psi circle that results will be
only 10 percent smaller than what would have
resulted from a height of burst raised to the 5psi optimized value. There will be several
significant differences in this case.

The sizes of the rings of pressure damage

wilI be larger.
The range of thermal burns and fire starts
will also increase.
There will be no significant fallout.
There will be no crater.
The strongest structures may partly survive even directly under the blast.

Figure 5 shows the corresponding pressure

circles and figure 6 (second column) illustrates
that the number of fatalities nearly doubled,
and the number of injured have greatly increased. At the same time, damage to major in-

36 The Effects of Nuc/ear War

Figure 5. Detroit l-Mt Air Burst

6
4
Miles

10

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

37

Figure 6.Casualties (thousands)

Population
(1 ,000s)
4,000

1,100

3,000

1,360

2,000

1,260

2,460

1,000

1,840

.
390

420
s

220

dustrial facilities is becoming significant, with

the Chrysler plant in the middle of the 2- to 5psi band, and the Ford River Rouge plant in the
1- to 2-psi band.

25-Mt Air Burst on Detroit

For 25 Mt, we assumed a burst altitude of
17,500 feet [5.3 km], over the same detonation
point. Figure 7 shows the 12-, 5-, and 2-psi rings,
but the 1-psi ring at 30.4 miles [48.9 km] is completely off the map. It is obvious that damage
and casualties wouId be increased even further
had the detonation point been moved about 5

miles [8 km] to the northwest. But even without

this shift, it is clear that the whole metropolitan area has been heavily damaged by the explosive power of this huge weapon. The casualties are again shown on figure 6 (column 3).
The contrasts to the l-Mt surface burst are
stark:

There will be very few survivors (1.1 million available to assist the much more numerous casualtie
1-Mt
surface
burst
in
which
3.7 million survivors were potentially
avai I able to assist the 640,000 casualties.

38 . The Effects of Nuclear War

Figure 7. Detroit 25-Mt Air Burst

6
Miles

10

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons . 39

There wilI be virtually no habitable housing in the area.

Essentially all heavy industry will be totally destroyed.

As a result, rescue operations will have to be

totally supported from outside the area, with
evacuation of the 1.2 mi II ion survivors the only
feasible course. Recovery and rebuilding will
be a very long-term, problematical issue.

Leningrad
Leningrad is a major industrial and transportation center built on the low-lying delta where
the Neva River enters the Gulf of Finland. The
older part of the city is built on the delta itself,
with the newer residential sections leapfrogging industrial sections, primarily to the south
and southwest (figure 8). The residential and
commercial (but not industrial) areas are
shown on the map.
The major difference between housing in
Leningrad and that in Detroit is that Leningrad
suburbs contain very few single-family residences. In the older part of Leningrad, the
buildings have masonry load-bearing walls and
wooden interior construction and are typically
six to eight stories, reflecting the early code
that only church spires could be higher than
the Tsars Winter Palace. The post-World War
I I housing construction is 10- to 12-story apartments having steel frames and precast concrete walls, with the buildings comfortably
spaced on wide thoroughfares in open parklike
settings.
Since actual population density data for
Leningrad was unavailable, simplifying demographic assumptions are used. The assumed
populated areas are shown in figure 9, broken
down into l-km [0.6 mile] squares. The stated
area of Leningrad is 500 km 2 [193 mi2]. Since
the shaded squares cover 427 km2 [165 mi2], it
is assumed that the remaining areas are relatively uninhabited at night. It has also been
assumed that in these inhabited areas the
population density is uniform at 10,000 per
km, because although the building density is
lower in the newer apartment areas, the build-

ings themselves are generalIy higher. Thus, the

population density does not drop off as it does
in the U.S. suburbs of predominately singlefamily houses.

l-Mt and 9-Mt Air Bursts on Leningrad

The Leningrad apartments described are
likely to have their walls blown out, and the
people swept out, at about 5 psi, even though
the remaining steel skeleton will withstand
much higher pressures. Thus, although the type
of construction is totally different from Detroit, the damage levels are so similar that the
same relationship between overpressure and
casualties is assumed (figure 1, p. 19).
The l-Mt and 9-Mt air burst pressure rings
are shown in figures 10 and 11. Note that for
the 9-Mt case the l-psi ring falls completely off
the map, as was the case for 25 Mt on Detroit.
The calculated casualties are illustrated on
figure 6 (columns 4 and 5), and are about double those for Detroit for the comparable l-Mt
case. This resuIts directly from the higher average population density. Other contrasts between the cities can be noted; in Leningrad:

People live close to where they work. In

general, there is no daily cross-city movement.
Buildings (except in the old part of the
city) are unlikely to burn.
Apartment building spacing is so great as
to make fire spread unlikely, even though
a few buiIdings wouId burn down.
There will be much less debris preventing
access to damaged areas.
Transportation is by rail to the outlying
areas, and by an excellent metro system
within the city.
There is only one television station in
the middle of the city so mass communications would be interrupted until other
broadcasting equipment was brought in
and set up.

