Vulnerability of populations and the urban health care systems to nuclear weapon attack – examples from four American cities

Table 4 Effect of 550 Kt detonation on health care in four cities*

Affects of 550 Kt Detonation within 0.1% mortality contour and 1psi	Washington	New York	Chicago	Atlanta
Hospital Beds in Affected Area (in thousands)	9.9	24.5	12.1	4.5
Total Beds within 20/40 miles of incident edge (in thousands)	7.3/13.1	24.0/33.6	9.8/17.3	4.4/10.3
%Beds lost within 20/40 miles of incident edge	57/43	51/42	55/41	50/43
Number of Hospitals in Affected Areas	30	54	42	14
Additional Hospitals within 20/40 miles outside affected area	33/61	77/107	45/72	23/40
% Hospitals lost to incident	48/33	41/34	48/37	38/26
Number of Health Staff Affected by incident (in thousands)	67.1	145.3	75.1	28.8
Additional Health Staff within 20/40 miles (in thousands)	41.7/81.0	127.4/178.2	58.0/99. 8	25.8/35.2
% Health Staff Lost	62/45	53/45	56/43	53/45

• Effect contour was considered to be 0.1% mortality for radiation or 1 pound per square inch for blast, which would break windows and also subject staff to some burn effects when exposed to thermal radiation.

ISSN: 1476-072X