Factors For Protection From Radioactive Fallout
Radioactive Fallout
March 2007
Factors for Protection From Radioactive Fallout
The three factors for protecting oneself from radioactive fallout are distance, shielding,
and time.
• Distance—the more distance between you and the fallout particles, the better.
An underground area, such as a home or office building basement, offers more
protection than the first floor of a building. A floor near the middle of a high-rise
may be better, depending on what is nearby at that level on which significant
fallout particles would collect. Flat roofs collect fallout particles, so the top floor is
not a good choice, nor is a floor adjacent to a neighboring flat roof.
• Shielding—the heavier and denser the shielding materials—thick walls,
concrete, bricks, books, and earth—between you and the fallout particles, the
better.
• Time—fallout radiation loses its intensity fairly rapidly. In time, you will be able to
leave the fallout shelter. Radioactive fallout poses the greatest threat to people
during the first two weeks, after which time it has declined to only about one
percent of its initial radiation level.
Remember that any protection, however temporary, is better than none at all; and the
more shielding, distance, and time you can take advantage of, the better.
Taking Protective Measures
Before a Nuclear Explosion
To prepare for a nuclear explosion, you should:
• Modify
your
Disaster Supplies Kit so it is adequate for up to two weeks.
• Find out from officials if any public buildings in your community have been
designated as fallout shelters. If none have been designated, make your own list
of potential fallout shelters near your home, workplace, and school. These places
would include basements or the windowless center area of middle floors in high-
rise buildings, as well as subways and tunnels.
• If you live in an apartment building or high-rise, talk to the manager about the
safest place in the building for sheltering and about providing for building
occupants until it is safe to go out.
Taking shelter before a nuclear explosion is absolutely necessary. There are two
kinds of shelters—blast and fallout.
• Blast
shelters are specifically constructed to offer some protection against blast
pressure, initial radiation, heat, and fire; but even a blast shelter could not withstand
a direct hit from a nuclear explosion.
• Fallout shelters do not need to be specially constructed for protecting against
fallout. They can be any protected space, provided that the walls and roof are thick
and dense enough to absorb the radiation given off by fallout particles.
(See “Terrorism.”)
Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages
Radioactive Fallout-1
