Before I start on this section, take a look at the illustration. This came from the Castle Bravo shot. It was a 15 meg ton ground bust blast, which was accidental. It was “supposed to be” about half that amount for the test. I SEROUSLY DOUBT that large yields like this would occur, unless you live near a hardened location like Norad, etc. I placed this in here to just at least illustrate how unpredictable nuclear warfare could possibly be.
Improvised sheltering would not help much in this case, even as far as 300 miles downwind from ground zero.
This section is only going to be on the build aspect—not supplies, protection, etc. I will quickly touch on radiation, but that will go on section #5 when it’s completed and revised for more modern conditions, versus 20 years ago.
There are 3 types of radiation that you will have to be concerned with. In order of danger, from least to most is the following Alpha Beta Gamma. Without getting too scientific, and trying to keep things simple, I”ll explain. When a bomb explodes, it produces neutrons. These neutrons will impact other atoms, making them unstable. Like I said in the earlier series, Nature has to find a way to balance itself out. In the process of nature trying to get back in balance, the unstable atoms emit radiation. The first type of particles are alpha particles. They can easily be stopped by even a piece of paper, But a hot particle can be dangerous if swallowed or inhaled.
The second type is Beta radiation. It’s a tad stronger, but can still be stopped by clothing. Yes, like alpha, it’s dangerous if inhaled or ingested. If a Beta particle touches your skin, it can produce a burn on the skin very similar to a bad sunburn.
The third type is the bad boy---Gamma radiation. And this is what will be concentrated on further in Section #5 The only way to protect yourself from Gamma radiation is mass mass mass mass. Also, time, distance and shielding. That’s where the mass mass mass comes into play. Think of Gamma radiation like a brand new battery, but that battery is constantly discharging over a period of time until it ‘runs down’. A good example is the 7-10 rule. This means that for every 7 hours, the strength of the radiation will reduce by 10% Here’s an example. 0800 hrs--detonation. Reading 1,000 rads. 1500 hrs the same day, the radiation has reduced by 1/10 or 10% --meaning it’s lost 100 rads, so the reading should be now 900 rads. 2200 hrs (still same day) the strength or rads should have dropped 90 rads, giving a reading of 910 rads. The pattern continues, etc. Here’s a simple chart:
Day 1 Detonation first reading @ 0800 1000 rads figures rounded up a tad
time reading time reading time reading time reading
Day 1 0800 1000 1500 900 2100 810
Day 2 0400 729 1100 656 1800 590
Day 3 0100 531 0800 477 1500 429 2100 386
Day 4 0500 347 1200 312 1900 280
Day 5 0200 252 0900 226 1600 203 2200 181
Day 6 0500 162 1200 145 1900 130
Day 7 0300 117 1000 105 1700 94
Day 8 0000 84 0700 75 1400 67 2000 60
Day 9 0300 54 1000 48 1700 43
Day 10 0000 39 0700 35 1400 31 2100 27
SEE< The point is that even with those simple figures, you are going to have to stay sheltered AT LEAST until the beginning of the 8th day. Sure, you could leave your shelter by 1700 on Day 7, because your limit is below the 100 mark, which is considered the highest level people can take before dying off. But, if you stay put 3 more days, you’ve cut that number by almost 2/3.
Now, let’s build a shelter. No two buildings are the same, no areas are the same, etc. IF you have a basement, thank your creator, because that’s going to give you the best chance of surviving. The key factors to making a simple shelter are going to be two points. The lower, the better. If you are in a house, go to the center point away from windows as much as possible. Depending on your location, the windows could have possibly been blown out by the blast. The center point of any typical house is going to have the best areas for protection. For your entrance to the shelter, that point needs to be in at least a 90 degree angle from your area. Gamma rays and radiation like to run in straight lines. Why? I don’t know. Get a heavy desk, hopefully two to start your shelter. ON the top, put as much mass as possible. Take doors off the hinges and put that on top of the desks. Sand bags, concrete, etc. JUST DON’T overload the desk causing the risk of collapse. We want a shelter, NOT a tomb. I will mention a basement. Make your safe spot in a corner which has the most dirt from the outside around the walls, ideally away from windows. Still use that 90 degree angle entrance is at all possible. Take plastic tarps or drop cloths or whatever to cover your entrance. Below is a good illustration.
Understanding this table above, it only takes almost ½ inch of lead to cut the penetration of gamma radiation in half. Steel would be an inch, Concrete would take almost 2 ½ inches. Radiation, as you can see LOVES wood. Wood really isn’t that thick.
I found my mom and dad’s civil defense booklet from 60 years ago from the Cuban missile crisis time period. I copied and put it in PDF form, which is in the attachment. It does a real good job in explaining how to build a shelter. With possible time constraints taking place, I thought this would be quicker in case all hell breaks loose. ( reflecting back, I was 5 years old and still remembered those pictures in the book to this very day)
That will have to be broken down in two parts one for section #4-2 and then #4-3. The file restraints won't allow me to insert as an attachment.
