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Eyerman/Time Life Pictures/ Getty ImagesĪ public shelter can be any kind of public building, including hospitals, schools and police stations. Several inches of protection is enough to block radiation.J.R. Step Two: Surround it with shielding, such as books, mattresses or furniture. Step One: Find a solid table, desk or workbench that is tall enough to fit survivors and supplies. Living Room to Fallout ShelterĪ basement or underground area is the best location to hide from nuclear fallout, but what if you're stuck aboveground? Janet Liebsch of Fedhealth, a Tucson-based publisher of disaster guides, says people in that situation should build an "expedient shelter." Here's how: "The only true defense against a nuclear attack is to prevent it from happening in the first place," he says. Joseph Cirincione, the author of Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons, says firestorms could turn such shelters into coffins. Not all experts agree with the shelter-in-place campaign. It recommends waiting at least 12 hours before emerging fallout drops by 90 percent within 7 hours of detonation.
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The publication instructs survivors (anyone outside the blast radius) to shelter where they are, preferably in a basement or other underground space. government released a 130-page publication designed to help local officials plan for the explosion of a 10-kiloton weapon. Today, another nuclear risk looms-a terrorist cell detonating a single nuclear weapon in a major city-and it requires different preparedness. The demand for well-stocked fallout shelters has receded since the end of the Cold War.
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