Category Archives: Emergency Preparedness

1962 Fallout Shelter Antenna

1962FebPMSixty years ago this month, the February 1962 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this hint for using an outdoor antenna in the fallout shelter. The magazine noted that the shielding required for fallout protection could also shield against vital radio broadcasts. Since most radios didn’t have an external antenna jack, the magazine showed how to add one. A small coil was placed over the loopstick antenna, and that coil was hooked to an outdoor antenna. For optimal reception, you would tune in a station close to 640 or 1240, the CONELRAD frequencies, and slide the coil along until the signal was strongest. At that point, you would add a little cement to fix the coil in place.

The antenna could be unplugged when in normal use, but quickly put to work in the shelter in time of emergency.



Potassium Iodide for Nuclear Emergencies

Terrorism Section Content Nuclear Blast 1.3.0.0Do not take any medicine unless directed to do so by a physician or public health authorities.

If you are reading this at the time of a nuclear emergency, then there are probably other priorities that are much higher than obtaining potassium iodide.  Take care of those other priorities first.  The following resources will provide you with useful information, and we recommend that you download them as soon as possible:

The author of this website is totally incompetent to offer any type of medical advice. Therefore, please do not take any pills that are recommended by this website, or any other website for that matter. You should only take pills that are recommended by your doctor, or other competent health authorities.

But there could be some emergency situations where doctors or competent health authorities recommend that you take some particular kind of medicine. If you are unable to get that medicine because of the emergency, the medical advice won’t do you any good. Therefore, there are some medicines that it might be advisable to purchase before the emergency.

Can you think of a time when doctors were recommending a medicine, but that medicine was not available for purchase? Maybe some of our readers can think of an example.

In any event, it is possible that there could be a time when doctors recommend a particular medicine, but that medicine is not available. If that medicine is inexpensive now, then it would be prudent to buy some now. If your doctor tells you to take it at some later time, you can do so immediately. If you have extra medicine, you can give it to your friends and neighbors, if their doctor recommends it for then.

Potassium Iodide for Nuclear Emergencies

Potassium iodide (KI) is one medicine that your doctor might recommend in the event of certain nuclear emergencies. These could include a nuclear attack in your area, or even a nuclear attack in another part of the world.  It could also include a Chernobyl-style nuclear accident or an attack against a nuclear reactor.

Nuclear radiation can, of course, cause many health problems, up to and including death.  Potassium iodide can protect against only one hazard, namely exposure of your thyroid to radiation. In the big scheme of things, getting thyroid cancer many years later is a relatively small concern. If you’re old enough, you don’t have to worry at all, since you will die of old age before you get it.  So if exposure to radiation is a possibility, then take precautions against the more serious risks before worrying too much about the future of your thyroid.

Thyroid. NIH image.

Thyroid. NIH image.

On the other hand, it is extremely simple to eliminate the risk of damage to your thyroid. If you flood your body with iodine before you are exposed to radioactive iodine, then the radioactive iodine will pass through your body harmlessly. But if you do not flood your body with iodine, then the radioactive iodine will collect in your thyroid, and you will potentially get cancer years later.  So one concern during a nuclear emergency, albeit a rather minor concern in comparison to what’s going on, is flooding your thyroid with iodine.

Therefore, it is possible that some day, due to a nuclear disaster of some type, your doctor or public health authorities will recommend that you take 130 milligrams of Potassium Iodide. For example, according to the New York Department of Health, “if there is an emergency, you will hear an announcement from your local or state health officials. Your local health department will tell you when you should start taking KI and they will also tell you when you can stop taking it.” According to that site, the recommended dose for adults is 130 mg. Doses for children range from 16 to 130 mg, depending on age and weight.

You can read similar advice from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Centers for Disease Control, the Food & Drug Administration, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the World Health Organization.  You can also find a good discussion at Nuclear War Survival Skills, and in this article written by a physician for laypersons.

VA image.

What a well-organized government distribution might look like. VA image.

