In the last post we discussed personal protective equipment for the nuclear environment. This post concerns having a way to communicate a nuclear explosion in your area via HAM or whatever other commo device you might have available. This is modeled after the the military’s NBC reporting format, but is different and more specific just for a nuclear situation. The reason I set it up that way is simple. If this info makes it’s way back to the military or government through civilian channels, it will be easier for them to convert it into a report to send higher up the chain without having to totally reconstruct or interpret the reports.
OK, so let’s go through the “Nuke-O-Spot 1 Report” step by step. If the right column is blacked out, it does not get filled in on that specific report. NOTE: If a letter is skipped, it was for the chem or bio part of the original military report template, and doesn’t relate to the nuclear section. B- Where are you? Find out on a map or GPS what your location is and make sure you list the type of coords you’re using. C- Using your compass, what direction is the blast in? D- Usually, this will be as follows “DDMMMYY, and 24 hour time format with your time zone (that’s important) listed after the number. G- Self explanatory. H- Was it up in the sky, or close to the ground when it went off? J- Count “one thousand one, one thousand two…..” and take that times 330 to give you the distance in meters. You only need to put the time between the flash and bang in this block though. L- Use the finger scale below as your measurement guide in Mils., and take the width measurement 5 minutes after detonation. This is an approximation. M- A fist held straight away from the body with arm extended is approximately 150 Mils,. take the height measurement 1 minute after detonation. Just measure the height by how many stacked fists it is. This is an approximation. O- If you can’t take the height measurement at H+1 (or you take another measurement) reference the date/time of blast (H+0), and the height in mils or degree. Example at H+15 the height is 4 fists (approx. 600 mils) high. Q- When taking a radiation reading, put the location coordinates, or the name of the location (town, major intersection, etc.). R- Dose rate of the radiation in Rads or Gray measurements. See the chart below. S- The date and time group that the reading was taken.
The “Nuke-O-Spot 2 Report” is basically a compilation of multiple N-O-S 1 Reports at an “Info Hub”. Here’s how it works. A- This number is assigned by the group compiling the info D- Same as N-O-S 1. F- The Info Hub will use the multiple N-O-S 1 reports to triangulate the location of the detonation. G- Same as N-O-S 1 reports. H- Same as N-O-S 1 reports. N- If the Info Hub has the capability to determine yield by using the cloud height and width information. P- Info Hub uses weather/winds aloft reports to determine the direction of fallout. Z- The Info Hub will use the weather/winds aloft report to determine and report the speed of the fallout cloud.
HOW IT WORKS
There are enough HAM operators (AMRRON maybe) out there to be able to pass this info on to those that can disseminate it to those who need it most and can determine countermeasures. My suggestion is to find a HAM operator in your region that was an NBC specialist in the military, and use him or her as your Info Hub to feed N-O-S 1 reports to. There are plenty of NBC FM’s out there to figure a good bit of this out for yourself. Your group should understand and be able to apply this info for the group’s protection. NOTE: Winds aloft can change directions about every 2,000 feet, and this is why a fallout pattern does not always have a circular or oval shape. Keep this in mind if you are trying to predict the fallout pattern.
Some years ago, a friend asked me to put this format out. I finally got around to it, because I think it might be needed in the not so distant future, considering the direction certain national and international players are leaning. Hopefully it won’t be needed, but you know what they say, “Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.
Even “Vault Boy” from the game “Fallout 4” knows how to use the “Rule of Thumb”. If the mushroom cloud is wider than the thumb, seek cover immediately. If not, you have a little time.
An hour ago, Guns and Gadgets put this video out. If this is true, not only does it prove how scared the Left is of Trump, it also proves how much they need for Trump to be out of the picture altogether. Actions like this, is how Civil Wars start. Of course the Left would like nothing better than for us to start a Civil War, but as Burt Gummer said,……
As a kid, the threat of nuclear war was a very real possibility. One of the reasons I chose to go to NBC School while in the military was due to my interest in learning how to survive it as a teenager, and realizing that whatever I may have learned as a civilian, I could probably learn a lot more in the military. At one point I served as a Battalion NBC NCO, and assisted in the planning and conducting of battalion level training events.
Although there are a lot of resources out there, the book Nuclear War Survival Skills or the PDF is still one of the best and most practical. Although a lot of people believe you need a military NBC suit to survive fallout, in actuality, a standard rubber rainsuit will protect you just as well. The military NBC suit is more for the chemicals in a chemical attack than the nuclear radiation threat. You cannot survive in a high radiation dose area simply by what you are wearing. Wearing a protective suit is to help keep the fallout off of your clothing, keep it off your skin, and to make a barrier that is easily decontaminated (decontaminate by hosing or brush off the fallout). Below is a rainsuit , and below that a military NBC suit.
Besides the mask you wear to keep from inhaling radioactive debris, the other accessories you need are gauntlet type gloves and some type of over boot. Both of these items need to be able to be easily decontaminated like the suit you’re wearing, and heavy rubber seams to be the best material for that.
Left to right: Green military rain/NBC overboots. Old style military NBC over boots, and military NBC gloves with cloth liners (makes getting them on and off easier). NOTE: Make sure you duct tape the seams where your gloves and boots are covered by your suit.
