The first 30 minutes is the key in a low-scale nuclear attack.
During the Cold War that many of us remember all too well, there was the constant fear that the U.S.S.R. would launch a nuclear attack against the United States. Fallout shelters became very popular, and those who did not have access to one often thought about where they could go to try to avoid the catastrophic effects of radiation should their worst nightmares ever become reality.
While that scenario remains a horrifying possibility – thanks to our enemies who possess nuclear weapons and other countries trying to develop nuclear weapons – the type of nuclear attack that presents a much more likely scenario these days is the detonation of a low-yield nuclear warhead by terrorists.
These bombs would be anywhere from .1 kiloton to 10 kilotons, which are very small compared to the bombs that struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and smaller still to the warheads in Cold War arsenals. Even the largest of these bombs would pose an immediate radiation danger of less than a mile from ground zero, while hazardous fallout contamination could continue for another 10-20 miles, depending on wind conditions. In other words, cities would be hit hard by such a device and there would be death and destruction, but many people would survive.
If you are at home and you believe that a nuclear device has gone off anywhere near you, go to your basement or an inner room immediately and stay there for about 30 minutes. At that point, the initial radiation will be gone and the main danger will be sand-sized particles that have fallen in the area.
Next, if possible, make your way to a city shelter or another building with as thick of an exterior as possible. It may be impossible to drive there, so hopefully you’ll be prepared with a survival bicycle. Then, wait for emergency responders, who will let you know when it’s safe to return to your home. If they don’t arrive, it’s probably best to wait there at least 24 hours.
Is a nuclear attack something that you’ve given much thought to? Does your family have an emergency evacuation plan should something that horrific occur? Please let me know your thoughts about this.
Harbor freight has painting masks for arround $12 dollars that keep out the harmful chemicals when painting a car. They will protect your lungs from the dust at least until clogged but I have one used for sanding rust and old paint that still works.
If you are in a safe room in a basement, best to stay there at least a few days, NOT leave and be exposed to the outdoors. If you live in the countryside, best not to head to town looking for shelter. Close water valve, turn off A/C (power may be out anyway?) and water softener, and wait it out. Shows the value of having AT LEAST a one-week food supply and plans. I have wide candles and a 4″ tall metal base to set a small pan on, for quick-prepare food & instant coffee. Will need to think about some sort of toilet, at least have a box of gallon size freezer storage zip bags and wax paper in the room, and curtain in one corner. Flashlight and batteries, battery stick-on lights, electric tea kettle, mixing bowl, cups, bottled water, trail mix, dried fruit, healthy bars, Rx medicines, mattress, blankets, etc.
I would like to find a good preparation list.
I honestly think leaving some place that is ALREADY safe and exposing yourself to any amount of radioactive material would be the worst thing to do. I’m with you, stay where you are
Remember the Rule of 7s in the event of a nuclear blast:
For every factor of 7 of time, radioactivity drops to a tenth.
What this means is if you have a detonation with say 1,000 rads/hour radiation from fallout and you are protected underground, going outside at this time is death. But, if you wait 7 hours, the number of rads drops to 100 per hour (1000/10). If you wait another factor of 7 = 7 x 7 hours = 49 hours (2 days), the number of rads drops to 10 per hour (100/10). You can now venture outside for an hour or two. If you wait an additional 14.3 days, rads drop to 1 per day (10/10). So it would be best to wait it out in a bunker for 17 days to take the radiation from 1,000 per hour to 1 per hour.
I would like to know about contamination from Japans melt down? The west coast.
enenews.com
fairewinds.com
I was just reading, the other day, that the radiation has reached the northwest coast of the US. They claim that it is still say, and poses no danger, but………. Anyway, if you want to know more, just search new article for it from Dec 2015.
There is lead backed drywall board that is used in x-ray rooms, dentists offices and doctors offices if they do x-rays. This can be purchased from commercial drywall supplys, it is expensive and heavy. If you built your shelter in place room with this materal and added a metal door, filtered air, water and waste syste, you would have an improved chance of surviving a nuclear event.
