With the Fukushima accident and several “rogue” nations now pursuing or having attained nuclear weapons, what to do in the event of an accident or attack has suddenly become foremost on some people's mind.
But what type of a shelter should you consider? Here are some general guidelines.
Fallout Shelter Basics
The basic design principals are simple. The more mass and/or distance you put between you and radiation the better. A useful analogy for understanding the nature of radiation is to think of it as heat you can’t see, feel, hear, taste, or smell.
The farther you are away from any heat source, and the more stuff between you and the heat source, the less likely you are to be burned.
It’s also important to understand that the amount of time you’re exposed to radiation the more of an adverse affect it will have on your body. So while the amount of radiation currently coming across the Pacific is insignificant, over time it could be a bigger problem if the source is not contained.
Since we can’t detect nuclear radiation without special instruments we’re vulnerable. For civil defense purposes there are two primary types of meters, survey meters and dosimeters. A survey meter (like a Geiger counter) detects the amount of radiation currently present. A dosimeter tells you how much exposure you’ve had over time. Both are useful because the survey meter can alert you to the source and intensity of a danger while a dosimeter can tell you how much total radiation you’ve received.
Some materials shield against radiation better than others. Each of the wall thicknesses below shield the same amount of radiation. Lead provides the thinnest wall while packed soil provides the most cost effective wall, albeit at 3-feet thick compared to 4 inches of lead. For more information see this wikipedia article on radiation protection.
In an article titled, U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable (December 2010), The New York Times reveals that the U.S. Government is now recommending that people should stay inside until we’re told it’s safe to go out – instead of making a run for it – even if you’re home is a flimsy box.
While this seems crazy at first it actually makes sense because the number one thing that will hurt you in a nuclear disaster (after blast effects) is inhaling or ingesting radioactive material. If you get radioactive material on your body you should wash it off gently. If radioactive material gets into your bloodstream through a cut, eyes, mouth, etc, it can’t be washed off. So you’re best odds are to stay inside/under the safest building around – and to stay inside until the radioactive material has decayed to safe levels.
So just to recap, the basic shelter requirements are:
• Ample mass to block the radiation
• Air filtration to prevent inhaling or ingesting radioactive material
• Water and food for several weeks
• Radiation meters
• Energy sources both electric and burnable fuel
• Radio for communications
• Simple waste disposal
• A way to wash off radioactive material
• Security measures
• Since radiation can’t make turns, use 90-degree turns at doorways and air ductsFallout Shelter Design Study
Air itself doesn’t become radioactive, the problem is the radioactive particles in the air. So the air entering the shelter must be filtered to prevent fallout particles from being carried inside. Some suggest that one micron filters be used but others say 90-degree turns in hallways and ducts are sufficient. A non-electric ventilation option is a Kearney Air Pump.
The doors and hatches would need to be vented to allow the cross ventilation. Low voltage fans would be needed to keep the air moving. Air would enter the shelter through the rear (smaller) entrance. It would cross the main shelter and then escape through the main (larger) entrance. Both entrances would provide a space for washing-off contamination before entering the shelter. The runoff water would need to be carried away by a drain or pumped outside since it would contain radioactive particles.
This brings up the issue of electricity. In an actual emergency the likelihood of the electric grid going down is high; so this tiny shelter would need to be completely off-the-grid and powered by external solar panels or human power. Solar panels would run the risk of being covered with fallout, so some kind of human power generator backup would need to be available. The reliance on electricity would need to be limited to lighting, ventilation, and communication simply due to the lack of power.
Another item to stock would be heating and cooking fuel. While subterranean structures naturally regulate their temperature, they are not typically warm unless some kind of passive solar heating or artificial heat source is used. In a space this small the occupants’ body heat may actually make the interior fairly hot after some time has passed. But having a way to heat the shelter with a clean-burning fuel would be a good idea too.
For most of us, a nuclear accident or attack is a remote consideration.
If you do give this much thought, however, there are several things you must consider if you are considering building your own fallout shelter.
To see more advice on this subject and a design for a fallout shelter, check out Tiny House Design.
Featured Image via Citizen Corps
Good one
Wish I had the land to do so
Katie O’Malley
Julie Melser
If I am rich.
Wonder if my neighbors would notice if a trackhoe came an dug a biiig hole in my backyard, then a semi with a prefabricated bomb shelter showed up ………….
That’s one way yes
Lol you won’t need one when it REALLY goes down!
