80 years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: atomic tragedy. A brief analytical review of available archival documents and current research in the field of retrospective dosimetry

«Radiation and Risk», 2025, vol. 34, No. 3, pp.116-130

DOI: 10.21870/0131-3878-2025-34-3-116-130

Authors

Stepanenko V.F. – Head of Lab., D. Sc., Biol., Prof. Contacts: 4 Korolev str., Obninsk, Kaluga region, Russia, 249035. Tel.: +7 (484) 399-70-02; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Bogacheva V.V. – Lead. Res., C. Sc., Biol.
Ivanov S.A. – Director, Corr. Member of RAS, MD, Prof. of RUDN University Dep. A. Tsyb MRRC.
Hoshi M. – Prof., PhD. Hiroshima University, Japan.
Zhumadilov K.Sh. – Head of Dep., PhD. L.N. Gumilyov ENU, Kazakhstan.
Ostroumova E.V. – Res., PhD, MD. IARC, France.
Shinkarev S.M. – Head of Dep., D. Sc., Tech. SRC – Burnasyan FMBC of FMBA.
Kushugulova A.R. – Head of Dep., PhD. Nazarbaev University, Kazakhstan.
Shegay P.V. – Deputy General Director, C. Sc., Med.
Kaprin A.D. – General Director, Director of P. Hertsen MORI, Head of RUDN University Dep., Academician of RAS, MD, Prof. NMRRC.
¹ A. Tsyb MRRC, Obninsk
² Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
³ L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan
⁴International Agency for Research on Cancer of the WHO, Lyon, France
⁵ State Research Center – Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of Federal Medical Biological Agency, Moscow
⁶ Nazarbayev University, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan
⁷ NMRRC, Obninsk
⁸ Peoples' Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba, Moscow
⁹ P. Hertsen MORI, Moscow

Abstract

In August 2025 it is 80 years since the USA Armed Forces used nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities, Japan. The atomic bombardments resulted in hundred thousands fatalities among the civilians. The atomic energy was used for the mass physical and radiological destruction. The atomic tragedy marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Mankind – the era of nuclear weapons. Available archival documents testifying the circumstances and consequences of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cited in the paper. There are several factors capable to kill everybody at the epicenter of nuclear explosion and around, specifically an incinerating high-temperature flash, a destructive blast wave, high levels of ionizing radiation. The radiological consequences of the atomic tragedy are still being studied and discussed. In 1986 and 2002, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF, Japan) published the Dosimetry Systems, DS86 and DS02, for assessing the effects of the atomic bombings. These systems paid little attention to the peculiarities of internal dose formation from residual radioactivity. Modern methods of retrospective dosimetry can be useful for assessment of radiological consequences of exposure in those people, who were not in city at the time of bombardments of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and were not irradiated immediately at the moment of explosion, but arrived to the city soon after the bombardment and were exposed to external and internal irradiation from the residual radioactivity. The paper referred to the current studies on retrospective dosimetry methods’ application for assessing the contribution to radiation dose of residual radioactivity following the atomic bombing. Dosimetry aspects of experimental studies on radiobiological peculiarities of internal irradiation by microparticles with neutron-activated short-lived radionuclides ⁵⁶Mn and ³¹Si, contained in the residual radioactivity from atomic explosions, are mentioned as well. These joint studies are conducted in a framework of international collaboration between research centers in Russia, Japan, and Kazakhstan.

Key words
atomic bombing, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, retrospective dosimetry, dosimetry of internal irradiation, radioactive microparticles, neutron activation, beta radiation, gamma radiation, microdistribution of absorbed doses, radiobiological effects, ⁵⁶Mn, ³¹Si.

References

1. Einstein A. Letter to President Roosevelt. Old Grove Road Peconic, Long Island. New York, August 2nd, 1939. Available at: https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/beginnings/einstein.html (Accessed 30.06.2025).

2. Truman H.S. Memoirs: year of decisions. V. 1. New York, New American Library, 1955. 645 p. Available at: https://archive.org/details/yearofdecisionsv030151mbp/page/n5/mode/2up (Accessed 30.06.2025).

