Beyond “Deer in the Headlights” and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse–Planning NOW for Civilian Defense after Nuclear Detonation in Anglophone Medical Forums
James Jeng1, 1University Of California Irvine, Orange, California, United States of America
Abstract
“A Call to Arms”
In the previous decade, the global disaster cognoscenti were occupied with contingency planning in response to a terrorist “improvised nuclear device”, meaning by definition “low yield” in relation to the Hiroshima attack of 1945.
Hindsight makes those worries and parameter space seem somewhat quaint and relatively digestible, contrary to the state of geopolitics in the 2020’s. Thermonuclear warheads are now in the hands of multiple states that have no compunction saber-rattling about first-strike use. International borders are frangible at the feet of those covetous of others’ land or resources. The strong take the weak in this new reality.
Even now, calls for help from Ukraine to best prepare for a nuclear detonation are being responded to by international teams of individuals and organizations who harbor some degree of expertise. From this fraught exercise, it is clear that sensible mitigations for civilian defense are possible–and must be executed.
Preparations are complicated by the fact that some data are closely held by governments as classified information. However, enough remains within the public domain to share and incite coordinated preparations across the Anglophone medical community.
The “man in the street” expects that “someone” is getting things well-sorted for such a contingency. We can’t let him down…
Biography
Please use the brief biography tendered with the first of my submitted abstracts.