Building a Safe Shelter

7/30/2019 Building a Safe Shelter

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Nuclear War Survival

SkillsProper Shelter Preparations


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Evacuation Checklist

Survival Information Tools Shelter-Building Materials Water Peacetime Valuables Light Clothing Sleeping Gear

Food Sanitation Items Medical Items Miscellaneous


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Shelter, the Greatest Need

Adequate Shelter

Shelter Against Radiation,

Flash Blindness, Fire,

And Skin Burns


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Ventilation and Cooling of Shelters

Supply enough air to carry away all the shelteroccupants body heat

Move the air gently, so as not to raise itstemperature

Distribute the air quite evenly throughout theshelter

Provide occupants with adequate drinking waterand salt

Wear as few clothes as practical Keep pumping about 40 cfm of air per person

through the shelter both day and night during hotweather


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Protection Against Fires and

Carbon Monoxide

Dr. A. Broido, a leading experimenter withfires and their associated dangers,reached this conclusion: "If I were

building a fallout shelter I would spend afew extra dollars to build it in mybackyard rather than in my basement,locating the intake vent as far as possible

from any combustible material. In such ashelter I would expect to survive anythingexcept the close-in blast effects."


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Water

4 quarts of water per day per personand 1 tablespoon (10 grams) of salt

Polyethylene trash bags make

practical expedient water containers Siphoning is the best way to extract

the water from the bags

Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) is usedto disinfect drinking water(1 tspn/10gal.)


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Fallout Radiation Meters

Human beings cannot feel, smell,taste, hear, or see fallout radiation

With a reliable dose rate meter youcan quite quickly determine howgreat the radiation dangers are indifferent places


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Light

In a crisis, it is especially bad not tobe able to see at all

Flashlights, candles, materials toimprovise cooking-oil lamps (2 clearglass jars of about 1-pint size,cooking oil, cotton string for wicks,

kitchen matches, and a moisture-proof jar for storing matches.


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Shelter Sanitation and Preventive

Medicine Metal and strong plastic containers with tight lids

protect food best All cooked food be eaten promptly Insect repellents on the skin and clothing are

generally helpful Wash off sweat and dead skin Wash or disinfect clothing as often as practical Avoid infection from toilet seats by disinfecting

with a strong chlorine solution and then rinsing Wear shoes or sandals when walking about Adequate ventilation would help in disease

prevention


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DISPOSAL OF HUMAN WASTES

Use a 5-gallon paint can, a bucket, or a largewaterproof wastebasket to collect both urine andexcrement

If only one container is available and is almost

filled, periodically dump the wastes outsideunless fallout is still being deposited

People who plan to stay in a shelter should dig awaste-disposal pit if they do not have sufficientwaste containers for weeks of shelter occupancy

Use a hose-vented, 5-gallon can or bucket linedwith a heavy plastic bag: cover tightly withplastic when not in use


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DISPOSAL OF DEAD BODIES

One solution is to put the corpseoutside as soon as the odor isevident

Place it in a bag made of large plastictrash bags taped together andperforated with a few pinholes


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Surviving Without Doctors

Information about first aid and hygienicprecautions can be obtained from widelyavailable Red Cross and civil defensebooklets and courses

This knowledge, with a stock of basic firstaid supplies, would reduce suffering andprevent many dangerous illnesses

Adequate shelter and essential life-supportitems are the best means of saving lives ina nuclear war


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Potassium Iodide

An extremely small and inexpensive daily dose ofthe preferred non-radioactive potassium salt,potassium iodide (KI), if taken 1/2 hour to 1 daybefore exposure to radioactive iodine, will reducelater absorption of radioactive iodine by the

thyroid to only about 1% of what the absorptionwould be without this preventive measure

Potassium iodide, when obtained in thecrystalline reagent form and used asrecommended is safe, inexpensive, and easy to

administer Prudent individuals should obtain and keep ready

for use an adequate supply of potassium iodidewell in advance of a crisis


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Expedient Shelter Furnishings

More people can occupy a properlyfurnished shelter for weeks

Cleanliness, health, and morale are better

if well designed furnishings are used Persons occupying a shelter made

relatively comfortable by its furnishingsare more likely to stay in the shelter longenough to avoid dangerous exposure tofallout radiation


