Blast Injuries

Excerpt

Whether through an accident or intentional act, explosions are an occurrence that can cause serious injury and death. Explosions have the ability to inflict injuries on many people at the same time resulting in high levels of mortality and morbidity. The type and severity of the impact depends on many factors including, when and where the event took place, the number of people in the area, material in the area of the explosion, and the type of explosion (nuclear, mechanical, or chemical), how far the victim is from the explosion, what protection they had available to them. The principle mechanism driving the extent of the injuries is the amount of kinetic energy released over a short time by the explosion.