Volume 1   Issue 10                                      September  2002

By Ronald Porep

        The question has changed.

        The question used to be will terrorists use nuclear weapons to attack the United States?

        Now, the question is When will terrorists try to use nuclear weapons to attack the United States?

        Your question: How can I survive such an attack?

       The good news is you and your family have  reasonable chances of survival if you are prepared and know what to do.

How Will Terrorists Use Nuclear Weapons?

        The most likely and easiest way for terrorists to attack the United States would be the so-called dirty bomb.

        Such a weapon would shoot a plume of radioactive dust into the air causing exposure to thousands of people in a populated area. Deaths from cancer would result if the fallout from the plume were to be inhaled.

Extreme versions of such gamma-ray emitting bombs, such as a dynamite-laden casket of spent fuel from a nuclear power plant, would not kill quite as many people as on Sept. 11.

        A worst-case calculation for an explosion in downtown Manhattan during noontime estimates more than 2,000 deaths and many thousands more suffering from radiation poisoning. This however is only speculation and there are about as many opinions on the matter as there are experts.

        It is safe to say that the level of exposure would depend on many factors such as wind speed, distance from the blast, and the amount of radioactive material used in the bomb.

       The second method terrorists may trigger a nuclear disaster in the United States is by attacking a nuclear power station. The effects of a nuclear power plant attack would be similar to a very large radiological bomb detonation. The main danger to the public would be the plume of radioactive material that would be released into the atmosphere.

       There are approximately 100 nuclear power stations in the in 31 states in the US and dozens of other sites that are, or were, part of the US nuclear weapons production complex. After September 11, the NRC admitted that it had never considered the possibility that an airliner loaded with jet fuel might be used as a missile to attempt to destroy a nuclear power plant. The NRC also admitted that the effects of the impact of such a missile on a nuclear reactor's containment structure is not known. According to David Kyd, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency, “a deliberate hit of that sort [an airliner loaded with fuel] is something that was never in any scenario at the design stage [of nuclear power plants]. These are vulnerable targets and the consequences of a direct hit could be catastrophic.” Or terrorists could detonate a nuclear bomb in an American city.

       The detonation of even a small nuclear weapon would cause devastation on a scale never before seen in the United States. Several studies conclude that the blast from a 1-kiloton nuclear bomb set off in lower Manhattan would kill 30,000 people instantly. Another 70,000 would almost immediately be burned to death, and another 100,000 would be killed within days by the radiation from the blast. Authorities however have stated that this form of attack is less likely than the previous two for a number of reasons.

How do you survive?

      Be prepared.

       Contact local emergency management officials to find out about your community's warning systems and local nuclear emergency plans. If your community does not have such plans –rare in the days after 911 – you should get others involved in making sure they develop them.  Create an emergency kit, as you should have to prepare for any disaster. Such a kit must include cash and credit cards, food and water, essential medications your family needs, a first aid kit with manual, a flashlight with extra batteries, important documents and a portable radio that picks up the AM and FM bands as shortwave bands.

      The documents should be packaged preferably in plastic wrappers and kept in a container such as a tool or fishing tackle box.

      The food should be a two-week supply preferably canned foods and nonperishable items. Be sure to have any special food your family needs such as for diabetics. Drinking water should be in closed containers.

     The radio should pick up the shortwave bands because local media may be off the air and only far away media is operating to give emergency information. You can use a battery-operated radio but the new radios that operate by winding a crank to charge batteries inside are a much better choice as batteries may be hard to get once your initial supply is exhausted.

     Besides the emergency kit, be sure to have 5-gallon gas cans with gas in them for your car.  If possible, take tools to help improvise a fallout shelter.

      And, go over instructions with your family so that everyone understands what to do.

 Radiation

       When you are first notified of a possible accident, stay indoors and wait for further instruction. If possible, place as much material between you and the outside; move to the center-most part of your home. If you have a basement or cellar, go there immediately. Contrary to popular myth, radiation fallout does not penetrate everything. Some gamma radiation will reach even those who are in an excellent shelter, but it will the less than the exposure an average American receives from X rays and other radiation exposures that are normal today.

      Many homes and buildings built in the 1950's may already have a bomb shelter. Contact your local fire station or other government agency to find out which city buildings have shelters or other underground facilities already built for public use.

     A good shelter should have a thickness of earth or other heavy shielding material surrounding it. Gamma rays are rapidly reduced in number by layers of packed earth. For every 3.6 inches of material between you and the gamma rays, the dose of radiation is reduced by half. The denser the substance, the better it serves as a shielding material. For example, the halving-thickness of concrete is only about 2.4 inches, in comparison to compacted dirt, which is 3.6 inches.

     The human body can usually repair almost all radiation damage if the daily doses are not large.   Now, even with a shelter, there is a chance of exposure to radiation. There is no medicine to prevent radiation from damaging the human body cells. The thyroid gland is especially susceptible to radiation. Normally, your thyroid absorbs iodine, but it has a set level of iodine that it can store. Certain forms of iodine help your thyroid work right. Most people can get enough iodide from iodized salt or fish in their regular diet.

     During exposure to nuclear fallout, radioactive iodine can also be absorbed into the thyroid. Small amounts of radiation in the thyroid will eventually give a large radiation dose to other cells. This can result in loss of the thyroid functions, and even thyroid cancer. The effects of this exposure may not show up for many years.

     To minimize the radioactive iodine that may get into your system, do not eat and drink fallout contaminated water and food as that increases the retention of radioactive iodine in the thyroid. Even air that you breathe can add to your indirect exposure.

     There is also a simple medical way to prevent the absorption of radiation, which is to fill your thyroid with healthy iodine before radioactive material can get in. A small dose (130 mg) of potassium iodine will provide the thyroid with a daily supply of iodine. If it is taken before exposure to radiation, it will reduce later absorption by the thyroid to only about 1% of what it would have been without the potassium iodine.

     Adults and children one year of age or older should take one tablet a day at the direction of state or local public health authorities. Babies under one year of age can take one-half tablet, crushed, once a day. You should take it for 10 days unless otherwise directed. The only people who should not take potassium iodide are those who know they are allergic to iodide.

     Now, not everyone will survive a nuclear terrorism attack but you can increase your and your family’s chances of survival by being prepared and knowing what to do.