Last but most definitely the most important part of personal nuclear apparel is the mask. The purpose of the mask is primarily to filter the air you breathe. Inhalation of radioactive particulates will kill you from the inside out. A secondary purpose is to keep the fallout out of your hair and the inside of your collar if the mask has a hood. Even a dust mask will work, but I use a military issue masks for their durability and filter compatibility with what the military uses. Below is the M17A1 Mask, below that, the M40A1. Both have the hoods attached.
A lot of people discount the older M17A1 masks, but if you find one in good condition, grab it. The internal filters are a pain in the ass to change when needed, but this type of mask is harder for someone to rip off your face in a close quarters fight. However, the side filter models do give you a better cheek weld when using a rifle, and the filter is easy to change quickly.
Keeping track of your personal dose of radiation is done by wearing a dosimeter “pen”. This is pictured on the left above. The item to the right is a dosimeter charger. This is basically a meter that you look through and a needle inside tells you what your radiation exposure is on a scale that is inside the “pen”.
Last but not least in the electronics department is a radiation survey meter/geiger counter. Depending on the model you get, you can measure the radiation level in your immediate area, or at a distance (some have a cable that you can place at a distance from the meter). This will give you the Rad/Gray level for your location.
Rad to Gray conversion chart.
That’s all we’re gonna discuss in this post, concerning personal protective apparel for a nuclear threat. Hope this helps.
Today we will talk about what types of radiation are of concern in a nuclear war context, what kind of a threat they are and for how long, and ways to mitigate those effects. Throughout all this information we will put out about radiation protection, the three basic things to keep in mind that you can use to protect yourself from radiation are Distance, Time, and Shielding.
Radiation
Generally speaking, there are three types of radiation that we are concerned about. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The Alpha Radiation/particle is the least dangerous realistically, but it is still a concern. The effects it has can be mitigated by 1 inch of air, a layer of common clothing, and even your skin to a degree. The place where Alpha Radiation can cause you damage is if you ingest it, whether through inhaling or swallowing it. It can cause serious issues with internal organs it comes into contact with. A tightly sealed bandanna, commercial dust respirator or gas mask will inhibit the inhalation part, and cleaning your food off will generally stop the swallowing it part. Keep in mind though, the Alpha particle is 20 times more damaging to human tissue (in contact) than an equal amount of Gamma radiation/rays.
Beta Radiation is more of a concern, but it is usually stopped by 10 inches of air, or several layers of clothing. As with the Alpha particles, Beta’s are also a concern if ingested, and the commercial respirator or gas mask still applies for that concern. Although regular clothing in layers will usually defeat Beta particles, I suggests using a heavy commercial rain suit (pants and hooded jacket will work, but the “overall” type pants with a jacket or a trench coat type jacket with regular pants will work better for the overlap these combos provide), heavy rubber over boots, and gauntlet style rubber gloves will help with a speedy decontamination when you arrive back at your home/retreat. You simply get brushed off then sprayed off in a designated decontamination area with a water hose.
Gamma Radiation is the big killer in a nuclear fallout context. Unhindered by a barrier, Gama particles have a range of a 1/2 mile. The way to defeat or mitigate the effects of Gamma radiation is to not be anywhere near it, or to use different types of material to shield against it. The radiation output measurement is called Gray (Gy) or Rad (R) and is measure by the hour.
Remember this Soviet funded anti-nuke BBC production? I do. It was on TV and host by that POS Maury Povich in the summer of ’84. Make it look unsurvivable and no one will prepare for it. Unfortunately, by that time, I had read Nuclear War Survival Skills and knew the movie was BS.
Terminology
The “Rad” term is an older one (old US system), and 1 Gray(Gy) equals 100 Rad (R). The term REM stands for “Roentgen Equivalent Man” is generally equal to the same amount as a RAD (1 Rad= 1 REM). The REM is the older US system’s nomenclature for dose received and 100 REM’s are equal to 1 Sievert (Sv). Both REM and Sievert are a measurement of the dose received by the individual. 1 Sievert equals 100 REM in dose, 1 Gray equals 100 Rads in radiation measurements per hour. If you are told the radiation level is 1,000R (10 Gy), that means it is 1,000 Rads (10 Gy) in an hour. If you are told the dose received is 1,000R (10 Sv), it means the person received 1,000 REM (10 Sv), and if that person was exposed to that dose for 3 hours, it would not be 1,000 REM (10 Sv), but 3,000 REM (30 Sv).
In this instance, you’d substitute Sieverts (Sv) for Gray (Gy), and if you are using the older standard US system, you’d take the Gy amount and multiply by 100 for the REM quantity.
Here’s another chart in my notes that will give you an idea of what happens after you are exposed to a given amount of radiation in a given time period.
Doses are listed as REM.
0-70= Dose period/6-12 hours. No effects to slight incidents of headache, nausea, vomiting. Up to 5%. No medical care required.
70-150= Dose period/2-20 hours. Same as above, from 5-30% effected. Some medical care might be required.