After  a disaster in which your local and state health authorities tell you to take potassium iodide, the hope is that your Government will spring into action and distribute the potassium iodide to the public. For it to do any good, you need to take it before being exposed to the radiation. So you need to hope that your Government will spring into action very fast. They might, but it’s probably not something you can count on. And even if they spring into action fast enough, they might not have enough for everyone. So if you get yours from the Government, that might mean that some other person won’t get any. Therefore, it would be very wise to purchase it before the emergency. Fortunately, the cost of potassium iodide is low, and like everything else, you can buy it on Amazon:

 

Keep in mind that the adult dose is 130 mg, and if you are buying for only adults, that’s probably the most convenient size. If you need smaller doses, you can cut up pills, but it might be more convenient to buy smaller dose pills. Prices can vary, so shop around the various options to find the best option for you. You can probably buy potassium iodide from your local pharmacy. I don’t believe a prescription is required, but it’s probably up to the discretion of your pharmacist. But since it’s readily available on Amazon and other online sources, I would use one of them.

All of these products are available, and are intended for human consumption. It seems to me that it’s cheap insurance to buy it now, just in case your doctor or public health authorities tell you to take it. (Note: some health food stores sell potassium iodide supplements, but some of these have doses in the microgram range, which is much too low for radiation protection. Also, the amount of potassium iodide in iodized salt is much too low to provide any protection.)

A Consideration for Those With Small Children

Potassium iodide (KI) has a very bitter taste.  This is generally not a problem, as long as someone is able to swallow a pill.  For very young children, however, it might be necessary to cut a pill into small parts, and/or mix it with a liquid for them to drink.  Because of the taste, it is possible that they will not be able to take the medicine.  Therefore, if you anticipate this as a problem, you might consider purchasing potassium iodate (KIO3), which does not have a strong taste and can be mixed with food or beverages.  For more information, see this site.

Update:  Apparently, the FDA is not allowing sale of potassium iodate.  For more information, see this site.  Page 99 of Nuclear War Survival Skills contains some tips on making potassium iodide more palatable in case you need to cut up one of the pills and feed it to young children.

An Even Cheaper Alternative

There is an even cheaper option that we should mention:  You can buy the materials you need to whip up a batch in your kitchen. As outlined in Nuclear War Survival Skills, you can purchase reagent quality potassium iodide. In fact, the local high school chemistry lab might have a large bottle, since it is used in a popular experiment to make elephant toothpaste.

One bottle is sufficient to make thousands of doses. However, the contents of the bottle must be diluted many times to make them safe for human consumption in the proper dose. Your doctor or public health authorities might be reluctant to tell you to take something you whipped up in the kitchen using materials from the chemistry set. But if you’re willing to take that chance, and potentially help hundreds of your friends and neighbors, you can purchase the reagent grade potassium iodide at Amazon. Be sure to download the instructions for making it safe for human use and the information at this site.  You can order from the following Amazon links:

Using Iodine Transdermally

Warning:  You must never drink elemental iodine, sometimes known as tincture of iodine, sold under the brand name Betadine.  It is used as an antiseptic to apply to your skin.  In an emergency, you can use this product to protect your thyroid–again, not be drinking it– but by painting it on your skin.  For more information, see this site.  I suspect that in the case of a radiation emergency, even if this product was available, pharmacies might refuse to sell it because they would believe, possibly correctly, that some patients would drink it.  However, if you are faced with a nuclear emergency and you are otherwise unprepared, it’s possible that you might have this product in your medicine cabinet.

The following websites also contain information about potassium iodide, and have it available for sale:  ki4u.com and nukepills.com.



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Product Review: Great Value Pulled Pork in BBQ Sauce

PulledPork3CarSurvivalKit

Bottom Line:  Relatively expensive, but good way to add some variety to your survival kit.

We’ve previously reported about the importance of a car winter survival kit, to make sure you have enough food in the car to keep yourself reasonably comfortable if stranded. Recently, for example, a winter storm stranded motorists on Interstate 95 in Virginia for over 24 hours. As we showed previously, the kit in our car contains mostly dry food, and we have water and a means of cooking in the car.

