Nuclear Survival Skills
The Nuclear Threat
- Nuclear Dangers
- Fallout Shelter
- Shelter Plans
- Read Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Keary
- What to do if Nuclear War breaks out
Before the Berlin Wall fell, before the Soviet Union imploded, we feared mutually assured destruction. From the 1950s until some 40 years later, the threat of nuclear war loomed large, inspiring nightmares among children and adults alike. In fact, for years, being a survivalist implied having a bomb shelter.
But with the fall of communism, that all changed. The United States was the only superpower, and the threat of nuclear war diminished. But the threat of a nuclear attack or accident did not.
While we may not have to fear thousands of nuclear warheads raining down on our centers of population and industry, the threat of a "suitcase" nuclear bomb carried into place by suicidal terrorists is more real than ever. Our intelligence agencies tell us that the Al Queda and other terrorist organizations are looking to buy or build bombs, and the old Soviet system has left thousands of trained scientists with no way to earn a living. Countries like Iraq and North Korea have nuclear weapon development programs. Even "friendly" countries like Pakistan have nuclear arsenals that may, through a coup or even an election, one day fall into control of hands that are not friendly to the U.S.
The threat of a a suicide attack on a nuclear power plant is causing folks to question their geographical location. And the possibility of a rogue nation lobbing a few missiles at us has our president intent on spending billions on a high-tech umbrella to keep the country safe.
The bad news is that we must again consider how to protect ourselves from a nuclear disaster. The good news is that we can probably worry less about blast shelters that protect us from the overpressure of a 20 megaton bomb and focus more on protecting ourselves from the fallout caused by a smaller bomb, an attack on a nuclear plant, or a "dirty bomb" that relies on conventional explosives to spread radiation.
Nuclear Dangers
Traditionally, people think of dying in blast when a nuclear warhead goes off, but there are other dangers, too. Don't get me wrong -- the blast itself will certainly kill you if you are close to it. Death and serious injury will also be caused by the thermal effects of the bomb, which can give third degree burns six to eight miles away and first degree burns to someone 10 to 12 miles away from a one megaton blast. More death will be caused by the bomb's radiation and even more by the high dose of radiation carried downwind as nuclear fallout.
To protect yourself from the radiation and fallout, you need a fallout shelter. To protect yourself from the bomb's blast, you need a blast shelter. Blast shelters are usually buried deeper than fallout shelters, have hardened doors blast valves and are designed to withstand over pressure and negative pressure associated with a nuclear blast. If you live at or near a place that could be ground zero because it is of strategic importance, you are better off with a blast shelter. For most of us, however, a fallout shelter will do.