150-300= Dose period/2hrs-2 days. 20-70% percent same as above. Fatigue and weakness in 25-60% of personnel. 5% deaths at low end, 10% at high end.
300-530= Dose period/2hrs-3 days. 50-90% as above. Fatigue and weakness in 50-90%. At low end 10% deaths, at high end 50% deaths
530-830= Dose period/2hrs- 2 days, 80-100% of personnel with moderate to severe nausea and vomiting. 2hrs- 6 weeks, moderate to severe fatigue and weakness in 90-100%. 50% dead in 6 weeks at low end, 99% dead in 3 weeks at high end
830-3000=Dose period/30mins to 2 days, severe nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, disorientation, and moderate to severe fluid imbalance and headache. 100% death in 5 days to 3 weeks
3000-8000= Dose period/30mins to 5 days, 100% experience severe nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, disorientation, fluid imbalance, and headache. 100% death in 2-3 days
Greater than 8000= Dose period/30mins to 1 day, severe and prolonged nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, disorientation, fluid imbalance and headache. 100% death in 1 day
Understanding The Half Life of gamma radiation.
There is a basic rule that applies to the effectiveness of radiation, this is called the “Rule of Sevens”. “Half-Life” is the term used to measure the amount of time required for the radioactivity being generated to be cut in half. When measuring Gamma radiation, we use the “Rule of Seven”. In a nut shell this means that for any given amount of radiation, a time span of seven will reduce that radiation to 10% of the quantity previously measured (it will be reduced 90%).
If we start with an example of 2000R in your area one hour after a detonation (H+1), within 7 hours, the radiation level will be reduced to 200R. After 49 hours (approx 2 days), the radiation is reduced to 20R, and after 14 days (two weeks), it will be reduced to 2R. Finally after 98 days ( approx 3 months) it is at 2/10R. Note that the chart above does not measure below a dose rate of 1Gy/1Sv (100 R/100REM). Although there would be trouble spots where fallout would have collected, for the most part, you are relatively safe to come out of the shelter after two weeks in all but the worst hit areas. If you are in those areas, I think you probably would have had a more immediate concern from the initial blast damage, than the radiation.
Blocking Radiation
So now we’re all depressed because we realize what radiation will do to our bodies, let’s talk about how we’re gonna stop it. We’ve already talked about how to block the radioactive Alpha and Beta particles from harming us internally and externally with protective apparel, but one other thing to mention in this regard is potassium iodide (KI) tablets. These are to be taken 48 hours prior to a possible exposure to Alpha and Beta particles due to ingestion or inhalation (they don’t help with external radiation exposure).
It’s good to have them on hand in case you won’t have the ability to block the inhalation or ingestion of Alpha or Beta particles with some type of respirator, but KI does have numerous side effects that are possible after being taken. Also, KI is not recommended for people over the age of 40, due to side effects affecting the thyroid that are possible.
SHELTERING
OK, so now we are going to shelter in place, and we need to build or add to a shelter, whether it is a shelter within a building, or making the whole building into a shelter. What are some common materials that are available to us for use in our shelter.
We will talk about a number of readily available materials and what radiation shielding capabilities they have. First up is air.
AIR– Distance is your friend when it comes to radiation. To cut the output of radiation in half, you need 200 feet of air/space. This 200 feet of distance will halve whatever Rad or Gray count is emanating from the source of the radiation. Using an uncontaminated parking garage basement that you decide to build a shelter in as an example. If you have 200 feet of air between you and the outside, discounting any other material (steel, concrete, etc) the radiation level is cut in half with that 200 feet of distance. Different types of architecture (high rises) will assist with this.
DIRT– It requires 3.3 inches of dirt to halve the amount of radiation that is put out from a source outside the shelter. If you have an outside radioactive source, 12 inches of dirt will reduce the radiation to 1/10th of the original output, 23″ to 1/100th, and 33″ to 1/1,000th of the outside radiation output.
WOOD– Wood will reduce the effects of outside radiation to 1/10th with 35″, 1/100th with 58″. and 1/1,000th with 88″. The halving thickness is 8.8″.
STEEL– Steel’s radiation reduction is as follows: 1/10th is 2.3″, 1/100th is 5″, and 1/1,000th is 7″. The halving thickness is .7″.
CONCRETE– 10 inches of concrete will block 1/10th of the outside radiation, 15 inches blocks 1/100th, and 23 inches blocks 1/1,000th. The halving thickness is 2.2″.
PAPER– the protection books and magazines provide equals 1/10th with 28 inches, 1/100th with 54 inches, and 1/1,000th with 77 inches. The halving thickness is 7.7″
WATER– Something like a waterbed in the room above might be factored into your protection. Water provides 1/10th the exposure with 19 inches, 1/100th the exposure with 30 inches, and 1/1,000th with 48 inches. The halving thickness is 4.8″.
In case you didn’t notice, the denser and heavier a substance is for a given size (example 1 cubic foot) the better the protection and shielding from radiation.
In the next nuke series post, we’ll talk about using some of the materials listed above to build shelters out of your home, within your home, and in a building you might get caught in or in the open after a blast.
Expedient shelter, page 101, chapter 14 of Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny
Mason Dixon Survivalist Association 