Impact analysis of age on radiation casualty estimations for nuclear detonation scenarios

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the impact of accounting for age-based radiation response when estimating radiation casualties in a nuclear detonation scenario. Materials and methods: Three nuclear device detonation scenarios were simulated using densely populated regions to compare traditional casualty estimates with age-dependent casualty estimates. Fatalities were estimated using age-based dose-response curves. The surviving population was assumed injured (requiring medical care) if their dose exceeded a lower bound, represented by the minimum dose required to cause deterministic effects, for each age group. Results: In each of the three scenarios, the affected area increased significantly for radiosensitive age groups. In two of the three scenarios, accounting for age-dependent radiosensitivity resulted in up to a 10% increase in fatalities and up to a 12% increase in radiation injuries compared to traditional estimates. This study demonstrates that the differences in casualty estimates are dependent on the relative density and location of radiosensitive populations. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the inclusion of age-based demographic data and associated dose responses may result in significantly higher estimates of casualties depending on the location and age of the affected population. This information could be useful for the emergency management planning community.