5 Steps to Surviving a Dirty Bomb

This past week, ISIS, the terrorist tumor growing in the Middle East, stole 40 Kilograms of Uranium from a research facility in Iraq.  While the Uranium that was stolen is low level and could never be made into a device that could sustain a nuclear explosion, it is dangerous nonetheless.  First of all, it isn’t enough Uranium to refine into weapons grade material, second, the people who stole it are…unsophisticated.  What they are good at, however, is making things go boom.  Attaching a rather large explosive device to a canister of Uranium will disperse the materials pretty well.

If a dirty bomb were to be detonated in your area of operations I can guarantee one thing, panic.  But you, dear reader, will not be panicking because you read this post.  Understanding the dynamics in any survival situation goes a long way towards survival.  If you follow these tips you will be certain to walk away from the situation unscathed.

• The first thing to understand is your danger is not immediate, but long term.  That won’t stop the zombie masses from fleeing the area.  I would venture to say that the chances of being injured or killed as a byproduct of the panic will be far higher than sheltering in place..for now.
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• Your primary danger will be from ingesting nuclear materials.  The materials in a dirty bomb are most likely to be the type that emit alpha and beta particles.  Alpha particles are stopped by your skin, and beta, the walls of you shelter. Breathing a particle into your lungs, or eating a particle will concentrate the radiation in one area, increasing your risks for cancer.   Closing windows and turning off heating/air conditioning will lessen the influx of any particles into your shelter.  Remember, the primary dangers from a dirty bomb are breathing in the contaminated materials or eating contaminated food.
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• While waiting for the panicking masses to settle down, you will need to drink water and eat food.  ALL food and water in sealed containers will be safe to consume.  Sealed containers are the key.  This is very easy to understand, the only way you will ingest a radioactive particle is if it mixes with the food or water you are consuming.  If consumed directly from a sealed container, this is impossible.  Food WILL NOT “become” radioactive
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• The two best items to have laying around for this type of emergency are plastic painters tarps and duct tape.  If it looks like you will be sheltering in place for a while, either cover windows and doors with the plastic, or make a “clean room” inside your shelter.  The plastic forms a barrier between you and the particles.
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• Since the dangers are long term, you will ultimately have to leave.  Exposure over time can greatly increase your risks of cancer.  Even so, you still do not want to breath in or eat a hot particle.  When you decide it is time to evacuate, wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves (taping the seams with duct tape if possible), and most importantly, a way to filter the air you are breathing.  The particles will be rather large, so a gas mask will guarantee you don’t breath them in, but an N95 repsirator will do the same and even a T-shirt or handkerchief will work in a pinch.

It really is that simple, don’t eat or breath the particles, avoid the panic.  Out of three possible scenarios, a nuclear bomb, a plant meltdown, and a dirty bomb, the latter is probably going to be the least deadly.  More people will die from the evacuation than the actual event.  The real cost of such an event is tied to the long term dangers.  It is possible that the area contaminated will require remediation to the tune of billions or even trillions of dollars.  If such a bomb were to be detonated in, say, New York City, where land values can be in the thousands per square foot, the cost of clean up might exceed the land’s worth.  Can you imagine a city like New York being abandoned?

If you have an interest in surviving any event, please take note that we have a book, “How to Survive a Nuclear Bomb”.  Nobody wants to survive an event as such, the problem is most will survive the explosion, blast, and fires.  If a bomb were to explode nearby, and you find yourself alive you will face the evil specter of radiation.  The blast will kill many hundreds of thousands instantly, but those facing radiation might live for weeks or months, slowly dying from the inside out from radiation.  The good news is, you can avoid this slow, excruciating death by reading our book.  Check it out: How to Survive a Nuclear Bomb, it’s only $2.99 at Amazon!

This article originally appeared at the Tin Hat Ranch