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Improvised Clothing and Protective

Items

Trap "dead" air

Use windbreaker materials

Prevent excessive heat losses by

conduction Insulate the whole body with newspapers

or paper bags

Any clothing that keeps fallout off the skin

helps greatly Fallout Masks greatly reduce the risk of

radiation particles entering your body


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Permanent Family Fallout Shelters

for Dual Use Having a permanent, ready-to-use, well supplied fallout shelter

would greatly improve millions of American families' chances ofsurviving a nuclear attack

The illustrated shelter room has 106 square feet of floor space -room enough for 5 adults and the survival essentials they willneed for long occupancy

12-inch-thick concrete wall between the landing at the foot of thestairs and the end of the shelter room Most of the radiation will not strike shelter occupants if they place

containers filled with water and other shielding material againstthe door

Below-ground shelter of the type specified in official FederalEmergency Management Agency pamphlets costs about $100 per

square foot of floor space If needed, a grid of 1/2-inch rebars, spaced at 12 inches, usually

is adequate when constructing in clay Big savings in shelter construction costs are made by using

salvaged and/or used materials


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Wet Shelter Prevention

Shelter walls sometimes crack due to settling andearth movements

Put a layer of gravel or crushed rock in thebottom of the excavation, and install perforateddrainage pipes if gravity drainage is practical

Cover the gravel or crushed rock in the floor areawith a plastic vapor barrier before pouring aconcrete floor

Coat the outer surfaces of roof and walls withbituminous waterproofing or other coating thathas proved to be most effective in your locality

Backfill with gravel or crushed rock against thewalls, to keep the soil from possibly becomingsaturated


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A Good Permanent Shelter Has

Two Ventilation Systems The primary ventilation system of a small

permanent shelter should utilize a manuallyoperated centrifugal blower

The multi-week and/or emergencyventilation system of a permanent shelter thathas an emergency exit should depend on ahomemade KAP

Do not use air intake hoods on a permanentshelter's pipes, because hoods are not aseffective as goosenecks in preventing fallout

particles from entering ventilation pipes Never install any screen inside a gooseneck or air

intake hood, because spider webs and the debristhat sticks to webs will greatly reduce airflow


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ADEQUATE STORAGE SPACE

FOR ESSENTIALS

About 20 square feet of shelter floor areaper family member is needed for:

Shelter furnishings and to store adequate

water for a month, A year's supply of compact dry foods,

cooking and sanitary equipment, blankets,tools, and other post-attack essentials

To store the most supplies in a shelter,you should install shelves after you knowthe heights of the items to be stored


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Instructions for an Expedient

Fallout Shelter

The most difficult to build expedientshelter should take no longer thantwo days to construct

Read all the instructions and studythe drawings before beginning work

Sharpen all tools, including picks andshovels

Wear gloves from the start


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Whenever Practical Select a

Building Site That:

Will not be flooded if heavy rains occur

Is in the open and at least 50 ft awayfrom a building or woods that might be set

afire by the thermal pulse from anexplosion tens of miles away

Has earth that is firm and stable

Has a sufficient depth of earth above rockor the water table


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Expedient Instructions Cont.

Before staking out the shelter, clear the groundof brush, weeds and tall grass over an areaextending about 10 ft beyond the planned edgesof the excavation

Stake out the complete shelter, and then dig byremoving layers of earth

Pile all earth about 8 ft away from the trench

Never risk a cave-in by digging into lower partsof an earth wall

Make sandbags out of the excavated dirt withpillowcases


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Cut and Haul Poles and Logs More

Easily By Doing the Following: Take time to sharpen your tools before starting

to work no matter how rushed you feel

When sawing green trees that have gummy resinor sap, oil your saw with kerosene or diesel fuel

After a tree has been felled, trim off all limbs andknots so that the pole or log is smooth and willrequire no additional smoothing

It usually is best first to cut the poles exactly twoor three times the final length of the poles to beused in the shelter

Drag the logs rather than trying to carry them onyour shoulders


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Expedient Instructions Cont.

