Fallout Survival

It is my belief that this scenario is highly unlikely at this time, However it is also my belief that shit happens and it’s better to be at the very least educated in every scenario possible. Furthermore, it is my belief that most people, including servicemen and women, haven’t a clue how to deal with this type of a threat. For most soldiers in the military today you are trained a great deal in dealing with this problem AS A SOLDIER, as it is the militaries function to train you to adapt to any given situation and continue with your mission. You are trained to think about the whole of the military, and hopefully survive instead of training you to think about yourself AND survive. This threat is compounded tenfold for a civilian who has had no training at all, and if that scenario should arise, will be left dumbfounded as to what to do to protect themselves and their loved ones. The following is a general idea of what to expect and what to do should you find yourself in a nuclear wasteland. I’m not promising you will survive but following these instructions will greatly enhance your chances.
Fallout can come from a few different sources but the ideas mentioned will remain the same for all. Be it power plant melt down or attacks on nuclear power plants, Nuclear detonation both ground burst or air bust, or a dirty bomb laced with radioactive material, Fall out can be expected. First we will talk about a few facts. It is estimated that in times of peace, The average civilian is exposed to 30 to 100 grays of radiation per year, everyone is it comes from the sun and from fallout due to nuclear testing and I’ve even been told that volcanic eruptions thousands of miles away contribute to this (I’m not a volcanic expert, this is just what I’ve been told) for the most part its relatively safe as most people show no symptoms at all from this exposure. 10 miles out from a nuclear detonation you can expect exposure rates of around 30 grays per hour, this is bad but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. 50% of you in the area around a nuclear detonation, should you survive the blast itself, are going to die. You will die and you will die a very horrible death. Worst case scenario your skin will begin to blister and peel off of your body, vomit and cough up blood, and quite possibly chunks of your insides, stomach and lung lining and so forth. If you get to this point relatively quickly, I’m sorry, you’re not going to make it, you are going to die sometime within the next 3 to 6 days. This is reality and there is no sense in me watering it down for you. ALL HOPE IS NOT LOST HOWEVER.
If however you begin to feel better in or about a week, you’re not out of the water yet. You can still expect to relapse soon and for the next 4 to 6 weeks life is going to be hell and if you continue to deteriorate in health you can expect death to come for you within 6 weeks after exposure. I’m not sure which ones have it worse.
SO….What can you do to better your chances of surviving such a horrible event? That answer is actually quite simple. Minimize exposure.
1. Suddenly there is a blinding flash, DROP TO THE GROUND AND WAIT FOR THE BLAST WAVE. The military is trained to lay down with their heads toward the flash though this probably doesn’t help any for a civilian….just lay on the ground. The idea is that a soldiers Kpot will absorb some of the blast, Civies don’t wear kpots, drop to the ground flat where ever you are.

2. After the blast immediately vacate the area. That is get in a car, boat whatever you can find and head away from the mushroom cloud. Many handbooks the government has put out over the years state things like go to help put out fires and the such….Nu uh… no…you get in whatever transportation you have available to you and you leave. If you were in your home at the time do not stay there. If the water is still working soak rags in water fill some bottles and get to steppin, screw packing grab a change of clothes or 2 stuff em in a bag and LEAVE.

3. If you have the wet rags cover your nose and mouth with them if not cover your nose and mouth with whatever breathable material you may have that wasn’t directly exposed to the air at the time IE; an inner shirt, jacket lining from inside your jacket, something that may already be in your car. The idea is to prevent from inhaling any radioactive particles that are now floating in the air and have covered everything including you. Close the vents in your car and keep the windows rolled up.

4. I wouldn’t recommend traveling the interstate though it may be your only option for leaving town. Get about 50 to 75 miles outside of town but no more than an hour after exposure and stop somewhere. Gas station, Rest station, Restaurant, Hotel, Somewhere where you can get enough water to wash yourself thoroughly. Strip, now is not a time to be modest so if you have to use a water hose in a truck stop parking lot you do so. Get necked and wash yourself completely, use soap if you have some, blow your nose, wash it out, rinse out your mouth, brush your teeth, clean out your ears. Every crack and hole in your body should not go neglected. (exposed holes that is, I should hope you had under garments on which would have kept dust and debris out of your personal areas, we dont want to put anything inside you just wash the outer areas) Change into fresh clothes hopefully they aren’t contaminated as much. Bag your old clothes and drop em in a trash can or dumpster. That area is about to be contaminated as well if it hasnt began to fall there already. again wash any parts that touched your old clothing.

5. Cover the seats in your car with plastic bags get back in and continue to move away from the blast zone. Listen to your radio, there should be reports on wind direction so keep this in mind while picking a destination. If you are blistering or vomiting blood seek immediate medical care but if not (vomiting without blood is normal, no blistering) continue on.

6. Remember speed is important but do not crash your car doin 110, use your head don’t be stupid. If you haven’t reached a safe area to hold up for awhile within 3 hours repeat the washing process. Remember your car is contaminated along with anything you brought so when you do find a safe place do not bring anything inside….including the clothes you are wearing. Strip outside and go in naked and immediately…WASH AGAIN. double bag your old clothes and put these in the trunk. These should be disposed of properly, ask athorities what to do with them..washing them isnt going to do the trick, water doesnt make something non radioactive it just blocks it but when it dries it will still be radioactive.

7. Potassium Iodide is something most people do not have on hand but if you can get some take it orally. This isn’t a cure all, it will only serve to help the thyroid from absorbing radioactive particles…AND THAT’S ALL IT DOES. So if you can’t find any don’t sweat it.

8. Seek medical help but expect a long wait at the hospitals.

Other things to consider are the following, there are 3 main types of radioactive elements you should know about.

Alpha emitters, very harmful and highly radioactive these are less common than the others and generally only harm you if ingested or inhaled. Once inside the body however they cause tremendous damage to your lungs and other organs. Alpha emitters generally are blocked by clothing plastic sheeting and anything that generally would keep dust off of you, these are particles much like grains of dust or very fine sand and is possible to have on you and not even notice. generous washing of the body and changing clothes will decontaminate satisfactorily, taking care not to cross-contaminate.

Beta emitters, These are more common just after a blast and can feed your body doses of radiation for hours and even days, harmful if swallowed or inhaled but can also do damage to tissue if in contact with your body, several layers of clothing can protect you from this type of emitter, plastic sheeting and other thin objects that keep them from contacting your body will generally protect you from them. As with alpha emitters, washing and change of clothes will decon to satisfaction.

Gamma Rays, this type of radiation isn’t a particle but rather an electromagnetic ray or wave that can penetrate most anything but very thick concrete, lead, and water. This is the one you need to escape from as holding up in your house though it may protect you from the first 2 will most certainly spell death for you and your family if you remain inside the effected area for long periods of time. This is exactly why I say it’s better to risk exposure to the other 2 than slowly cook to death in your own home.

Do not talk to people to much when escaping the area. Anything you say can cause panic and just make you escape harder to manage. A panicked crowd is not something you need to deal with on top of everything else. Think about yourself first though helping a few ppl, if you have room is a good thing to do. Your choice

Get educated….Knowledge is power and one who knows more about a given subject will have a better chance of dealing with it should they have to.