"Surviving a Nuclear Attack" Topic

"Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) results from exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation. This may be the result of an accident, such as exposure of individuals to x-ray diagnostic and therapeutic devices, or a possible large scale exposure following a nuclear facility accident (for example the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents). It may also be the result of an intentional act of terrorism, involving the use of a radiological dispersal device (i.e., dirty bomb), an improvised nuclear device, or may involve an attack on a nuclear power plant, or any number of potential nuclear scenarios. Following the 9/11 attacks, and more recently the use of non-conventional weapons and toxic industrial compounds in the Syrian civil war and in Iraq by both state and non-state actors, the possibility of intentional exposure to radiation seems to be rising. Since the primary objective of these perpetrators is to create fear and panic to the general public, and since most of the public, as well as first responders, healthcare providers, and the mass media, may have misunderstandings regarding such an event, radiation is attractive. On top of that, the shortage of available medical countermeasures (MCMs) against ARS could make it even worse. The major goals of a response plan to a radio-nuclear emergency are to protect the public, as well as the emergency personnel while performing their duties. To achieve these goals, local, regional and national resources should be brought together to address such an incident of national impact. In a radio-nuclear exposure scenario, the numbers of casualties, some with life-threatening injuries and resulting complications, may be very high. This means major challenges of assessing the precise levels of individual exposure, and possible delayed medical support and care to those who need it. In any case, these are regarded as complex and resource-intensive efforts, driving research towards approving novel MCMs against ARS. This syndrome involves life-threatening injuries especially to the hematopoietic, gastrointestinal, and the neurovascular systems. Victims exposed to high levels of ionized radiation show a prodromal phase in the first few hours following exposure, followed by a latent phase, which shortens as the radiation dose increases, and finally, develop a manifest phase. The bone marrow involvement is considered as the major contributor to mortality.

Though different countries have different approaches and doctrines to handle a radio-nuclear catastrophe, there are several basic assumptions and procedures that cross all nations and organizations. The scope of the response and the resources needed are determined by the extent of the incident, involving local, regional, and national players. Once a radio-nuclear event is recognized, the next step is to notify all relevant organizations, both first responders on site and on the way, as well as governmental departments, crisis management authorities, public health agencies, healthcare facilities and more – depending on the relevant resources allocated for such an incident. A novel protection device that recently reached the markets is the StemRad 360 Gamma wearable shield, which allows the protection of enough bone marrow tissue among first responders and all those who may be exposed to high radiation levels in a way that will ensure their survival. Though these individuals may still be injured and suffer from signs of ARS, this may well save their lives once given the appropriate medical care…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Getting out of the irradiated area is generally a priority. If you hope to survive at all. Unless you were in or about ground zero and it's after blast effects.

Then it wouldn't really matter. If you are vaporized or killed by secondary missiles, e.g. a variety of flying objects e.g. rubble, rocks, trees, cars, cows, other people, etc. …

If you have a good bunker… you cannot survive either?

Amicalement
Armand

You'll have to come out sooner or later. You can't stock food, water, toilet paper, etc., forever. And it may take a few years if not a decade or two before it is be "safe".

And that may be the upside …

As we used to say back in the day, "In the event of nuclear attack sit on the floor and pull your knees up against your chest. Tuck your head between your knees, bend over and kiss your sweet ass goodbye." I grew up in Missouri just south of the Whitman AF Base then moved to Tucson in the middle of the Davis Montana complex. Both had numerous launch sites for Minuteman and Titan missile respectively. Our plan in the event of a nuclear war at the time was to grab a fifth of scotch and a lawn chair. We would then drive out to one of the silo's, get comfortable in the lawn chair and drink the scotch while watching the warheads re-enter. We figured it would be very pretty for a fairly short period of time.

Legion – VaultTec would disagree with you ;)

They get paid to say that …

In the last office I worked we had a very solemn briefing on what to do and what the resources were for natural disasters, including nuclear attack. When the briefer (a very stern and serious young lady) got to the part about nuclear war preparations, I burst out laughing. She glared at me with daggers in her eyes and asked "What so funny, wise guy?". Well, I pointed out to the dear thing that our office was less than a quarter mile from the end of USMC Miramar, home of the Marines Pacific air. And that we were about 5 miles north of San Diego Bay, home to one of the USNs superports (and home to 3 carriers, the Pacific Fleet amphibs, and god knows what else). It wasn't going to be a matter of survival, it was going to be a matter of just over how many square miles our vaporised butts were going to be spread…

I had to spend some quality time with HR for that…

Two cleaning ladies where under the bank president desk right under the explosion of the Hiroshima bomb. 600m above the bank.

The amazing thing is the fact so many survived.

I had to spend some quality time with HR for that…

Some people have no sense of humor !

Two cleaning ladies where under the bank president desk right under the explosion of the Hiroshima bomb.

They shouldn't waste time gambling or buying a lottery ticket … They used up all their luck, I'd think !

Some people have no sense of humor !

Ever meet amyone in HR who had a sense of humor (or common sense)?

So very true … Just another reason I liked being an independent contractor spending most of my time in the field …

There is a video on YouTube of five US military personnel at ground zero for an air burst detonation, 1957 or so.

The Hiroshima bomb was tiny compared to modern bombs. There would be a few survivors of a nuclear blast even quite close to the centre, depending on what was between them and the explosion. But these survivors would die quickly due to the increased radiation levels and lack of medical support. In Japan help was available from nearby areas not hit themselves and survivors could be evacuated [some got sent to Nagasaki just in time to get hit again]. In a large scale nuclear attack every major city and base would be hit.

The bombs used on Japan were basically atomic. IIRC, most modern "nucs" are hydrogen which are 5 – 10 time or more "destructive" than atomic, based on yield, etc. Hydrogen bombs use Atomic as the detonator, IIRC.

But I've been out of the "nuc" realm for a while. Maybe someone with more recent knowledge could add more here …

I once worked for a government agency that as an aside was tasked with monitoring the radiation after a nuke attack. We had training on radiation. Our group designated one person a week to take home the geiger counter. (And if you wanted the doughboy style civil defense helmet.)

I didn't like it that if we found ourselves in a shelter after an attack it was our responsibility to measure the difference between the radiation outside and inside the shelter to determine if it was safe to leave.

We had raidiac meters and a Geiger counter type devise in all Infantry and Armor Cos. and FA Btys, etc. back in the '80s. We took NBC pretty seriously … However, down deep I think we knew if we were "exposed" to NBC/WMDs … we'd most likely be dead sooner or later.