Well, these citizens not only had long lasting health effects, but they also had long lasting psychological effects and long lasting radiation to deal with. At the time, many people in and around Hiroshima and Nagasaki were exposed to radiation. Columbia University's Center for Nuclear Studies, in a study, wrote: "Although radiation exposure can cause acute and almost immediate effects by killing cells and directly damaging tissues, radiation can also have effects that occur on longer scale, like cancer." , causing mutations in the DNA of living cells.' (para. 5). They go on to talk about how most of the bomb survivors ended up with leukemia (par. 6). In the study, Columbia University noted a trend in leukemia diagnoses: "An increase in leukemia appeared about two years after the attacks and peaked about four to six years later." The study also states that it was found more often in children (para. 6). Then they talk about how other tumors began to develop only ten years after the bomb explosions (Heidenreich, par. 7). As for the cities themselves, there is currently no radiation. (Heidenreich, para. 10). Columbia University concludes its study by stating: 'After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many thought that any city targeted by an atomic weapon would become a nuclear wasteland. Although the immediate aftermath of the atomic bombings was horrendous and nightmarish, with countless casualties, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not allow their cities to become the kind of wasteland that some thought was inevitable.' (par.