Protection from Nuclear and Radiological Attack

Taking shelter during a nuclear attack is absolutely necessary. There are two kinds of shelters — blast and fallout.

• Blast shelters offer some protection against blast pressure, initial radiation, heat and fire, but even a blast shelter could not withstand a direct hit from a nuclear detonation.
• Fallout shelters do not need to be specially constructed for that purpose. They can be any protected space, provided that the walls and roof are thick and dense enough to absorb the radiation given off by fallout particles.

The radiation given off by a dirty bomb is a fraction of that from a thermal nuclear device, but the following information is useful when considering the effects of potential radiation poisoning from a dirty bomb.

THREE PROTECTIVE FACTORS of a fallout shelter are shielding, distance, and time.

Shielding — The more you have heavy, dense materials — thick walls, concrete, bricks, books or earth — between you and the fallout particles, the better.

Distance — The greater the distance between you and fallout particles, the better. An underground area, such as a home or office building basement, offers more protection than the first floor of a building. A floor near the middle of a high-rise may be better than a ground floor, depending on whether fallout particles can accumulate at a similar level. Flat roofs collect fallout particles, so the top floor is not a good choice, nor is a floor adjacent to a neighboring flat roof.

Time — Fallout radiation loses its intensity fairly rapidly. In time, you will be able to leave the fallout shelter. Radioactive fallout poses the greatest threat to people during the first two to four weeks, by which time it may decline to as little as 1% of its initial radiation level.

Remember that any protection, however temporary, is better than none at all, and the more shielding, distance and time you can take advantage of, the better.