Wherever you find shelter, it is essential to remain in place for at least 72 hours and to monitor the local radio stations waiting for the all-clear to be called. Choose a room that is furthest away from the roof and the exterior walls, with the best option being to shelter in the basement. Immediately after entering the building that you will shelter in, close all the doors and windows and shut down any ventilation to prevent fallout particles from entering the building.Ĭlose chimney dampers, seal bathroom exhaust fans and range hoods and close all furnace vents. If you are out and about, you’ll have about fifteen minutes to find shelter and avoid exposure to the fallout. If you are at home, you can execute your plan to set up refuge inside your home. Provided you survived the initial blast, you must seek shelter immediately. It is unlikely that you will have any notice before an attack. What To Do Immediately Following A Nuclear Detonation Since radiation has no taste or smell, only specialized equipment can detect how dangerous it is. This means that there is no good answer to the question of how long fallout will be dangerous, it depends on multiple factors. Some particles may have a half-life of a few days, and others may be decades. The problem with nuclear fallout is that its radiation comes from hundreds of radioactive nuclei with varying half-lives. It can take months for all the fallout in the atmosphere to find its way to the ground, and the effects can be global. Related: A Strange Thing That Might Save Your Life in A Nuclear Aftermathįortunately, most of the fallout in the immediate area will fall within twenty-four hours and look like ash or sand. The wind then carries this fallout downwind from the blast. Nuclear fallout is caused by the vaporized debris mixing with the radioactive particles that make up a mushroom cloud. The good news is that we can take steps to secure our homes against fallout without digging a bunker in our backyard. A nuclear attack or disaster will come without warning, and while it is not practical to harden your home against the shockwave and thermal blast of an atomic bomb, you can take steps to shield yourself and your family from the impending fallout.Ī purpose-built fallout shelter is ideal but also prohibitively expensive and outside the reach of most of us.

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