Nuclear disaster - the implications

Authors: Hellstrom JS, Bell KC, Orr MB, Mackintosh CG, Alley MR
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 33, Issue 11, pp 189, Nov 1985
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: General
Subject Terms: Veterinary profession
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: It is heartening to see that the veterinary profession has at last joined other professions (medical, nursing, engineering, ecology, etc.,) in expressing its concern over the possible consequences of a nuclear disaster to New Zealand. As a result of the remit passed at the 1985 NZVA Annual Conference (N.Z. vet. J. 33: No.8 p.vii) a subcommittee has been formed to accumulate information on the effects a nuclear disaster would have on animal life in this country and investigate ways and means by which the public can be informed. The fortieth anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seem an appropriate time to reflect on the effect of these experiments. Instead of preventing war as many had hoped, the last 40 years have seen major conflicts and loss of life in Korea, Southeast Asia, South America and the Middle East many of which have directly involved the superpowers and have often come to the brink of nuclear warfare. Leaving aside their deliberate use in war, the extraordinary proliferation of weapons and their increasing dependence on failsafe technologies now make the probability of a nuclear `accident` highly likely. Nuclear terrorism also seems just around the corner and as the “Rainbow Warrior” bombing has demonstrated there is no reason why New Zealand should be immune from this…

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