The Effects of Nuclear War

DETROIT AND LENINGRAD

1-Mt and 9-Mt Air Bursts on Leningrad

The Leningrad apartments described are likely to have their walls blown out, and the people swept out, at about 5 psi, even though the remaining steel skeleton will withstand much higher pressures. Thus, although the type of construction is totally different from Detroit, the damage levels are so similar that the same relationship between overpressure and casualties is assumed (figure 1).

The 1-Mt and 9-Mt air burst pressure rings are shown in figures 10 and 11. Note that for the 9-Mt case the 1-psi ring falls completely off the map, as was the case for 25 Mt on Detroit. The calculated casualties are illustrated on figure 6 (columns 4 and 5), and are about double those for Detroit for the comparable 1-Mt case. This resuIts directly from the higher average population density. Other contrasts between the cities can be noted; in Leningrad:

• People live close to where they work. In general, there is no daily cross-city movement.
• Buildings (except in the old part of the city) are unlikely to burn.
• Apartment building spacing is so great as to make fire spread unlikely, even though a few buildings would burn down.
• There will be much less debris preventing access to damaged areas.
• Transportation is by rail to the outlying areas, and by an excellent metro system within the city.
• There is only one television station— in the middle of the city— so mass communications would be interrupted until other broadcasting equipment was brought in and set up.

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