Disaster Scenario | Nuclear Bomb/Contamination
With the increase in the use of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and radioactive material around the globe, radiation could be an issue for you and your family if there was an incident.
Nuclear power has become more popular in recent years with 31-different countries now having facilities to generate electricity. Unfortunately this form of power is not without it’s risks. A prime example of that would be the 1986 meltdown in Chernobyl, Ukraine. This event dispersed radioactive particles over a large area of the Ukraine and 28-people died from direct exposure. The town of Chernobyl is now abandoned and is a no-go zone because of the radio activity. An increase in thyroid cancer has been detected in the local population even many years after the meltdown.
Another example is the recent event at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Following a major earthquake off of the coast of Japan on March 11th, 2011 and the 50-foot tsunami that soon followed the power plant was severely damaged causing the cooling systems to fail. This failure caused three of the reactors on site to melt down. Radioactivity was released over the local area and evacuations took place to ensure the safety of the citizens.
Nuclear weapons were only used twice during World War 2 and thankfully not again since, but their popularity within a countries arsenal has increased many times over. In present day there are nine countries that have nuclear weapons: Russia, The United States, France, China, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea.
Nuclear war is not something anyone likes to think about but with the uncertainty of governments and regime change one must be prepared for the unlikely event of a detonation. As of 2014 the number of nuclear weapons on Earth stand around 16,300. It only takes one to throw the world into chaos and to affect a large group of people.
What should one do to protect yourself and family? Have your standard preparedness supplies, like water, food, first-aid, plastic sheeting. In addition to the normal supplies one should store a supply of Potassium Iodate/Iodide (KIO3/KI). Potassium iodate/iodide blocks radioactive iodine from entering the thyroid and causing injury. Thyroid cancer is one of the leading issues of survivors of a radio active event.
What else should you do to protect yourself once you have taken potassium iodide? The CDC recommends:
Get Inside
In a radiation emergency you may be asked to get inside a building and take shelter for a period of time.
- This action is called “sheltering in place.”
- Get to the middle of the building or a basement, away from doors and windows.
- Bring pets inside
Stay Inside
Staying inside will reduce your exposure to radiation.
- Close and lock windows and doors.
- Take a shower or wipe exposed parts of your body with a damp cloth.
- Drink bottled water and eat food in sealed containers.
Stay Tuned
Emergency officials are trained to respond to disaster situations and will provide specific actions to help keep people safe.
- Use radios, televisions, computers, mobile devices, and other tools to get the latest information.
- Emergency officials will provide information on where to go to get screened for contamination.