I used that stuff on a remodle in a hospital in Omaha years ago! I totally forgot about it, thanks for the reminder when I get somewhere for more than a year or so I willl build a safe room with it.
I don’t think we’ll ever have to suffer a nuclear attack. By the time this Administration is done with immigration policies we will become the United States of Mexico and no one will want this land anymore.
That’s a really stupid thing to say. In fact there are several stupid things you said. Why are you even here?
Inexpensive way to make Potassium Iodide
Potassium iodide is medicinally supplied in 130 mg tablets for emergency purposes. Potassium iodide may also be administered as a “saturated solution of potassium iodide” (SSKI) which in the U.S.P. generic formulation contains 1000 mg of KI per mL of solution. This represents 333 mg KI and about 250 mg iodide (I -) in a typical adult dose of 5 drops, assumed to be ⅓ mL. Because SSKI is a viscous liquid, it is normally assumed to contain 15 drops/milliliter, not 20 drops/milliliter as is often assumed for water. Thus, each drop of U.S.P. SSKI is assumed to contain about 50 mg iodine as iodide, I -. Thus, two (2) drops of U.S.P. SSKI solution is equivalent to one 130 mg KI tablet (100 mg iodide).
SSKI can also be prepared by truly saturating water with KI. This preparation can be made without a measuring scale. Since the solubility of KI in water at room temperature is about 1.40 to 1.48 grams per mL pure water, and the resulting solution has a density of about 1.72 g/mL, this process also results in a final concentration of KI of about 1000 mg KI per mL of saturated KI solution, and also contains essentially the same concentration of iodide per drop as does the U.S.P. formulation.
Human Dosages
Minimum Effective Dose – (The least you can administer and still be protected from radioactive iodine)
Age 18+* 130mg daily (One IOSAT tablet)
Age 3 – 18** 65mg daily (1/2 IOSAT tablet)
1 month – 3 yrs. 32mg daily (1/4 IOSAT tablet)
Birth – 1 month 16mg daily (1/8 IOSAT tablet)
Distinguish between a dirty bomb (radiological dispersal device), and a real nuclear fission explosion (NUC).
With a RDD. it’s not donna be a big deal… with a radiation detector, it’s totally possible to find rad particles, pick them up with baby wipes, and put them into a to-be-disposed-of container.
With a NUC, most people who are gonna be casualties will succumb to blast and heat – not fallout. Get to shelter (the deeper the better) wear a mask to avoid inhaling nucleotides (especially alpha-emitters), and wait. Remember what you were taught in kindergarten: cleanliness is next to godliness. Wash, wash, and wash. Don’t touch face/mouth. Surface decontaminate (remove clothes and rinse to remove 99+% of nucleotides).
I-131 may be a hazard, but remember that after Fukisima, more people had to seek care from KI exposure than rad. Again – respiratory protection: don’t breathe in or swallow any of those nasty particles.
As for me… listen for the sound of running water… I’ll be the person with the mask sitting under a poncho in a lawn chair in the shower!.
We have several rolls of thick plastic & duct tape to seal ourselves in; just incase we should have to shelter in place during a disaster. We have food, water, extra medicine, but something to remember is the water in your water heater. There could be a lot of water in there for your family! Be sure to turn off the water coming in; it could be contaminated.
Hi Rose. You sound like me in your preps. So, these three movies might give you, or others, a few more ideas about preps. NOTE: These movies were made to seem realistic, and do not have happy endings. They are about the aftermath of a nuclear attack. They are very hard to find, but may be available through Amazon.com They are from the early 80s, when the media was trying to inform people about the possibility of a nuke attack.
“Threads” the most dramatic and graphic is a BBC movie. I don’t know anyone who was in it, and only saw it once.
“Testament” with William Devane (sp?) His family was about 30 miles from the blast, and it details how the neighborhood handled the situation. Much sadness and loss making it very realistic. It brings up the idea of having a short wave radio to locate other survivors and check on the “outside world.”
