Nuclear bomb survival study group

[headquarters]

yes ,"gentlemen" .

many questions regarding the nature of the threats concerning nuclear weapons have surfaced recently in our little group.

I do like it when you are in doubt -but I was asked directly and gave a vague answer -here is the full answer:

Warning! THIS INFO IS NOT VALID WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR MEDICAL DOCTOR IN REAL LIFE!NO LIABILITY !!!!!
(although it is scientific..)

Q: What has iodine got to with anything ? (jod)

A:The fallout from nuclear weapons contains radioactive isoptopes from or radioactive Iodine that enters the body through the thyroid gland. ( Iodine-129 and Iodine -131..nasty stuff ).
This can be in drinking water,food or through tiny specs of fallout swallowed by chance.
If the gland is saturated with potassium iodide it will absorb only a fraction of the contamination .Therefore it is important to take potassium iodide pills before being exposed so the thyroid gland is alreadyu saturated.If you happen into a situation with fallout ,stop taking iodine and potassium from other sources and start taking potassium iodine as soon as possible .

Q: can you use any iodine?

A: Iodine is hazardous to the health if used improperly - regular iodine should never be swallowed! .The wrong dosage can lead to serious problems or death.
Potassium Iodide or salt-iodine must be used ,and recommended dosage for adults is 130 mg /day.Using reular ionized salt might be beneficiary ,but not adequate protection .This can build up some deposits of the potassium iodide in your thyroid gland ,but not as efficiently as the potassium iodide pills.

Potassium Iodode pills are the most practical medium .Potassium iodide crystals or salt can be had , but must be cut by solvents like ethanol to create a practical dosage.

Studies indicate that REGULAR IODINE can be used , but ONLY as a tincture applied to the skin . (Alcohol solution with 2%iodine is swabbed onto the skin over an area of app. 25 cm2 at 1 time every day ,and covered with a simple coverbandage to keep from being scraped of.It is absorbed through the skin and the thyroid gland accumulates it over time).In practical terms these means a persons abdomen or forearm.Children need half this and infants a quarter.Newborn babies should recieve no more than 1/8 or 1/16th depending on weight .Treatment is most efficient if started before exposure both with pills,iodine tincture or other method.It should last app 7-10 after exposure is certified to have ended.

Warning! THIS INFO IS NOT VALID WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR MEDICAL DOCTOR IN REAL LIFE !!!!!I RESUME NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ACTIONS OUTSIDE MEDICAL SUPERVISION BY DOCTOR!!
(info is from civil defense brochures etc )

[headquarters]

Q: what to do if a nuke goes of ?

A: the blast and heat wave from a nuclear weapon is hard to protect yourself from.The blast can reach an enormous strength .The heatwave will incinerate anything within the first few hundred meters.Your only real chance of survival is to put distance and cover between yourself and the blast .Very few structuress are rated capable of sustaining direct hits from nukes.(But they do exist).

Protection from radiation is possible however .

These are divided in to two types because its easier.

Initial and residual radiation.

There are several kinds of radiation emitted; these types include gamma, neutron, and ionizing radiation, and are emitted not only at the time of detonation (initial radiation) but also for long periods of time afterward (residual radiation).

Initial nuclear radiation is defined as the radiation that arrives during the first minute after an explosion, and is mostly gamma radiation and neutron radiation. If very close to the blast you dont stand a chance.

There is a bz-zzzap! But what does 2000 rads matter when there is a
C:10000 B:5000 dmg roll to be made by the GM simultanously?


The level of initial nuclear radiation decreases rapidly with distance from the fireball to where less than one roentgen may be received five miles from ground zero.

In addition, initial radiation lasts only as long as nuclear fission occurs in the fireball. Initial nuclear radiation represents about 3 percent of the total energy in a nuclear explosion.

You can shield yourself very effectively by putting some cover or distance between you and the blast .Studies indicate that you can cut your radiation doze from initial radiation by over 99% just by crawling into a deep ditch.A sewer, a cellar , whatever puts the most mass around you is the best bet.
Even a whitepainted plywood door or similar will help .

Duck and cover !!

Though people close to ground zero may receive lethal doses of radiation, they are concurrently being killed by the blast wave and thermal pulse. In typical nuclear weapons, only a relatively small proportion of deaths and injuries result from initial radiation.

Q:What radiation is the one to worry about then ?

A: short answer is fallout.

If you survive the blast and the initial rads,fallout will be a PROBLEM. The first of it will start to come down from the fireball only minutes after the blast .Over the next 24 hours over half will come down .

BUT! the wind and precipitation etc can bring it down sooner or later than this .Some might stay in the stratosphere for years ,falling down and killing someone on the other side of the planet 7 years later.Unpredictable stuff really.

Tiny specs of radiated ashes,dust,waterdrops etc get around with the wind or carried on vehicles,under your boots,in clothing ,in gear..you name it .

The residual radiation from a nuclear explosion is mostly from the radioactive fallout. This radiation comes from the weapon debris, fission products, and, in the case of a ground burst, radiated soil.

It can be in water.It can be in the system of an animal that have drunk the water.It can be in the milk from the cow that looks healthy but drank from the water two days ago...It can be a tiny fragment in your food.You can inhale it as a speck of dust that cant be seen by the eyes alone...

There are over 300 different fission products that may result from a fission reaction. Many of these are radioactive with widely differing half-lives. Some are very short, i.e., fractions of a second, while a few are long enough that the materials can be a hazard for months or years. Their principal mode of decay is by the emission of beta particles and gamma radiation.

