Nuclear accidents, because of the powerful forces involved, are often very dangerous. Historically, the first incidents involved fatal radiation exposure. Marie Curie died from aplastic anemia which resulted from her high levels of exposure. Two scientists, an American and Canadian respectively, Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin, died after mishandling the same plutonium mass. Unlike conventional weapons, the intense light, heat, and explosive force is not the only deadly component to a nuclear weapon. Approximately half of the deaths from Hiroshima and Nagasaki died two to five years afterward from radiation exposure.
