Nuclear war? Head for the basement.Nuclear war? Head for the basement If nuclear war rained devastation and fallout upon the UnitedStates, how would the surviving population fare? Potentially better than most might have been led to expect, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new analysis in the March HEALTH PHYSICS. It found that "except for the heaviest fallout regions, the sheltering provided by an unprepared basement [and an initial, continuous] shelter time of no more than three weeks will suffice' to protect survivors from a lethal dose lethal dose n. Abbr. LD The dose of a chemical or biological preparation that is likely to cause death. of radiation. Since about half of all U.S. residences have basements, and since many multi-story apartment and office buildings offer about as much radiological protection as an unprepared basement, most survivors would have access to adequate protection, report physicists Robert Ehrlich
Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich, Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. of George Mason University Named after American revolutionary, patriot and founding father George Mason, the university was founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 and became an independent institution in 1972. in Fairfax, Va., and James Ring of Hamilton College Hamilton College, at Clinton, N.Y.; coeducational; founded 1793 by Samuel Kirkland as Hamilton-Oneida Academy, chartered 1812 as Hamilton College. It was named for Alexander Hamilton. Originally a men's college, the school began admitting women in 1979. in Clinton, N.Y. The pair used fallout patterns The distribution of fallout as portrayed by fallout contours. and calculations computed byothers for an "all-out attack against urban-industrial areas as well as missile silos.' This attack involved 1,444 weapons (6,559 megatons), most detonated at ground level to maximize fallout. Together with what had been published on the protection offered by buildings--including basements--Ehrlich and Ring computed combinations of initial continuous confinement and subsequent periods of daily outdoor excursions necessary to protect sheltered survivors from acute radiation injury. They note that since outdoor exposures represent thebiggest radiation contribution (and outdoor levels decay with time), the period of continuous shelter before venturing out becomes much more important than how radiologically protective a shelter is. For 75 percent of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , 9 days of initial confinement and 85-minute daily excursions thereafter would probably offer about the same, sufficient protection--an 84 percent reduction in dose (in comparison with someone having remained unsheltered all along)--as 21-day confinement and subsequent 7-hour daily trips outside. For most, this reduction would eliminate the need for acute radiation-related medical treatment. Most survivors would still face some long-term increased risk of cancer. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion