How to Survive a Nuclear Holocaust

 

 

Tips To Survive An EMP

14 Tips To Survive An EMP

It’s not a matter of ‘IF’ it’s a matter of ‘WHEN’ and ‘WHERE’ will this happen. Prepare now, even if it’s a little bit a month. Plan ahead, stay alive. Start HERE.

 

 

Dirty Bombs – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

With all of the World’s conflicts, terrorist activity, political unrest, combined with rouge nations like North Korea and Iran racing towards nuclear power, the threat of dirty bombs grows.

People have expressed concern about dirty bombs and what they should do to protect themselves if a dirty bomb incident occurs. Because your health and safety are our highest priorities, the health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have prepared the following list of frequently asked questions and answers about dirty bombs.

What is a dirty bomb, and what the dangers are? Questions answered by the CDC via Year Zero Survival Blog.

What is a dirty bomb?
A dirty bomb is a mix of explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive powder or pellets. When the dynamite or other explosives are set off, the blast carries radioactive material into the surrounding area.

A dirty bomb is not the same as an atomic bomb
An atomic bomb, like those bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, involves the splitting of atoms and a huge release of energy that produces the atomic mushroom cloud.

A dirty bomb works completely differently and cannot create an atomic blast. Instead, a dirty bomb uses dynamite or other explosives to scatter radioactive dust, smoke, or other material in order to cause radioactive contamination.

What are the main dangers of a dirty bomb?
The main danger from a dirty bomb is from the explosion, which can cause serious injuries and property damage. The radioactive materials used in a dirty bomb would probably not create enough radiation exposure to cause immediate serious illness, except to those people who are very close to the blast site. However, the radioactive dust and smoke spread farther away could be dangerous to health if it is inhaled. Because people cannot see, smell, feel, or taste radiation, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself and your loved ones.

What immediate actions should I take to protect myself?
These simple steps—recommended by doctors and radiation experts—will help protect you and your loved ones. The steps you should take depend on where you are located when the incident occurs: outside, inside, or in a vehicle.

If you are outside and close to the incident

  • Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth to reduce the risk of breathing in radioactive dust or smoke.
  • Don’t touch objects thrown off by an explosion—they might be radioactive.
  • Quickly go into a building where the walls and windows have not been broken. This area will shield you from radiation that might be outside.
  • Once you are inside, take off your outer layer of clothing and seal it in a plastic bag if available. Put the cloth you used to cover your mouth in the bag, too. Removing outer clothes may get rid of up to 90% of radioactive dust.
  • Put the plastic bag where others will not touch it and keep it until authorities tell you what to do with it.
  • Shower or wash with soap and water. Be sure to wash your hair. Washing will remove any remaining dust.
  • Tune to the local radio or television news for more instructions.

If you are inside and close to the incident

  • If the walls and windows of the building are not broken, stay in the building and do not leave.
  • To keep radioactive dust or powder from getting inside, shut all windows, outside doors, and fireplace dampers. Turn off fans and heating and air-conditioning systems that bring in air from the outside. It is not necessary to put duct tape or plastic around doors or windows.
  • If the walls and windows of the building are broken, go to an interior room and do not leave. If the building has been heavily damaged, quickly go into a building where the walls and windows have not been broken. If you must go outside, be sure to cover your nose and mouth with a cloth. Once you are inside, take off your outer layer of clothing and seal it in a plastic bag if available. Store the bag where others will not touch it.
  • Shower or wash with soap and water, removing any remaining dust. Be sure to wash your hair.
  • Tune to local radio or television news for more instructions.

If you are in a car when the incident happens

  • Close the windows and turn off the air conditioner, heater, and vents.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth to avoid breathing radioactive dust or smoke.
  • If you are close to your home, office, or a public building, go there immediately and go inside quickly.
  • If you cannot get to your home or another building safely, pull over to the side of the road and stop in the safest place possible. If it is a hot or sunny day, try to stop under a bridge or in a shady spot.
  • Turn off the engine and listen to the radio for instructions.
  • Stay in the car until you are told it is safe to get back on the road.

What should I do about my children and family?

  • If your children or family are with you, stay together. Take the same actions to protect your whole family.
  • If your children or family are in another home or building, they should stay there until you are told it is safe to travel.
  • Schools have emergency plans and shelters. If your children are at school, they should stay there until it is safe to travel. Do not go to the school until public officials say it is safe to travel.

How do I protect my pets?

  • If you have pets outside, bring them inside if it can be done safely.
  • Wash your pets with soap and water to remove any radioactive dust.

Should I take potassium iodide?

  • Potassium iodide, also called KI, only protects a person’s thyroid gland from exposure to radioactive iodine. KI will not protect a person from other radioactive materials or protect other parts of the body from exposure to radiation.
  • Since there is no way to know at the time of the explosion whether radioactive iodine was used in the explosive device, taking KI would probably not be beneficial. Also, KI can be dangerous to some people.

Will food and water supplies be safe?

  • Food and water supplies most likely will remain safe. However, any unpackaged food or water that was out in the open and close to the incident may have radioactive dust on it. Therefore, do not consume water or food that was out in the open.
  • The food inside of cans and other sealed containers will be safe to eat. Wash the outside of the container before opening it.
  • Authorities will monitor food and water quality for safety and keep the public informed.

 How do I know if I’ve been exposed to radiation or contaminated by radioactive materials?

  • People cannot see, smell, feel, or taste radiation; so you may not know whether you have been exposed. Police or firefighters will quickly check for radiation by using special equipment to determine how much radiation is present and whether it poses any danger in your area.
  • Low levels of radiation exposure (like those expected from a dirty bomb situation) do not cause any symptoms. Higher levels of radiation exposure may produce symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and swelling and redness of the skin.
  • If you develop any of these symptoms, you should contact your doctor, hospital, or other sites recommended by authorities.

Where do I go for more information?
For more information about dirty bombs, radiation, and health, contact:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protects people’s health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

 

DHS Admits It Is Unprepared for EMP Threat

 

In testimony delivered on September 12, Brandon Wales, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center, admitted that DHS remains unprepared for the possibility of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) event or attack.

Wales testified that the nation’s power grid is more vulnerable now than it was a few years ago. Nevertheless, he could not provide Congress with an estimate for how much it would cost to combat such vulnerabilities.

An EMP attack could bring this country to a screeching halt by permanently disabling electronic devices. ATMs would stop dispensing money. Water and sewage systems would fail. Even planes and automobiles would stop working. Imagine living in the Dark Ages: This is what it would be like to live through an EMP attack.

More than seven years ago, DHS released its National Planning Scenarios. This document outlined plans to prepare for and respond to 15 different man-made and natural disasters. The list included the detonation of an improvised nuclear device and the use of a plague as a weapon. However, one potential threat was noticeably missing; an EMP event or attack.

The possibility of an EMP is arguably just as likely to occur as the detonation of an improvised nuclear device or the use of a contagious and deadly biological weapon. A rouge nation could effectively disable, damage, or destroy critical infrastructure with a short-range ballistic missile carrying an EMP device or nuclear warhead. Countries such as North Korea and Iran already possess ballistic missile capabilities. Other weapons, such as a radio-frequency device, could also cause an EMP that would disrupt critical systems.

Natural events could also plausibly result in an EMP. NASA and the National Academy of Sciences have argued that a “solar maximum” could occur between now and 2014. As the solar maximum approaches its peak, the sun could propel electromagnetic fluctuations into the earth’s atmosphere. These fluctuations would interact with our electrical systems and result in blackouts affecting 130 million people. Costs of such outages could range from $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year alone.

To make matters worse, an outage could last for years, because we would need to completely rebuild our infrastructure. In this scenario, food and water delivery systems would be devastated. We could see massive human casualties on a scale that hardly seems imaginable.