3. Groves L.R. Now it can be told: the story of the Manhattan Project. New York, Harper & Row, 1962. 475 p. Available at: https://archive.org/details/nowitcanbetoldthestoryofthemanhattanproject (Accessed 30.06.2025).

4. The Manhattan Project. History Page Type: Manhattan Project History. The Atomic Heritage Foundation. Washington, DC, 2017. Available at: https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/manhattanproject/#:~:text=across%20the%20country.-,Project%20Sites,and%20construction%20of%20the%20bomb (Accessed 30.06.2025).

5. Jones V.C. United States Army in World War II. Special studies. Manhattan: the army and the atomic bomb. Washington, Center of Military History, United States Army, 1985. 685 p. Available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/con-tent/pkg/GOVPUB-D114-PURL-gpo107791/pdf/GOVPUB-D114-PURL-gpo107791.pdf (Accessed 30.06.2025).

6. Trinity Site. The Atomic Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC, 2022. Available at: https://ahf.nuclear-museum.org/ahf/location/trinity-site (Accessed 30.06.2025).

7. President Truman announces the successful use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. Available at: https://wsmrmuseum.com/2024/01/31/special-mission-16-fat-man-and-the-atomic-bombing-of-nagasaki/5 (Accessed 28.06.2025).

8. Order of Acting Chief of Staff Thomas T. Handy to General Carl A. Spaatz, July 25, 1945, Carl A. Spaatz Papers, Library of Congress, box 24, July, 1945. Available at: https://wsmrmuseum.com/wp-content/up-loads/2023/11/342-AF-070226_29-1263M-788x1024.jpg (Accessed 28.06.2025).

9. Notes on Initial Meeting of the Target Committee, April 27, 1945. National Security Archive. Suite 700, Gelman Library. The George Washington University. Washington, D.C., 2003. 40 years of freedom of information ac-tion. Available at: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28510-document-9-notes-initial-meeting-target-com-mittee-may-2-1945-top-secret (Accessed 28.06.2025).

10. Summary of Target Committee Meetings, May 10-11, 1945. Available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/6.pdf (Accessed 28.06.2025).

11. Minutes of Third Target Committee Meeting. Washington, 28 May 1945. National Security Archive. Suite 700, Gelman Library. The George Washington University. Washington, D.C., 2003. 40 years of freedom of infor-mation action. Available at: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28516-document-15-minutes-third-target-committee-meeting-washington-may-28-1945-top-secret (Accessed 28.06.2025).

12. Notes of the Interim Committee Meeting, 31 May, 1945. Available at: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb525-The-Atomic-Bomb-and-the-End-of-World-War-II/documents/018.pdf (Accessed 28.06.2025).

13. Malloy S. Four days in May: Henry L. Stimson and the decision to use the atomic bomb. Asia-Pac. J., 2009, vol. 7, no. 14, pp. e2. DOI: 10.1017/S1557466009023687.

14. The 509th Composite Group’s Operations Order No. 35, 1945 August 5. Available at: https://military-his-tory.fandom.com/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki?file =Agnew_StrikeOrderHiro-shima.jpg#Bombing_of_Hiroshima (Accessed 25.06.2025).

15. The 509th Composite Group’s Operations Order No. 39, 1945 August 8. Available at: https://wsmr-museum.com/2024/01/31/special-mission-16-fat-man-and-the-atomic-bombing-of-nagasaki/5/#jp-carousel-7356 (Accessed 25.06.2025).

16. The Manhattan Engineer District of the United States Army. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Manhattan Engineer District. Army Medical Library. Washington, D.C., 1946. Available at: https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/ext/dw/14110660R/PDF/14110660R.pdf (Accessed 25.06.2025).

17. Radiation Effects Research Foundation. A brief description. Publication date: December 2014. First revision: April 2016. Japan, Hiroshima: Letterpress Co. 53 p. Available at: https://www.rerf.or.jp/uploads/2017/09/brief-descript_e.pdf (Accessed 25.06.2025).

