In Time of Emergency Part 4

In setting up any home fallout shelter, the basic aim is to place enough "shielding material" between the people in the shelter and the fallout particles outside.

Shielding material is any substance that would absorb and deflect the invisible rays given off by fallout particles outside the house, and thus reduce the amount of radiation reaching the occupants of the shelter. The thicker or denser the shielding material is, the more it would protect the shelter occupants.

Some radiation protection is provided by the existing, standard walls and ceiling of a bas.e.m.e.nt. But if they are not thick or dense enough, other shielding material will have to be added.

Concrete, bricks, earth and sand are some of the materials that are dense or heavy enough to provide fallout protection. For comparative purposes, 4 inches of concrete would provide the same shielding density as:

--5 to 6 inches of bricks.

--6 inches of sand or gravel . . May be packed into bags, cartons, boxes, --7 inches or earth. . . . . . ./ or other containers for easier handling.

--8 inches of hollow concrete blocks (6 inches if filled with sand).

--10 inches of water.

--14 inches of books or magazines.

--18 inches of wood.

HOW TO PREPARE A HOME SHELTER

If there is no public fallout shelter near your home, or if you would prefer to use a family-type shelter in a time of attack, you should prepare a home fallout shelter. Here is how to do it:

* A PERMANENT BAs.e.m.e.nT SHELTER. If your home bas.e.m.e.nt--or one corner of it--is below ground level, your best and easiest action would be to prepare a permanent-type family shelter there. The required shielding material would cost perhaps $100-$200, and if you have basic carpentry or masonry skills you probably could do the work yourself in a short time.

Here are three methods of providing a permanent family shelter in the "best" corner of your home bas.e.m.e.nt--that is, the corner which is most below ground level. If you decide to set up one of these shelters, _first get the free plan for it_ by writing to Civil Defense, Army Publications Center, 2800 Eastern Blvd. (Middle River), Baltimore, Md.

21220. In ordering a plan, use the full name shown for it.

CEILING MODIFICATION PLAN A

If nearly all your bas.e.m.e.nt is below ground level, you can use this plan to build a fallout shelter area in one corner of it, without changing the appearance of it or interfering with its normal peacetime use.

However, if 12 inches or more of the bas.e.m.e.nt wall is above ground level, this plan should _not_ be used unless you add the "optional walls" shown in the sketch.

Overhead protection is obtained by s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g plywood sheets securely to the joists, and then filling the s.p.a.ces between the joists with bricks or concrete blocks. An extra beam and a screwjack column may be needed to support the extra weight.

Building this shelter requires some basic woodworking skills and about $150-$200 for materials. It can be set up while the house is being built, or afterward.

ALTERNATE CEILING MODIFICATION PLAN B

This is similar to Plan A, except that new extra joists are fitted into part of the bas.e.m.e.nt ceiling to support the added weight of the shielding (instead of using a beam and a screwjack column).

The new wooden joists are cut to length and notched at the ends, then installed between the existing joists.

After plywood panels are screwed securely to the joists, bricks or concrete blocks are then packed tightly into the s.p.a.ces between the joists. The bricks or blocks, as well as the joists themselves, will reduce the amount of fallout radiation penetrating downward into the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Approximately one-quarter of the total bas.e.m.e.nt ceiling should be reinforced with extra joists and shielding material.

_Important:_ This plan (like Plan A) should _not_ be used if 12 inches or more of your bas.e.m.e.nt wall is above ground level, unless you add the "optional walls" inside your bas.e.m.e.nt that are shown in the Plan A sketch.

PERMANENT CONCRETE BLOCK OR BRICK SHELTER PLAN C

This shelter will provide excellent protection, and can be constructed easily at a cost of $150 in most parts of the country.

Made of concrete blocks or bricks, the shelter should be located in the corner of your bas.e.m.e.nt that is most below ground level. It can be built low, to serve as a "sitdown" shelter; or by making it higher you can have a shelter in which people can stand erect.

The shelter ceiling, however, should _not_ be higher than the outside ground level of the bas.e.m.e.nt corner where the shelter is located.

The higher your bas.e.m.e.nt is above ground level, the thicker you should make the walls and roof of this shelter, since your regular bas.e.m.e.nt walls will provide only limited shielding against outside radiation.

Natural ventilation is provided by the shelter entrance, and by the air vents shown in the shelter wall.

This shelter can be used as a storage room or for other useful purposes in non-emergency periods.

A PREPLANNED BAs.e.m.e.nT SHELTER. If your home has a bas.e.m.e.nt but you do not wish to set up a permanent-type bas.e.m.e.nt shelter, the next best thing would be to arrange to a.s.semble a "preplanned" home shelter. This simply means gathering together, in advance, the shielding material you would need to make your bas.e.m.e.nt (or one part of it) resistant to fallout radiation. This material could be stored in or around your home, ready for use whenever you decided to set up your bas.e.m.e.nt shelter.

Here are two kinds of preplanned bas.e.m.e.nt shelters. If you want to set up one of these, be sure to _get the free plan for it first_ by writing to Civil Defense, Army Publications Center, 2800 Eastern Blvd. (Middle River), Baltimore, Md. 21220. Mention the full name of the plan you want.

PREPLANNED SNACK BAR SHELTER PLAN D

This is a snack bar built of bricks or concrete blocks, set in mortar, in the "best" corner of your bas.e.m.e.nt (the corner that is most below ground level). It can be converted quickly into a fallout shelter by lowering a strong, hinged "false ceiling" so that it rests on the snack bar.

When the false ceiling is lowered into place in a time of emergency, the hollow sections of it can be filled with bricks or concrete blocks.

These can be stored conveniently nearby, or can be used as room dividers or recreation room furniture (see bench in sketch).

PREPLANNED TILT-UP STORAGE UNIT PLAN E

A tilt-up storage unit in the best corner of your bas.e.m.e.nt is another method of setting up a "preplanned" family fallout shelter.

The top of the storage unit should be hinged to the wall. In peacetime, the unit can be used as a bookcase, pantry, or storage facility.

In a time of emergency, the storage unit can be tilted so that the bottom of it rests on a wall of bricks or concrete blocks that you have stored nearby.

Other bricks or blocks should then be placed in the storage unit's compartments, to provide an overhead shield against fallout radiation.

The fallout protection offered by your home bas.e.m.e.nt also can be increased by adding shielding material to the outside, exposed portion of your bas.e.m.e.nt walls, and by covering your bas.e.m.e.nt windows with shielding material.

You can cover the above-ground portion of the bas.e.m.e.nt walls with earth, sand, bricks, concrete blocks, stones from your patio, or other material.

You also can use any of these substances to block bas.e.m.e.nt windows and thus prevent outside fallout radiation from entering your bas.e.m.e.nt in that manner.

* A PERMANENT OUTSIDE SHELTER. If your home has no bas.e.m.e.nt, or if you prefer to have a permanent-type home shelter in your yard, you can obtain instructions on how to construct several different kinds of outside fallout shelters by writing to the U.S. Office of Civil Defense, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C. 20310. There is no charge for these.

WHEN TO LEAVE SHELTER

You should not come out of shelter until you are told by authorities that it is safe to do so. Special instruments are needed to detect fallout radiation and to measure its intensity. Unless you have these instruments, you will have to depend on your local government to tell you when to leave shelter.