EMP only, or EMP and ????

[Alas Babylon]

I too mainly prep for natural stuff and solar EMP is high on the list. I was reading something the other day that mentioned an EMP followed by select limited nuke strikes as a 1 -2 punch. That's when I realized I have basically no preps in the nuke area. I have always felt that if the big boys started flinging them, then most of us (people in general) are toast, preps or not.
What started me thinking was the limited strikes. Limited with no EMP (like a terrorist hit) would be ok as we would still have communications and government (for what they are worth), to tell what areas are getting fallout. But with no comms from an EMP, and then a strike, how do we know if we are safe to go out, to eat from the garden. Just another scenario to think about.
I guess I need to get a geiger counter.

[Fidel MD]

I too mainly prep for natural stuff and solar EMP is high on the list. I was reading something the other day that mentioned an EMP followed by select limited nuke strikes as a 1 -2 punch. That's when I realized I have basically no preps in the nuke area. I have always felt that if the big boys started flinging them, then most of us (people in general) are toast, preps or not.
What started me thinking was the limited strikes. Limited with no EMP (like a terrorist hit) would be ok as we would still have communications and government (for what they are worth), to tell what areas are getting fallout. But with no comms from an EMP, and then a strike, how do we know if we are safe to go out, to eat from the garden. Just another scenario to think about.
I guess I need to get a geiger counter.

I would have thought that someone with your handle would be all over the nuclear preps....

And no, a geiger counter isn't the first thing I'd get.

Check out these sources of information:

http://www.ki4u.com/nwss.pdf

http://www.futuroscopio.org/wp-conte...sters-1980.pdf

[Alas Babylon]

Thanks for the links, I have already visited the ki4u site. I printed the guide from the futuroscopio site. Looks to be full of useful information.

I guess I understated my preps. It would have been more appropriate to say that I have not put nuke preps very high on my list as opposed to nothing at all. Sorry for the misinformation. I have stocked (and renewed old stock) Potassium Iodide, and now Potassium Iodate, for years, along with coveralls, tyvek and such (they have a multitude of uses). Beyond that I just have not put much thought into nuke stuff. Time to read up.
As for the Geiger counter, my thoughts are how do I know when we need to take the KIO3, or when to use coveralls to go outside?

[Fidel MD]

You only need to wear coveralls if you are in the fallout field.

Fallout is radioactive dust and dirt, and is created when a surface detonation (a nuclear detonation in which the fireball touches the ground) sucks up dirt, and decay products of the nuclear detonation (all mostly radioactive) get stuck to it (the dirt). Because most radioactive products and byproducts are fairly heavy (ultimately, uranium decays into lead, for example) they "fall out" fairly quickly. The worst theoretical case is to be within 300-500 miles downwind of either a primary military base with missile silos (think of the northern Rocky Mountain, a few Naval installations on the coasts) or perhaps counter-value targets like large cities. The coveralls just make it easy to get the dust off before you go inside your shelter.

Later today or tomorrow (when I get home) I'll post something on what KI is good for (a lot less than most people assume). If you need to take it, you should start immediately before you are exposed to radioactive iodine (131-I).

[Fidel MD]

And here you go....


http://www.shtfready.com/threads/477...t-environments


There are some other topics in the Medical forum you might find interesting.

[Stormfeather]

I think the nuclear fallout issue, if a single warhead, has been "blown up" (excuse the pun) more than it needs to. We have done a lot of studying on this in War College and while multiple warheads thru various locations are a real buzz-kill, a single warhead is actually pretty survivable. Take a look at this link, put in your location, choose your favorite bad guy warhead, and detonate to see the effects of the blast and fallout. You can post up multiple factors to even include wind drift/wind conditions.

http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/classic/


For the more highspeed low drag types with google earth...

http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap3d/