THE EXISTENCE OF fissionable materials raises the specter of radiation accidents. Partial nuclear reactor core meltdowns have occurred already; the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979 was the fourth such episode to have occurred in America since 1952. Further, “significant release” episodes have taken place in five states, and the potential exists for radiation accidents during storage, trans...

"Anchoring" results from insufficient adjustment up or down from an original­ often arbitrary-starting value. Six sets of surveys were designed to assess the effects of anchoring on subjective likelihood estimates of a nuclear war. Based on responses from 1600 students. results indicated that: (a) likelihood estimates were strongly susceptible to anchoring: (b) neither likelihood estimates nor ...

The fourth congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, attended by over 400 physicians from 50 countries, focused on the psychological impact of the nuclear threat, the economic effects of the arms race on international health care, and the global ecological effects of a major nuclear exchange. A report to the congress noted that over a million signatures of physici...

The authors briefly review recent work in the area of the impact of the threat of nuclear war on children and adolescents. They explore some of the difficulties inherent in understanding the possible effects of the threat of nuclear war on children based on their research experience in the area.

BACKGROUND In the 1980s, many medical organizations identified the prevention of nuclear war as one of the medical profession's most important goals. An assessment of the current danger is warranted given the radically changed context of the post-Cold War era. METHODS We reviewed the recent literature on the status of nuclear arsenals and the risk of nuclear war. We then estimated the likely ...

Since the dawn of the missile age, national security decisionmakers have sought to achieve a delicate balance between having a credible nuclear deterrent and ensuring the safety of nuclear weapons from unauthorized or accidental use. During the Cold War, when the United States and Russia perceived each other as a serious threat, the balance was weighted heavily toward the credibility of the det...