By Ya Han Hsu

After the two nuclear bombs exploded in Japan, the U.S. government had tried to cover the truth of radioactives’ damage, but a brave man stood up against it.

On August sixth, a bomb dropped down from Hiroshima. People glanced up at the sky, scared, curious, everything was blown to ashes a few seconds later. Eighty thousand lives were killed directly by the blast. The newest and deadliest weapon, the nuclear bomb, was issued the first time by the U.S. Three days later, the same thing happened in Nagasaki, another forty thousand lives taken away just like that. A few days later, Japan surrendered, and world war two ended. Though the war ended, the damage in Japan continues. There were more people hurt and dead after the explosion.

However, soon after the explosion, the governor tried to cover up the radiation dispute in Japan. The next day (1945, August seventh) an article’s headline in The Times stated that it found “No Radioactivity in Hiroshima Ruin.” Charles Loeb, a black war correspondent, and his aides stood up against this. He reported the details of a nuclear explosion that there are two kinds of harm after a nuclear explosion.

First, a wave of neutrons and gamma rays is sent out by the fireball in the first few seconds. It’s so strong and powerful that it’s still able to pierce through concrete and the human body from miles away. Imagine those neutrons, millions and billions like tiny bullets shot through the body, tearing up the DNAs and cells. However these kinds of waves disappear after a few seconds and make it hard to measure.

Another long term harm is the radiative fragments. As the nuclear bomb explodes, it leaves several kinds of radioactive fragments including Strontium-90 and Cesium-137. They are radioactive because they are unstable and may change to other kinds of elements. The harm could last for years, causing cancer, deformed babies etc.

The article was carried by several publishers including The Atlanta Daily World and other Black-owned newspapers in October. Charles Loeb wrote it in an unemotional way like a science report. He numbered his conclusion, including blast, damage and radioactive. His report helped people to understand what really happened, and forced governments to admit ‘a bit’ of the truth.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-bomber-drops-atomic-bomb-on-hiroshima

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/science/charles-loeb-atomic-bomb.html