Fallout - When And How To Protect Yourself

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] attacks us with nuclear weapons danger will come not just from blast or heat or nearby radiation effect but also from fallout Fallout which may occur miles and miles away from the blast you need to know about Fallout what it is how to detect it and what to do to protect yourself against it everybody needs to know yes this does mean you watch and listen one day these facts May save your life what is this Fallout anyhow just bits of radio act fall out of the mushroom cloud of the nuclear explosion and settle on the ground these bits of matter can be dangerous you exposed to some radiation every day from cosmic rays or other natural sources of radiation these exposures are too small to hurt you but when a wartime nuclear explosion occurs a serious Fallout follows thousands of tons of atomized Earth building materials rocks and gases may be thrown into the air and the mushroom cloud containing them sometimes moves as high as 100,000 ft nearly 20 mi up some of the radioactive particles spill out near the explosion site others may be carried for 10 50 100 miles or more but how will you you know if there is Fallout you can't hear smell taste or see the radiation but you yourself can detect The Fallout particles that produce it the easiest time to do this without special instruments is when the Fallout is settling through the air this starts any time from about 1/2 hour to several hours after the explosion depending on how far away way you are and it continues to fall for an hour or longer usually you can see the Fallout so if there has been an explosion of a nuclear weapon within a few hundred miles of you you should suspect every unusual concentration of dust in the air of being Fallout after an explosion in daylight watch any unusual accumulation of dust at night put a white or light colored plate outside examine it every 15 minutes or so if dust is accumulated on the plate treat it as Fallout the particles in that Fallout behave like miniature x-ray machines sending out radiation in all directions if there are many particles and if you are exposed to them long enough you will be hurt others will be watching for that Fallout of course experts will estimate the probable path and speed of approaching Fallout and try to keep you posted but it may come before you hear any details by radio or otherwise you must take precautions whether you hear their reports or not if radio stations are operating you will hear reports especially on the conelrad frequencies 6:40 or 1240 on your am dial as soon as it is safe for specially protected Crews to get out into the open these highly trained civil defense radiation detection teams will make a thorough check of radiation levels and characteristics those facts will be relayed to you by radio as fast as they come into civil defense headquarters in your area information from the radiation monitoring teams will be combined and analyzed by experts Manning a central radiation control Point these experts who know just how fast harmful radiation reduces in force can predict when it will be safe for people to come out of shelters and resume normal tasks we have warned that you may have to act before you get any detailed reports just what can you do if Fallout Comes Your Way find the best shelter you can the more solid substance you can put between yourself and the Fallout the better but an ordinary frame house with windows closed will give considerable protection in a house it's best to get on the floor away from doors and windows or if you can find a location with additional walls in the center of the building a basement is even better if the house has one large buildings such as apartment or Office Buildings give good protection the thick heavy masonry of their walls and Floors makes it hard for radiation to get through basements inside rooms or corers on the lower floors are safest the basement of any house or building will become a good improvised shelter if you block the windows with sandbags and place other sandbags on the floor above the shelter area if you don't have sandbags thick solid layers of books magazines or newspapers or even a series of file cabinets standing close to each other can cut the radiation danger in some parts of the country there are storm sellers or outside vegetable storage sellers they make may be used to shelters from Fallout if you plan to use such a seller or your basement or any other shelter stock it with food and supplies to equip and Supply your shelter area you need some of the same things you might take on a vacation camping trip first sleeping equipment to fit your shelter area folding Cuts or sleeping bags and blankets then food and water there should be at least a two we Supply you'll want plenty of fruit juices and lots of your family's favorite canned foods the drinking water supply should be rotated often to be sure it's fresh and don't forget such basic needs as sugar salt pepper and other seasoning that your family ordinarily uses now some equipment a radio is very important it should be a battery portable with spare batteries a transistorized radio is best as the batteries last longer next you need light in the form of flashlights and the battery operated Lantern then a good first aid kit now plates cups silverware a can opener and a bottle opener are important add to these things enough closed containers to take care of garbage and human waste especially if there will be children in the shelter include some books and magazines paper and pencils maybe one or two small simple games the best protection of all is the special shelter built according to specifications of your local civil defense organization this this has an air filter to allow ventilation but keep dust out and it has at least 3 ft of Earth over it it would be a good idea to go right now to your local civil defense office to secure plans for the type of shelter you want and then to get busy on construction plans are simple using standard materials so maybe you can do the job yourself but all this special shelter talk won't help very much if you are caught way out on the open road if that happens keep driving until you see a building which may be a house or Barn church or school drive as close to the building as you can then get yourself and your family out of the car and take cover in the building if you live on a farm and have sufficient warning get your animals undercover and give them enough food and water to last several days and if you can cover any piles of hay or harvested crops that may be outside if the explosion has been some miles away you will have time to fill tubs and other containers with water before Fallout arrives all locations where outside dust does not penetrate will be safe storage points for water whatever ever kind of shelter you find settle down and make the best of it if there are others with you help them by being as calm as you can and don't be discouraged you can go out for very brief periods if you are well covered and keep the dust off your skin wear heavy boots or shoes and pants tucked in or tied around the bottom to keep dust out if any dust gets on you brush it off promptly and when you have a chance wash it off that dust can burn your skin but what happens if you do get exposed to a great deal of Fallout food or water has been contaminated by the dust internal damage may occur when dust has been left on skin there will be skin burns when you have been near dust too long there may be radiation sickness exposure can even cause death if you have had considerable exposure you will vomit and grow weak but after a few hours this Sensation will pass and by the next day you may have had the last of it even if you have been exposed to excessive Fallout you may eat and drink just as you normally would but don't force yourself when whether you have had these symptoms or not if civil defense radio announcements have said that radiation has been high in your section keep an eye on your condition for the next few days watch especially for these developments in the two weeks following exposure return of nausea sore throat bruise spots developing without any known reason loss of hair these conditions or nose bleed or diarrhea should be reported to a doctor or to the nearest first aid station set up under civil defense plans unless civil defense teams have warned that your area is still dangerously radioactive you can get out and work to help yourself and help others although Fallout can be deadly your chances of avoiding damage from it are much better if you follow the directions we have given you during an alert keep your portable radio tuned to the conelrad radio frequencies 640 and 1240 on the am dial for the latest reports and advice right now today before there is an alert take time to learn the civil defense five steps to safety learn warning signals and what they mean learn your community plan for emergency action learn protection from radioactive fallout learn first aid and home emergency preparedness steps and learn how to use Connell rad 6:40 or 12:40 on the amm dial for official directions the