Witnesses to the Atomic Age: From Hiroshima to Bikini Atoll

On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. A 1946 report from the Manhattan Project Engineer District estimated that Hiroshima experienced approximately 66,000 deaths and 69,000 injuries, while Nagasaki experienced approximately 39,000 deaths and 25,000 injuries. At the time, these numbers were acknowledged as estimates, since the destruction of hospitals, government records, and other infrastructure made an accurate count of casualties difficult. More recent estimates from the Radiation Effects Research Foundation place the number of deaths occurring within two to four months of the bombing at between 90,000 and 166,000 in Hiroshima and between 60,000 and 80,000 in Nagasaki.

Deaths occurred both immediately and during the weeks and months following the bombings. Many people died from the blast, burns, fires, and other traumatic injuries, while others died later from radiation exposure and its complications. The full effects of the bombings, however, were not immediately understood. Shortly after the attacks, teams of scientists, physicians, and military personnel were sent to Japan to assess the impacts of the bombings.

Among those sent from the Manhattan Engineer District was Dr. Stafford L. Warren, a radiologist and early developer of mammography. Dr. Warren was one of the early faculty members of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he developed an early method of using X-rays to detect breast cancer. In 1943, he was commissioned as a colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and appointed Chief of the Medical Section of the Manhattan Engineer District. In this position, he was responsible for the medical care and health and safety programs supporting the thousands of people working on the Manhattan Project.

This was a challenging responsibility. Manhattan Project workers handled toxic chemicals, explosives, high voltages, hazardous gases and liquids, and fissile materials, while scientists and physicians were still learning about the dangers of radiation. Because of this, the Manhattan District developed an extensive safety program. Between January 1943 and June 1945, its occupational injury rate was about 62 percent lower than that of private industry. In December 1945, the National Safety Council recognized the Manhattan Project with its Award of Honor for Distinguished Service to Safety.

Dr. Warren’s work also brought him directly into the dangers of nuclear testing. He was responsible for radiation safety during the Trinity test in New Mexico on July 16, 1945: the first detonation of an atomic weapon.

After the bombings, Dr. Warren participated in a Manhattan Engineer District survey of the effects of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He arrived in Hiroshima on September 8, 1945, as part of an advance party led by Brigadier General Thomas Farrell. Dr. Warren and other physicians examined survivors and documented the effects of the bombing. He then went to Nagasaki, where he led the Manhattan Project’s more extensive medical and radiological survey. Dr. Warren arrived in Nagasaki on September 19th, and his team remained until early October, which provided him with a direct view of the human consequences of the atomic bomb.

Less than a year later, Dr. Warren would see the effects of nuclear weapons again. This time, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

In 1946, the United States organized Operation Crossroads, a series of nuclear tests intended to study the effects of atomic weapons on naval vessels. Dr. Warren served as the Chief of the Radiological Safety Section (RADSAFE), which was responsible for developing and enforcing measures to protect the personnel involved in the operation.

The first test, ABLE, was conducted on July 1, 1946. The second, BAKER, was detonated underwater in the Bikini lagoon on July 25th. Unlike the aerial explosion of ABLE, BAKER threw enormous quantities of radioactive water and debris into the air and across the surrounding target fleet. The ships became heavily contaminated, creating an unforeseen problem: how could the personnel safely inspect and decontaminate the vessels?

Dr. Warren became increasingly concerned about the radiological conditions at Bikini. Radioactive contamination was on the target ships and in the lagoon. Radioactive materials could also contaminate clothing, equipment, surfaces, and other materials. Dr. Warren warned that personnel attempting to inspect and decontaminate the ships faced increasing exposure. By August 7th, Dr. Warren’s concerns became more urgent. He warned that the target vessels were contaminated with dangerous amounts of radioactivity and that rapid decontamination could not be performed without seriously exposing personnel to radiation. He recommended that decontamination and survey work stop soon.

Dr. Warren’s concerns contributed to the suspension of decontamination efforts and to the eventual cancellation of the planned third test, CHARLIE. Operation Crossroads was officially terminated on January 10, 1947.

The tests also had consequences beyond the military personnel and scientists who participated in them. In March 1946, 167 Bikini Islanders were relocated from their ancestral home to make way for Operation Crossroads. Although the relocation was presented as temporary, the nuclear testing made a return to Bikini impossible for decades.

Dr. Warren became increasingly vocal about the dangers posed by radioactive fallout and the broader consequences of nuclear weapons. In February 1946, he testified before the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy about radiation and the effects of the atomic bomb and radiation. In a 1947 article for Life magazine, Dr. Warren wrote that “the only defense against atomic bombs still lies outside the scope of science. It is the prevention of atomic war.”

Dr. Warren was not the only individual to leave Operation Crossroads deeply concerned about the dangers of nuclear war and determined to share his observations with others. Dr. William Burton, a radiologist who participated in the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll as a monitor with the Radiological Safety Section headed by Dr. Warren, also went on to present on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. Unlike Dr. Warren, however, Dr. Burton expressed a more hopeful view of the potential peaceful uses of atomic energy.

In an address titled “The Radiologist at Bikini,” Dr. Burton describes his role in the nuclear tests at the Bikini Atoll and provides summaries of the first atomic test in New Mexico, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the production and assembly of the bomb, as well as the types of radiation injury reported among Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings. Dr. Burton concludes the address by stating that he “hope[s] we won’t have atomic warfare,” but believes that “atomic energy can be harnessed and used to bring comfort and happiness,” provided that proper precautions are taken to mitigate harmful side effects.

The archive at the Center for Pacific War Studies, housed in the National Museum of the Pacific War, contains Dr. William Burton’s Papers, including “The Radiologist at Bikini.” The collection also includes glass slides Dr. Burton likely used as visual aids during presentations about the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, among other materials.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Burton’s presentation and papers, visit the Portal to Texas History, where the Center houses tens of thousands of archival materials related to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater in World War II. Materials like Dr. Burton’s papers offer a firsthand perspective on the human consequences of atomic warfare and preserve the experiences and observations of those who witnessed the dawn of the atomic age.

Sources:

https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/med/index.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=V04EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/stafford-l-warren/

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/33433-document-19-stafford-warren-major-general-l-r-groves-preliminary-report-atomic-bomb