Ten 40-kt Air Bursts on Leningrad

Figure 12 shows one possible selection of
burst points, set to have the 5-psi circles

40 The Effects of Nuclear War

Figure 8. LeningradCommercial and Residential Sections

, ,

I I

lm.
13

12

In

Ch, IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons . 41

Figure 9.LeningradPopulated Area

TIT
I

,I

,I
,

,.4

.I

42 . The Effects of Nuclear War

Figure 10. Leningrad 1Mt Air Burst

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

Figure 11 .Leningrad 9-Mt Air Burst

, ,
LENINGRAD

43

44

The

Effects of Nuclear War

.<

!,
+

Ch. IIA Nuclear Weapon Over Detroit or Leningrad: A Tutorial on the Effects of Nuclear Weapons

touching, and with only the envelope of the 2and l-psi rings shown, Since this is an effects
discussion only, it is assumed that this precise
pattern can be achieved. The errors arising
from neglecting the overlap of the 2- to 5-psi
bands will be negligible compared to uncertainties in population distribution and structural design. Casualty estimates are shown in
the right hand column of figure 6 (p. 37). Note

45

that fatalities are only slightly greater than for

the l-Mt case, which corresponds well to the
equivalent megatonage (1.17 Mt) of the ten 40kiloton (kt) weapons. However, the number of
injured are considerably smaller because they
primarily occur in the 2- to 5-psi band, which is
much smalIer for the 40-kt pattern than for the
single 1-Mt case.

1-KT TERRORIST WEAPON AT GROUND LEVEL

To this point this chapter has addressed
nuclear effects from current strategic weapon
systems. Another nuclear weapon of concern is
one constructed by terrorists and detonated in
a major city, * A terrorist group using stolen or
diverted fission material, having general technical competence but lacking direct weapon
design experience, could probably build a
weapon up to several kilotons. This weapon
would be large and heavy, certainly not the
often-discussed suitcase bomb, so is Iikely to
be transported in a van or small truck, with
threatened detonation either in the street or
the parking garage of a building.
Because of the locations and yield of this
weapon, its effects will be much less devasting
than those of high-yield, strategic weapons.
The range and magnitude of all the nuclear effects will be greatly reduced by the low yields;
in addition, the relative range of lethal effects
will be changed. At high yields, blast and thermal burn reach out to greater distances than
does the initial nuclear radiation. At 1 kt the
reverse is true; for example, 5-psi overpressure
occurs at 1,450 feet [442 m], while 600 reins of
initial radiation reaches out to 2,650 feet [808
m], For the 1-Mt surface burst, 5 psi occurred at
2.7 miles and 600 reins at 1.7 miles.
In addition to these changes in range, the
highly built-up urban structure in which the
weapon is placed wilI significantly modify the
resulting nuclear environment. This occurs
* O T A r e p o r t o n NucIear
guards, U S Government Printing
111-12.2

Proliferation andi SafeOffice, June 1977, pp

when the lethal range of effects shrink to such

an extent that they are comparable to the size
of urban structures. It is indeed reasonable to
expect that the blast effects of a smalI weapon
(5 psi at a range of only 1,450 feet) will be
severely infIuenced by nearby structures having comparable dimensions. Preliminary calculations have confirmed this. For example, suppose a device is detonated in a van parked
alongside a 1,000-foot high building in the middle of the block of an urban complex of rather
closely spaced streets in one direction and
more broadly spaced avenues in the other direction. Whereas the 2.5-psi ring would have a
radius of 2,100 feet [640 m] detonated on a
smooth surface, it is found that this blast wave
extends to 2,800 feet [850 m] directly down the
street, but to only 1,500 feet [460 m] in a random direction angling through the built-up
blocks. These calculations have been made by
many approximating factors which, if more accurately represented, would probably lead to
an even greater reduction in range.
Other weapons effects will be similarly modified from those predicted on the basis of a
relatively open target area. I n the case of initial nuclear radiation, a lethal 600 rem would
be expected to extend to 2,650 feet [808 m ]
from 1 kt. Because of the great absorption of
this radiation as it passes through the multiple
walIs of the several buildings in a block, it is
expected that 600 reins will reach out no further than 800 feet [245 m], thus covering an
area onIy one-tenth as great. The thermal radiation wilI affect only those directly exposed up

46 The Effects of Nuclear War

and down the street, while the majority of people will be protected by buildings. For the
same reason directly initiated fires will be insignificant, but the problem of secondary fires
starting from building damage wilI remain. The
local fallout pattern also will be highly
distorted by the presence of the buildings. The
fireball, confined between the buildings, will
be blown up to a higher altitude than otherwise expected, leading to reduced local fallout
but causing broadly distributed long-term
fallout.

In summary, the ranges of nuclear effects

from a low-yield explosion in the confined
space of an urban environment will differ significantly from large yield effects, but in ways
that are very difficult to estimate. Thus the
numbers of people and areas of buildings affected are very uncertain. However, it appears
that, with the exception of streets directly exposed to the weapon, lethal ranges to people
will be smaller than anticipated and dominated by the blast-induced CO I lapse of nearby
buiIdings.