18. The United States strategic bombing survey: the effects of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, June 30, 1946. Washington, D.C., The US Government Printing Office, 1946. Available at: https://docs.rwu.edu/rwu_ebooks/1 (Accessed 25.06.2025).

19. US-Japan joint reassessment of atomic bomb radiation dosimetry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (DS86). Final Report. Vol. 1. Ed.: W.C. Roesch. Hiroshima: Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 1987. Available at: https://www.rerf.or.jp/library/scidata/scids/ds86/ds86aa.html (Accessed 25.06.2025).

20. Reassessment of the atomic bomb dosimetry for Hiroshima and Nagasaki-Dosimetry System 2002 (DS02). Eds.: R.W. Young, G.D. Kerr. Hiroshima, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, 2005. Available at: https://www.rerf.or.jp/en/library/list-e/scids/ds02-en (Accessed 29.06.2025).

21. Sawada S. Estimation of residual nuclear radiation effects on survivors of Hiroshima atomic bombing from incidence of acute radiation disease. Bull. Soc. Med., 2011, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 47-62.

22. Otani K., Ohtaki M., Yasuda H. Solid cancer mortality risk among a cohort of Hiroshima early entrants after the atomic bombing, 1970-2010: implications regarding health effects of residual radiation. J. Radiat. Res., 2022, vol. 63, no. S1, pp. i45-i53.

23. Kerr G.D., Egbert S.D., Al-Nabulsi I., Bailiff I.K., Beck H.L., Belukha I.G., Cockayne J.E., Cullings H.M., Eckerman K.F., Granovskaya E., Grant E.J., Hoshi M., Kaul D.C., Kryuchkov V., Mannis D., Ohtaki M., Otani K., Shinkarev S., Simon S.L., Spriggs G.D., Stepanenko V.F., Stricklin D., Weiss J.F., Weitz R.L., Woda C., Worthington P.R., Yamamoto K., Young R.W. Workshop report on atomic bomb dosimetry – review of dose related factors for the evaluation of exposures to residual radiation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Health Phys., 2015, vol. 109, no. 6, pp. 582-600.

24. Stepanenko V., Kaprin A., Ivanov S., Shegay .P, Sato H., Toyoda S., Kawano N., Fujimoto N., Endo S., Bogacheva V., Kolyzhenkov T., Khailov A., Zhumadilov K., Zhumalina A., Yerimbetova D., Hoshi M. Estimation of «dose-depth» profile in the surface layers of a quartz-containing tile from the former Hiroshima University building indicates the possible presence of beta-irradiation from residual radioactivity after A-bombing. J. Radiat. Res., 2022, vol. 63, no. S1, pp. i54-i60.

25. Hoshi M. The overview of neutron-induced 56Mn radioactive microparticle effects in experimental animals and related studies. J. Radiat. Res., 2022, vol. 63, no. S1, pp. i1-i7.

26. Stepanenko V., Kaprin A., Ivanov S., Shegay P., Bogacheva V., Hoshi M. Overview and analysis of internal radiation dose estimates in experimental animals in a framework of international studies of the sprayed neutron-induced 56Mn radioactive microparticles effects. J. Radiat. Res., 2022, vol. 63, no. S1, pp. i8-i15.

27. Stepanenko V., Sato H., Kaprin A., Fujimoto N., Kushugulova A., Ivanov S, Shegay P., Bogacheva V., Petukhov A., Zhumadilov K., Ostroumova E., Yasuda H., Kawano N., Ohtaki M., Endo S., Sakaguchi A., Chulenbayeva L., Mukhanbetzhanov N., Hoshi M. Internal radiation dose estimates in organs of Wistar rats exposed to sprayed neutron-activated 31SiO2 microparticles: first results of international multicenter study. J. Radiat. Res., 2024, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 744-751.