The United States is vulnerable to an EMP that could occur at the hands of our enemies or via uncontrollable natural forces. DHS is ignoring the threat posed by an EMP at the risk of literally plunging us into darkness.

Steven Ballew is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit http://www.heritage.org/about/departments/ylp.cfm.

Posted in Protect America

DHS Admits It Is Unprepared for EMP Threat.

 

 

 

 

Potassium Iodide: What does it do?

In the aftermath of a nuclear emergency, radioactive Iodine can get into your body through eating, drinking or breathing.

Your thyroid gland may be seriously damaged as it absorbs this radioactive chemical. One way to protect this gland and prevent absorption is to make your thyroid “full” by taking non radioactive (KI)Potassium Iodide tablets.

The CDC recommends the following dosages upon advisories emergency officials. They may recommend taking one dose every 24 hours up to a few days.

This is especially important for pregnant woman, young adults and children.

Adults older than 40 should not take KI unless advised.

  • Adults should take 130 mg (one 130 mg tablet OR two 65 mg tablets OR two mL of solution).
  • Women who are breastfeeding should take the adult dose of 130 mg.
  • Children between 3 and 18 years of age should take 65 mg (one 65 mg tablet OR 1 mL of solution). Children who are adult size (greater than or equal to 150 pounds) should take the full adult dose, regardless of their age.
  • Infants and children between 1 month and 3 years of age should take 32 mg (½ of a 65 mg tablet OR ½ mL of solution). This dose is for both nursing and non-nursing infants and children.
  • Newborns from birth to 1 month of age should be given 16 mg (¼ of a 65 mg tablet or ¼ mL of solution). This dose is for both nursing and non-nursing newborn infants.

The CDC advises that KI “can protect only the thyroid from radioactive iodine, not other parts of the body”…and will not reverse damage that has already occurred.

We recommend the following educational site for more information: http://emergency.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp

September Is National Preparedness Month

In honor of National Preparedness Month some handy information from FEMA

Resolve to be Ready in 2012

ARE YOU READY? GUIDE

AN IN-DEPTH GUIDE TO CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS

Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (IS-22) is FEMA’s most comprehensive source on individual, family and community preparedness.  The guide has been revised, updated and enhanced in August 2004 to provide the public with the most current and up-to-date disaster preparedness information available.

  • What is Are You Ready?Open

  • Interactive course based on Are You Ready?Closed

Are You Ready? provides a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness by walking the reader through how to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify hazards that affect their local area and how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan and disaster supplies kit. Other topics covered include evacuation, emergency public shelters, animals in disaster and information specific to people with access and functional needs.

Are You Ready? also provides in-depth information on specific hazards including what to do before, during and after each hazard type. The following hazards are covered: Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms and Lightning, Winter Storms and Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Landslide and Debris Flows (Mudslide), Tsunamis, Fires, Wildfires, Hazardous Materials Incidents, Household Chemical Emergencies, Nuclear Power Plant and Terrorism (including Explosion, Biological, Chemical, Nuclear and Radiological hazards).

Are You Ready? is also available in Spanish, and can be used in a variety of ways including as a read-through or reference guide. The guide can also be used as a study manual guide with credit awarded for successful completion and a 75 percent score on a final exam. Questions about the exam should be directed to the FEMA Independent Study Program by calling 1-800-238-3358 or by going to training.fema.gov/is.

Also available is the Are You Ready? Facilitator Guide (IS-22FG). The Facilitator Guide is a tool for those interested in delivering Are You Ready? content in a small group or classroom setting. The Facilitator Guide is an easy to use manual that has instruction modules for adults, older children and younger children. A resource CD is packaged with the Facilitator Guide that contains customizable presentation materials, sample training plans and other disaster preparedness education resources.

Copies of Are You Ready? and the Facilitator Guide are available through the FEMA publications warehouse (1.800.480.2520). For large quantities, your organization may reprint the publication. Please visit our reprint page for more information.

For more publications on disaster preparedness, visit the Community and Family Preparedness webpage.

Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness Full Document (PDF – 21Mb)