“The Day After”…. not to be confused with “The Day After Tomorrow” about global warming. Jason Robards was Kansas City doc, on his way home, whenever the blast occurred. Focused on hospitals and illness, and how hard it would be for people to get medical help. It also mentions that the farm animals should not be used for food, because they would have been contaminated, too.
All three movies are addressing the same thing….. nuclear attacks, and what people would/could/should do. All three approach the subject from different perspectives. All three do a good job of focusing on the many different things that survivors would face in the days and weeks after a nuke blast. But i would caution you: do not follow the ideas in the movies without first checking into the scientific reliability of them.
At the very least, they are good, suspenseful movies, and if you’re like me, you won’t regret watching them… just for the “what if” questions they raise.
Radiological suit, gas mask w/hydration capability and ability to filter out radioactive fallout and have on hand materials, food and water in a safe room you can put up quickly…..stay in the room for 2 weeks before it would be safe to venture to an area further from the center of the blast…..also have on hand radiological drinking straws that filter out radioactivity as most water will be radioactive…Independent Living publishes a manual on surviving a nuclear attack and a report on how to set up a safe room to ride out the initial fallout…Dr. WC Douglas also has a manual about surviving a nuclear attack…but all this stems on the fact that you’re far enough away from the blast to have time to implement all these protections….if you’re near the blast then KYAG…..if it’s a dirty bomb with local effects that’s bad but good but if it is a high altitude nuclear detonation then faraday cages and alternative methods of generating power are needed (Patriot 1500 solar generator, etc.) will be needed…also long term food supply protected from fallout, etc. as well as defensive weapons; too many knowns and unknowns that luck and preparation must be your biggest allies and the Grace of God….watch “The Road” and read “One Second After to get an idea what you’ll be facing in the aftermath….
I disagree with heading to a shelter after the attack. if you are in the open, or out and about town, yes, get inside and stay there. if you are at home, you are better off to duct tape your windows and turn off ac or heating system and fans. and stay in a central location. Fallout will continue to fall a lot longer than 30 minutes!! And riding a bicycle to a shelter is not advised, unless you have a respirator with a nuclear rated HEPA filter, you will be huffing and puffing in more air….. and radioactive contaminants. Best to “shelter in place”.
We could instantly render all Russian nukes threatening us (Chinese, Iranian, NKorean and any terrorist nukes, too.) 90% less lethal, quick as the public is trained up again in the basics of Civil Defense ‘blast & fallout’ survival tactics. Google “The Good News About Nuclear Destruction” for the ‘how to’ proof.
I grew up when kids were taught to get under your desk and “duck and cover “. The best advice about surviving a nuclear attack I got from a Sargeant in the Army. Old Sarge said, ” Men, if you are one mile or less from a nuclear bomb explosion do the following (1) Spread your legs a comfortable distance apart (2) Bend at the waist (3) Stick you head between your legs and kiss you butt good-by. “
I was trained as a young man and you can never find any info on subject.If you suspect a blast never look at it as it can burn your eyes.Lie flat as shear winds occur if close.Get down into low dry areas or basements and if possible line walls with lead thin sheets -(I don,t know how much tinfoil would help but some I think.You can burn like being in a micro-wave so take heed.If you survive ever thing on surface could be hot with radiation.Any radiation leak or source up to 4000 miles down wind take a tablet of potassium iodide daily or follow directions.The reason if I can remember is the half-life of one kind of radiation can collect in thyroid and causes cancer and potassium blocks this.This kind of radiations dies off fairly quickly but there is another kind that last very long( My poor memory thinks 10000,years!) A pill is made in Poland and I believe some soldiers have and it is made of dikem blue and I believe the body washes radiation out using this but everything turns blue.This from my poor memory and I,m 66. You can also shield your car computor etc. with tinfoil etc. to save from huge voltage spike from nuclear blast if you can get into your vehicle if it,s not hot!
NASA actually uses good old-fashioned saran wrap to protect astronauts from radiation during solar storms in space. It is easy to wrap around things and won’t cook you.