Join my business
Would be nice, but the world you come out to, would be a nightmare…
Hey folks do y’all really believe this bull$#%&!@*if so there is something going on with y’all’s brain because in the first place if that kind of$#%&!@*went down . You could run but there is no hidden from this$#%&!@*and when you run to your little hole in the ground guess what your$#%&!@*is going to need fress air and guess what them generators your$#%&!@*plugs up is just going to pump all that straight to your$#%&!@*come on people I don’t give a rats$#%&!@*if you think you are filtering it !!!! Get you one and tell me how it works out for you if$#%&!@*pops off with “NUCLEAR” “BOMBS” lol
Eric..
If Clinton was president I would be wanting one of these. Trumps in the Whitehouse so we don’t need it now.
What do you do after? Wait three thousand years for the radiation to drop below dangerous levels?
Have you seen the old Nuke silos turned into houses they are awesome
Alyssa Koshinskie
Christopher Hopkins
Hillary is a part of a political globalest special interest organization that has chosen the most evil religion Islam to bring in a new world order and to take away the second amendment ,freedom of speech and Christianity. Hillary and Obama are letting Isis win to bring in a new world order. Putin is right we are arming Isis to bring in a new world order. Revelation 13.Hillary is a guaranteed failure. When I was younger I had a great vision of the Lord Jesus Christ blood going through my skin into my wrist. Jesus was wearing a heavenly blue garment and holding my hand and then I saw a sprinkle of the Lord Jesus Christ blood going through my skin into my wrist. Hebrews 12:22-28,Heavenly Jerusalem, Acts 2:17-21.1611KJV.Matthew 24,Heaven and earth shall pass away but by no means shall my word pass away. Hillary is setting us up just like the 9-11 victims. Trump will be bringing back the jobs that are disappearing. Wikileaks prove that Hillary was a part of a arms deal to sell Isis weapons that she was paid off to do just like the 5 million that she plans to bring into America to disable Americans to bring in a new world order. Go on you tube and listen to Wikileaks : Hillary Lied Under Oath About Arming Isis, subscriber Lionel Nation a attorney at Law and he says the media does not care about reporting about how dangerous Hillary and Obama are. This is a sign of the rapture or blessed hope that Jesus Christ Prophesied. Epistle of John. Experts are saying out of 86 videos only 1 video shows airplane and a chemical called thermite was found in the dust by over 9 scientists that is only found in demolition projects that are wired and bomb to fall straight down within seconds. 9-11 experts are saying a crime was committed by quickly removing and destroying great evidence, and this is suppose to never happen in a criminal investigation. Three weeks before it happened when it was close they where doing work in there when it is closed a witness described what they where bringing in and it sounds like these scientists are correct who investigated 9-11 properly.9-11 experts are saying a commercial airliner would not be able to be going at that speed because of the low atmosphere level and would not be able to hit the target and also weak parts of the plane like the wings or tail would fall off it . Scientists are saying that only thermite can melt the steel frame which was flowing like lava and the perfect way all three buildings fell in 7 seconds prove that all where wired up with thermite according to the experts. The 3rd World Trade Center tower had nothing and the steel frame melt when that is not possible unless it was wired up with thermite and it was a demolition which means all of them where.It collapsed 7 hours after the first two in a matter of seconds the experts are saying this is clearly evidence all three where wired up with thermite. According to the experts it would only take 7 minutes to make a 3 D Hexagram airplane added to the video of the towers, this is how far technology has gone. Airport records show that flight 11 and 77 where never scheduled to leave that day and never left the gates.Flight 77 never left the runway the people were on flight 93.9-11 researchers have evidence that flight 175 and 93 ,through the freedom of information act ,that radar shows them going to Cleveland Hopkins Airport that was evacuated. Flight 175 became Flight 1289 and Flight 93 both landed at the Cleveland Airport! They also found out Mark Bingham died on 8/30/2001.Researchers have found that some have death certificates and some do not.I have met many people who believe that Obama was a terrorist in the White House and would never say what Madonna said at the protest on Fox News.
A “fallout” shelter, or a nuclear meltdown shelter? OK if far enough away to begin with but a Thermo-Nuclear device generates a core detonation tempretu
Right had one as a kid. Problem is you servive the blast to die a slow death from radiation. Leathel levels will stay hi for decades. while you wait in your crypt. So! its a vary nice looking crypt you have there.
I want one, would double as great man cave. Lol
Like it will help.
Brandon Johnson what do you think?
I think that it’s only useful for a zombie attack nuc. basics is if it goes off your fucked lol
Tara Busse
Nice
Well, most of our young under 40 don’t remember, or know much about the Cold War. It wasn’t so cold.
JESUS CHRIST is the only prep. For nuclear war.
Today, we called “The Man Cave”.
My dad built one in our house in Yonkers NY walls 4′ thick!