Make a reliable canopy over theshelter entry

Take to your shelter enough window

screen or mosquito netting to coverits openings

Work to complete (1) an expedient

ventilating- cooling pump (a KAP)and (2) the storage of at least 15gallons of water per person


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An Example of an Expedient

Shelter The room of this 6-person shelter was 3-1/2 feet

wide, 4-1/2 feet high, and 16-1/2 feet long. A smallstand- up hole was dug at one end, so each talloccupant could stand up and stretch several times aday


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Door-Covered Trench Shelter

Protection Factor 250

The shelter illustrated is roofed with3 doors and is the minimum lengthfor 3 persons


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Pole-Covered Trench Shelter


The shelter illustrated is theminimum length recommended for 4persons


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Small-Pole Shelter


Capacity - 12


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Making and Using Homemade

Shelter-Ventilating Pump

In warm weather, large volumes ofoutside air MUST be pumped throughmost fallout or blast shelters if they are

crowded and occupied for a day or more The KAP (Kearny Air Pump) is a practical,

do- it-yourself device for pumpingadequate volumes of cooling air through

shelters with minimum work


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Th P F d It Fi d S t


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The Pump Frame and Its Fixed Support

Boards for the frame

(1st) 22 ft of 1 X 2-in. boards

(2nd) Boards of the same length that have approximately thesame dimensions as 1 X 2- in. and 1 X 1-in. lumber

(3rd) Straight sticks or metal strips that can be cut and fitted tomake a flat-faced KAP frame

Hinges

(1st) Door or cabinet butt-hinges

(2nd) metal strap-hinges

(3rd) improvised hinges made of leather

A board for the fixed horizontal support

(1st) A 1 X 4-in. board that is at least 1 ft longer than the widthof the opening in which you plan to swing your pump

(2nd) A wider board Small nails (at least 24)

(1st) No. 6 box nails, about 1/2 in. longer than the thickness ofthe two boards, so their pointed ends can be bent over andclinched)

(2nd) other small nails

Th Fl


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The Flaps Plastic film or other very light, flexible material -- 12

square feet in pieces that can be cut into 9 rectangularstrips, each 30 X 5-1/2 in.

(1st) polyethylene film 3 or 4 mils thick (3 or 4 one-thousandths of an inch)

(2nd) 2-mil polyethylene from large trash bags

(3rd) tough paper Pressure-sensitive waterproof tape, enough to make 30 ft

of tape 3/4 in. to 1 in. wide, for securing the hem-tunnelsof the flaps

(1st) cloth duct tape (silver tape)

(2nd) glass tape

(3rd) scotch tape

(4th) freezer or masking tape, or sew the hem tunnels

Th Fl Pi t Wi


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The Flap Pivot-Wires

(1st) 30 ft of smooth wire at least asheavy and springy as coat hanger wire,that can be made into very straightpieces each 29 in. long (nine all-wire coat

hangers will supply enough) (2nd) 35 ft of somewhat thinner wire,

including light, flexible insulated wire

(3rd) 35 ft of smooth string, preferablynylon string about the diameter of coathanger wire.

Th P ll C d


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The Pull Cord

(1st) At least 10 ft of cord

(2nd) strong string

(3rd) flexible, light wire

Th Fl St


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The Flap-Stops

(1st) 150 ft of light string

(2nd) 150 ft of light, smooth wire

(3rd) 150 ft of very strong thread

(4th) 600 ft of ordinary thread, to provide4 threads for each stop-flap.

(1st) 90 tacks (not thumbtacks)

(2nd) 90 small nails. (Tacks or nails aredesirable but not essential, since the flap-stops can be tied to the frame.)

Th F


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The Frame


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Completing the Frame


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The Pivot-Wires and Flaps


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End View of Flap


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Top of the Frame


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Hinge is Attached So the Pump


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Hinge is Attached So the Pump

Can Swing 180 Degrees


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More Ventilating


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The Final Idea


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Reference

Nuclear WarSurvival

Skills

Cresson H. Kearny

Original Edition Published September, 1979,

by Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

a Facility of the

U.S. Department of Energy

Published by the

Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine

Cave Junction, Oregon

Copyright (c) 1986 by Cresson H. Kearny. The copyrighted material may be reproducedwithout obtaining permission from anyone, provided: (1) all copyrighted material isreproduced full-scale (except for microfiche reproductions), and (2) the part of thiscopyright notice within quotation marks is printed along with the copyrighted material."

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Building a Safe Shelter