[Narration]: Many survivors have drawn what they experienced on August 6, 1945.
That day 75 years ago, the United States
released a nuclear bomb that exploded
approximately 600 meters above the city of Hiroshima.
90,000 to 120,000 people died from the blast.
Three days later, Nagasaki was bombed, taking
the lives of another 60,000 to 70,000.
People died instantaneously from the intense heat
released by the bomb, and in the following days, weeks and months
from injuries and acute radiation sickness.
The survivors of the bombings came to be called hibakusha, literally “survivor of the atomic bombs."
Kunihiko Iida is one of them.
He was in Hiroshima when the bomb fell.
Kunihiko Iida [speaking in Japanese]: I was 3 years old at the time of the bombing.
It left me mostly bedridden.
I finally managed to enter elementary school,
but there was no end to my illnesses.
Recently, I’ve been chronically coughing from asthma.
I’ve also had two operations for brain tumors.
[Narration]: Soon after the bombings, Japanese and American researchers
went to the destroyed cities, with different objectives:
The Japanese focused on the bomb’s medical effects on survivors
The Americans wanted to understand how people died from radiation, which could
be useful during future nuclear wars.
In 1947, the U.S. formed the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, or ABCC,
to conduct long-term studies of the victims of the bombings.
In 1975, it was reorganized and renamed the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, or RERF.
120,000 hibakusha were enrolled in studies that would track their health for many decades.
The U.S. chose not to provide medical treatment to the survivors of the bombings,
as it felt this could be seen as an admission of fault.
[Iida]: ABCC does not have a good reputation among the hibakusha.
In my opinion, they were enthusiastic about the research
and tried to do wonderful things.
But many hibakusha were dissatisfied
with the fact that they did not provide treatment.
[Ohtsura Niwa]: I think, you know, human dimension or humanity side has been the second thing
for this institute, especially when this started.
Highlight is the way science being conducted.
Really meticulous and very thorough
and very well-considered.
[Narration]: Scientists used detailed methods to measure radiation
and understand its impact on survivors.
[Narration]: A major focus of the research
was determining how much radiation survivors were exposed to,
which depended on their distance from ground zero,
what type of building they were in,
and even the positioning of their bodies in relation to the explosions.
[Narration]: Over the course of decades, the Life Span Study
allowed scientists to determine the links between radiation dose and cancer risk.
And the findings have helped establish global limits for the maximum dose of radiation
people can be exposed to, for instance, in medical settings.
[Niwa]: All the lay people go to the hospital for diagnosis is getting benefit from survivors—
so to say.
So, their contribution to the world, I mean survivors contribution to the world,
is really great.
We have to follow the survivors to the last member, and that means, you know,
we will be compiling the life-long history of experience of atomic radiation.
[Narration]: Biological samples taken from 30,000 participants over seven decades await
genetic analysis, which could help pinpoint radiation’s effect on molecules in the body.
[Niwa]: We still do not have any direct evidence
that—Okay, yeah, this cancer has so-and-so mutation,
and which is characteristic to radiation-induced mutation,
so we can conclude this cancer is
mutated at so-and-so location of the genome.
In 2017, Niwa presented a plaque of appreciation
to those who participated in the research,
expressing regret that they weren’t offered treatment.
[Niwa]: You really have to take consideration
of humanity side of human dimension.
Otherwise science mean nothing to them,
or maybe negative thing to them.
[Niwa]: The only thing you can do is have connection.
Personal connection, individual connection
to whatever person you are dealing with.
[Iida]: I believe that RERF should continue this research and widely publicize the details.
The role of RERF may be to find how to overcome
the effects of radiation and promote health.
However, in my opinion, publishing research results so they foster peace
would have a greater impact.
Only a few people can describe the true horror of atomic bombs.
Anybody who understands the true horror of atomic bombs,
and the scale of their impact on the human body,
would never think of using atomic bombs again.
I must speak out about the true misery caused by atomic bombs.
It is my mission.
[music]