A particle passing through your intestines -or worse -lodging itself there - can emit enough radiation to kill ,maim or make you sick.

Fallout can irradiate the skin if it is in the soil you work with or the the dust you crawl through..Keeping out of the rad dust is trendy and high fashion in post apocalyptica.

Q: what to eat and drink ?

A: anything that has been kept away from the residual radiation or fallout is a good bet .Canned goods that have been made BEFORE the blast.Bottled water from BEFORE the blast.Water from underground wells that draw from levels well below ground ( NOT surface water ) ,is more than likely safe too.
The clue is that radioactive fallout is much the same as other pollution or poison -if your food has had no contact with it it is possibly safe.Anything fresh or close to fresh is risky .At least for a few weeks and in some cases -years.Fallout can be washed away by rains etc ,but there will always be a little left .

If no canned /prepackaged goods are available ,some livestock ,greens and tubers/roots are safe.enough.It all comes down to fallout exposure.If you can wash away all fallout ,and peal/skin/clean the food thouroughly it will be safer.Roots and tubers that grow below ground are safest if pealed and cleaned.Stay away from internalø organs,digestionary tracts etc of animals and tissue just below the skin .

Beware of crops that grow in fallout areas- they may absorb strontium-90 from the soil as they grow!If already near harvest time , pick as soon as possible and clean .Do not allow to grow further in contaminated soil.

Animals should not be eaten if they display signs of radiation sickness! Livestock that survive the blast can be eaten if they are fed fodder that is uncontaminated, and you allow enough time to pass.For milk and butter ,eggs etc allow app 14 days and throw out produce from the first few days of exposure.The more time that pass,the safer.Butter etc canbe stored and radiation will dissipate over time.Stayu away from internal organs .These accumulate radiation.

Dont forget -that goes for all pots and pans and utensils too.Metal absorb more radioation due to its mass /density.

[headquarters]

Q: what should be my initial response and what to do later ?

A:If there is advanced warning of an attack-
Take cover immediately, as far below ground as possible, though any shield or shelter will help protect you from the immediate effects of the blast and the pressure wave.

If there is no warning

Quickly assess the situation.

Whatever you do - try to shield your EYES from the blast .This means closing them ,and putting cover between you and the blast .DO NOT LOOK AT FIREBALL - maybe not even for several minutes.

Consider if you can get out of the area or if it would be better to go inside a building to limit the amount of radioactive material you are exposed to.You may have only minutes .

A LITTLE COVER GOES A LONG WAY ! A regular cellar with enough distance to survive the blast or any other structure can shield you !

If you live really close to a target -better run .If unlikely that there will be a strike on your location definently stay if food and water is available. Even a standard cellar in a residential building can save you from the radiation from the initial blast .Although it wont save you from the heat wave and shockwaves unless it has distance to the blast.

If you take shelter go as far below ground as possible, close windows and doors, turn off air conditioners, heaters or other ventilation systems. Seal up the place as best you can.Clog all vents,cracks,holes etc .Use tape,cloth,bedding,towels,plastic ,building materials etc. .Stay where you are, watch TV, listen to the radio, or check the Internet for official news as it becomes available.

To limit the amount of radiation you are exposed to, think about shielding, distance and time.

Shielding: If you have a thick shield between yourself and the radioactive materials, more of the radiation will be absorbed, and you will be exposed to less. A little cover goes a long way.A simple ditch can shield you from 99% of initial radiation.
Distance: The farther away you are away from the blast and the fallout the lower your exposure.
Time: Minimizing time spent exposed will also reduce your risk.

Use available information to assess the situation. If there is a significant radiation threat, health care authorities may or may not advise you to take potassium iodide. Potassium iodide is the same stuff added to your table salt to make it iodized. It may or may not protect your thyroid gland, which is particularly vulnerable, from radioactive iodine exposure.

If you are far enough away from the center of the blast and the initial radiation to survive and no major deposits of fallout is dispersed in your immideate area, staying inside is the right way to go .

The risk grows less for every hour after the explosion.In general a 14 day stay in a fallout proof shelter is sufficient to allow short forays outside.Protective clothing should be worn .

Unless you are walking through the crater of a bomb or the immideate area fallout has landed or any other "hot spot" , direct radiation is generally of little concern .Residual radiation from radiated dust or water is the most dangerous threat.This is true only after at least 10-14 days have gone by since the blast.The more time that pass ,the safer the enviroment-in general .Some isotopes have a halfing time of 5000 years though.

Generally there is a 7/10 rule -for every 7 fold time period that passes ,radiation is reduced 10 fold.The importance of immideate shelter from the initial radiation and subsequent fallout is therefore paramount.

Recommended reading is certainly this little book :

http://www.archive.org/stream/fallou...ge/n1/mode/2up

and for sure the good people who maintain this site deserves mention :

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:...&ct=clnk&gl=uk

a lot of info in their FAQ page and the articles from civil defense there.

[FMDeCorba]

Admittedly, it´s a detour from the main subject - but the American penchant for worst case scenarios manifests itself in odd ways:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designated_survivor

This years designated survivor in case of an catastrophic event during the state of the union adress was none other than .. (drum roll)

Tom Vilsack! The Secretary of Agriculture would have to take the burden to lead the nation should every other successor-in-line to the presidency be killed. Then he would have to read up on all this gruesome radiation business - assuming it was our favorite catastrophic event that took place.

Maybe it´s just because it´s late, but I find that kinda funny.