Radiation injuries may occur in wartime as well as peacetime. In 1998, 10 family members of a scrap metal dealer suffered from radiation illness which developed over the course of one month before the symptoms and signs were attributed correctly to a radioactive source. Radioactive materials in domestic industries as well as in the nearby nuclear power plants of nearby neighbors (Chernobyl in 1986) make knowledge of exposures essential for emergency physicians, who often are the first to see these patients. In this article, we summarize the effects of radiation and radioactive compounds and appropriate treatment strategies.
Keywords: Nuclear warfare agents, acute radiation syndrome