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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (20732)	3/7/2002 5:36:58 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

The best thing to do in the event of a nuclear blast is to seek cover from the fallout. That means going into your basement, not hitting the road and trying to clear out of the place Hawk, though i am not an expert...this is a subject i do know a little about. i tried to put myself in the place of my family members who have very little training and decide the best courses of action for them to take. the problems that i saw in giving advice about how to react to nuclear fallout and contamination are wrapped around the various potential sources and the different forms of radiation hazard from them. a late model American nuclear weapon is very clean. once the shock wave passes over you and returns most of the hazard is over. an older version russian weapon is very dirty and can cause a radiation hazard injurious to human health for many years. the type of fallout likely to be created from a power plant reactor meltdown is extremely hazardous. then i considered that the current manuals are written for well-trained soldiers who are in excellent physical condition and are well-equipped with protective suits and masks and decontamination gear. in fact some of the formulas i have seen project how long a soldier will be able to fight productively before he becomes too sick. these manuals are not written for untrained and unequipped women and children nor are they written for the sick and elderly. you suggested that the information is out there and all we have to do is find it...well i think i have. i have every current unclassified manual on chemical, biological and nuclear right here on my desk in 2 CDs. the subject of fallout becomes very complicated very quickly. there are about 150 unclassified US military and FEMA manuals and major documents about this subject. many/most of these have 200-300 pages or more. i realize that my family is unlikely to know whether a blast was caused by a clean or dirty detonation. and it really didn't matter what the initial release from a power plant might be...it is just too much of a hazard in my view to risk staying close to a reactor in trouble the dirty bombs being talked about now on tv are created by wrapping a radioactive substance in conventional explosives and creating the fallout hazard by dispersal through detonation. there are many substances that could be suitable for this...some are relatively safe....some are extremely hazardous. my family will not be able to tell the difference. a small amount of plutonium exploded from the rooftop of an office building on a breezy day should create a deadly fallout zone. i agree with you that it is not difficult to protect against gamma emitters...but most gamma radiation is over once the shock wave from a blast passes over you for the second time (the wave goes out and comes back). if you are caught in a clean weapon blast and want gamma protection, one should immediately try to get their body below ground level and cover themselves with a white sheet and avoid colored clothing if at all possible. now that is good advice but where do you go from there and how do you know it was clean? if the hazard is alpha and beta particles this is lousy advice...these are very serious internal hazards and imo you should limit your exposure by leaving the area quickly. chemical and biological agents can also be dispersed by the wind causing fallout zones. some experts think the connecticut anthrax cases may have been caused by airborne spores from new jersey. as i said a moment ago...this subject becomes very complicated very fast. none of us as civilians have the tools and equipment needed to interpret the types of weapon used, the fallout intensity and the precise dispersal pattern...to add a bit more to this recipe remember multiple simultaneous attacks are the current darling of the terrorists...so we should never assume the first attack is the last. i knew i had to simplify this subject for my untrained family members. so this is what i did... i designed a little tool and wrote a few pages of simple instructions that will enable them to quickly calculate a likely fallout and/or danger area from any of these hazards. using the tool with a map (i even tell which map to buy)and following my simple two step method...the way to safety becomes picture clear. i then advised my family to not allow themselves to be overtaken by a fallout cloud. if they are already in one, to get out and get out now...with not a single second delay. i plan to move if i am within 200 miles of a fallout zone...even if i am upwind, because the masses of people fleeing the area are likely to carry contamination to me. i can move away from the area and wait for the authorities to do their thing and advise when it is safe to return. there are not enough trained people and equipment in most communities for us to expect a quick reaction, good advice and an orderly and timely govt run evacuation. i do not believe the authorities will always tell us to move even when we should for one reason...they are taught to contain the problem. unclewest