28. Stepanenko V., Rakhypbekov T., Otani K., Endo S., Satoh K., Kawano N., Shichijo K., Chaizhunusova N., Shabdarbaeva D., Zhumadilov K., Kaprin A., Galkin V., Ivanov S., Petukhov A., Yaskova E., Belukha I., Bogacheva V., Hoshi M. Internal exposure to neutron-activated 56Mn dioxide powder in Wistar rats. Part 1: Dosimetry. Radiat. Environ. Biophys., 2016, vol. 56, pp. 47-54.

29. Stepanenko V.F., Rakhypbekov T.K., Kaprin A.D., Ivanov S.A., Otani K., Endo S., Satoh K., Kawano N., Fujimoto N., Petukhov A.D., Dyussupov A.A., Chaizhunusova N.Zh., Shabdarbaeva D.M., Zhumadilov K.Sh., Yaskova E.K., Belukha I.G., Bogacheva V.V., Hoshi M. Irradiation of laboratory animals by neutron activated dust: development and application of the method – first results of international multicenter study. Radiatsiya i risk – Radiation and Risk, 2016, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 111-25.

30. Stepanenko V., Kaprin A., Ivanov S., Shegay P., Zhumadilov K., Petukhov A., Kolyzhenkov T., Bogacheva V., Zharova E., Iaskova E., Chaizhunusova N., Shabdarbayeva D., Fujimoto N., Sato H., Shichijo K., Nakashima M., Sakaguchi A., Kawano N., Ohtaki M., Otani K., Endo S., Yamamoto M., Hoshi M. Internal doses in experimental mice and rats following exposure to neutron-activated 56MnO2 powder: results of an international, multicenter study. Radiat. Environ. Biophys., 2020, vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 683-692.

31. Stepanenko V., Kaprin A., Ivanov S., Shegay P., Bogacheva V., Sato H., Shichijo K., Toyoda S., Kawano N., Ohtaki M., Fujimoto N., Endo S., Chaizhunusova N., Shabdarbaeva D., Zhumadilov K., Hoshi M. Microdistribution of internal radiation dose in biological tissues exposed to 56Mn dioxide microparticles. J. Radiat. Res., 2022, vol. 63, no. S1, pp. i21-i25.

32. Stepanenko V., Kaprin A., Ivanov S., Shegay P., Bogacheva V., Shinkarev S., Sato H., Kawano N., Ohtaki M., Fujimoto N., Endo S., Sakaguchi A., Ostroumova E., Zhumadilov K., Kushugulova A., Hoshi M. Features of internal absorbed dose microdistribution in biological tissue irradiated by 31SiO2 microparticles compared with dose microdistribution from exposure to 56MnO2 particles. J. Radiat. Res., 2025, vol. 66, no. 1, pp. 6-23.

33. Shichijo K., Fujimoto N., Uzbekov D., Kairkhanova Y., Saimova A., Chaizhunusova N., Sayakenov N., Shabdarbaeva D., Aukenov N., Azimkhanov A., Kolbayenkov A., Mussazhanova Z., Niino D., Nakashima M., Zhumadilov K., Stepanenko V., Tomonaga M., Rakhypbekov T., Hoshi M. Internal expo-sure to neutron-activated 56Mn dioxide powder in Wistar rats. Part 2: Pathological effects. Radiat. Environ. Biophys., 2017, vol. 56, pp. 55-61.

34. Stepanenko V.F., Petriev V.M., Kaprin A.D., Ivanov S.A., Shegay P.V., Bogacheva V.V., Kolyzhenkov T.V., Petukhov A.D., Krylov V.V., Kucherov V.V., Sigov M.A., Vlasova O.P., Petrosyan A.P., Petrosyan K.M., Spichenkova O.N., Ivannikov A.I., Khailov A.M., Korotkov V.A., Zharova E.P., Eremeev M.R. Personal-ized dosimetry of internal exposure to foci and organs at risk of patients: development and implementation of a methodological basis for dosimetric support of clinical trials of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. Radiatsiya i risk – Radiation and Risk, 2023, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 156-167.

35. Warren R.P. All the King’s Men. USA, Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1946. 464 p.

Full-text article (in Russian)