

Radioactive products were used before the war despite risks, from automobile propulsion to rocketry, fission batteries to soda, by weighing the benefits nuclear products brought to their lives.

Ionizing radiation of various types was also used in a variety of medical, scientific, and military applications, and its widespread use led to the development of a variety of countermeasures to protect humans from harm, such as Rad-X or RadAway brand anti-radiation medicine. Fission products thus initially have a very high level of radiation that declines quickly, but as the intensity of radiation drops, so does the rate of decline.Ī key product of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion, radiation has been one of the primary hazards in the pre-War world, due to the proliferation of nuclear energy as a compact, cheap source of energy.

Long-lived isotopes release energy over long periods of time, creating radiation that is much less intense but more persistent. Short-lived isotopes release their decay energy rapidly, creating intense radiation fields that also decline quickly.