Improvised sheltering would not help much in this case, even as far as 300 miles downwind from ground zero.
This section is only going to be on the build aspect—not supplies, protection, etc. I will quickly touch on radiation, but that will go on section #5 when it’s completed and revised for more modern conditions, versus 20 years ago.
There are 3 types of radiation that you will have to be concerned with. In order of danger, from least to most is the following Alpha Beta Gamma. Without getting too scientific, and trying to keep things simple, I”ll explain. When a bomb explodes, it produces neutrons. These neutrons will impact other atoms, making them unstable. Like I said in the earlier series, Nature has to find a way to balance itself out. In the process of nature trying to get back in balance, the unstable atoms emit radiation. The first type of particles are alpha particles. They can easily be stopped by even a piece of paper, But a hot particle can be dangerous if swallowed or inhaled.
The second type is Beta radiation. It’s a tad stronger, but can still be stopped by clothing. Yes, like alpha, it’s dangerous if inhaled or ingested. If a Beta particle touches your skin, it can produce a burn on the skin very similar to a bad sunburn.
The third type is the bad boy---Gamma radiation. And this is what will be concentrated on further in Section #5 The only way to protect yourself from Gamma radiation is mass mass mass mass. Also, time, distance and shielding. That’s where the mass mass mass comes into play. Think of Gamma radiation like a brand new battery, but that battery is constantly discharging over a period of time until it ‘runs down’. A good example is the 7-10 rule. This means that for every 7 hours, the strength of the radiation will reduce by 10% Here’s an example. 0800 hrs--detonation. Reading 1,000 rads. 1500 hrs the same day, the radiation has reduced by 1/10 or 10% --meaning it’s lost 100 rads, so the reading should be now 900 rads. 2200 hrs (still same day) the strength or rads should have dropped 90 rads, giving a reading of 910 rads. The pattern continues, etc. Here’s a simple chart:
Day 1 Detonation first reading @ 0800 1000 rads figures rounded up a tad
time reading time reading time reading time reading
Day 1 0800 1000 1500 900 2100 810
Day 2 0400 729 1100 656 1800 590
Day 3 0100 531 0800 477 1500 429 2100 386
Day 4 0500 347 1200 312 1900 280
Day 5 0200 252 0900 226 1600 203 2200 181
Day 6 0500 162 1200 145 1900 130
Day 7 0300 117 1000 105 1700 94
Day 8 0000 84 0700 75 1400 67 2000 60
Day 9 0300 54 1000 48 1700 43
Day 10 0000 39 0700 35 1400 31 2100 27
SEE< The point is that even with those simple figures, you are going to have to stay sheltered AT LEAST until the beginning of the 8th day. Sure, you could leave your shelter by 1700 on Day 7, because your limit is below the 100 mark, which is considered the highest level people can take before dying off. But, if you stay put 3 more days, you’ve cut that number by almost 2/3.
Now, let’s build a shelter. No two buildings are the same, no areas are the same, etc. IF you have a basement, thank your creator, because that’s going to give you the best chance of surviving. The key factors to making a simple shelter are going to be two points. The lower, the better. If you are in a house, go to the center point away from windows as much as possible. Depending on your location, the windows could have possibly been blown out by the blast. The center point of any typical house is going to have the best areas for protection. For your entrance to the shelter, that point needs to be in at least a 90 degree angle from your area. Gamma rays and radiation like to run in straight lines. Why? I don’t know. Get a heavy desk, hopefully two to start your shelter. ON the top, put as much mass as possible. Take doors off the hinges and put that on top of the desks. Sand bags, concrete, etc. JUST DON’T overload the desk causing the risk of collapse. We want a shelter, NOT a tomb. I will mention a basement. Make your safe spot in a corner which has the most dirt from the outside around the walls, ideally away from windows. Still use that 90 degree angle entrance is at all possible. Take plastic tarps or drop cloths or whatever to cover your entrance. Below is a good illustration.
Understanding this table above, it only takes almost ½ inch of lead to cut the penetration of gamma radiation in half. Steel would be an inch, Concrete would take almost 2 ½ inches. Radiation, as you can see LOVES wood. Wood really isn’t that thick.
I found my mom and dad’s civil defense booklet from 60 years ago from the Cuban missile crisis time period. I copied and put it in PDF form, which is in the attachment. It does a real good job in explaining how to build a shelter. With possible time constraints taking place, I thought this would be quicker in case all hell breaks loose. ( reflecting back, I was 5 years old and still remembered those pictures in the book to this very day)
That will have to be broken down in two parts one for section #4-2 and then #4-3. The file restraints won't allow me to insert as an attachment.