Common knowledge – radioactivity is dangerous to your health – there are stringent restrictions re: radioactivity in the workplace, the environment, etc.
So why do people live in Hiroshima? Is it safe?
How soon after the bomb fell did people begin to return to Hiroshima to live? What was done with all the radioactive debris?
Do people living there today, or born there after WWII, have a higher incidence of birth defects?
I know that different elements decay at different rates, but I would presume there is still enough of something hanging around to be a hazard.
People live in Hiroshima because it’s their home. From what I’ve seen of it, it seems like a pretty nice place to live nowadays, just big enough to not be boring, just small enough not to be overwhelming.
Hiroshima, like almost everywhere in Japan is safe. The crime rate is low and the living standards are high.
But that’s not what you were asking I guess… Radiation is not a problem. There’s a really good faq that answers your questions here.
Many people suffered (and died) due to exposure to radiation, but it was direct exposure to the blast.
I believe there is no proof exposure to radiation leads to birth defects in humans. Anyway, there have been no birth defects due to parents being exposed to radiation in Hiroshima.
As far as I know the cleanup and rebuilding of Hiroshima started almost immediately after the explosion, and though I can’t put a date on when people started living in the downtown area again, it was probably very soon.
There was no radioactive debris so to speak. If you read the faq, you’ll find out that fallout of radioactive products occured in the form of rain (the famous black rain) in the northwest of Hiroshima and neutron radiation was minimal and decayed quickly.
From my two trips to Hiroshima and to the A-Bomb Museum, I can tell you that the radiation levels of Hiroshima are monitored VERY carefully, and possibly more carefully than any other major city in the world.
And since the Hiroshima baseball stadium (a damn good place to watch a game BTW) is just across the street from the A-Bomb Dome (the only non rebuilt structure in downtown Hiroshima after the 1945 blast), I don’t think there is much to worry about.
That’s interesting. Also at that site http://www.rerf.or.jp/eigo/faqs/faq11det.htm explains the amount of material involved compared to Chernobyl was very small. It’s amazing what damage that small amount of material can do.