One item that was lacking from the original kit was meat, or any type of protein for that matter. I corrected that after Christmas by buying a Hickory Farms meat and cheese gift package at a steep after-Christmas closeout discount, similar to the one shown at right.

PulledPork2Another item recently caught my eye, and that was the pouch of Great Value Pulled Pork in BBQ Sauce from Walmart. Its already cooked, so it only needs to be warmed up. Of course, in an emergency, it could be eaten cold. It’s best on a bun, but any kind of bread or crackers would work fine.  You could also eat it right out of the pouch, or together with one of the other dishes in the survival kit, such as the rice or mashed potatoes.

To test it at home, I was originally going to heat it up in the microwave, but I realized that I should just warm it up as I would in the car. Since I have in the survival kit an emergency stove and a pan, I decided to duplicate this at home. To keep from getting the pan dirty, I heated up water and simply placed the pouch in the water. Of course, in an emergency, if water is short, you can still use the water for drinking or cooking. More likely than not, if I had to heat it up in the car while stranded, I would be using melted snow.

The finished product was better than I expected. It made a reasonably filling lunch, and in an emergency, a hot sandwich (or even just hot meat out of the pouch) would seem luxurious.

This product wouldn’t be viable for a large portion of your emergency food storage. The 2.8 ounce pouch cost $1.28. It provides 11 grams of protein, and only 130 calories. By contrast, a jar of peanut butter, for only a little bit more money, provides 2520 calories and 98 grams of protein. According to Harvard University, the recommended daily protein intake is 0.36 grams per pound. So a person weighing 150 pounds should get about 54 grams per day. This means that for long-term storage, the peanut butter is a much better value. But for a day or two, the pulled pork would add a few calories to your diet, provide a welcome hot meal, albeit a small one, and provide you with some protein. And it’s quite possible that the contents of the car witner survival kit will be frozen when you need them. Thawing a pouch of meat is probably a lot easier than figuring out how to thaw a jar of peanut butter.

The package I bought had a “best by” date of November 2024, almost three years in the future. So I’ll definitely be tossing some in the car survival kit. I hope I don’t have to use them until a future family survival picnic.

Incidentally, if the package looks familiar, that’s because this type of packaging is also used for tuna, another possible choice for the survival kit.



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Yacht as Fallout Shelter, 1962

1962Jan16WashEveningStarSixty years ago today, the January 16, 1962, issue of the Washington Evening Star carried this feature by its outdoor editor about one of the stars of the New York Motor Boat Show. This craft was touted as a seagoing fallout shelter. The craft was from the Wheeler Yacht Company, which had teamed up with a name familiar to students of television history, namely Dr. Allen B. Du Mont, one of the pioneers of television.

The principle behind using a boat is sound, as described by Du Mont. Fallout is almost invariably heavier than water, and sinks to the bottom. If the water is 10 feet deep, this means that there is 10 feet of water between the fallout and the boat, which is equivalent to 3 feet of earth, giving excellent protection. Of course, fallout might have settled on the boat, so it was equipped with nozzles for cleaning the deck. Fallout on shore was dealt with through distance, by keeping the boat a minimum of 750 feet from shore. Of course, the ship did nothing to protect against blast and fire, and noted that it would need to be at least 35 miles from ground zero at the time of blast.

For a more detailed look at the concept of using boats for fallout protection, see the 1963 report from the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, Civil Defense Utilization of Ships and Boats.



Lady Bird Johnson Tours Fallout Shelter, 1961

DamascusMdFalloutShelterShown here is second lady Lady Bird Johnson touring a fallout shelter at the home of John R. Bryan, Jr., 25014 Woodfield Drive, Damascus, Maryland.

Because of his official duties as Training and Education Officer with the Office of Civil Defense, Mr. Bryan would be on duty at such time as the shelter was occupied, but he built it, at an expense of about $300 for the benefit of his wife, daughters, and mother in law.

According to the Washington Evening Star, the shelter was surprisingly cheerful looking, with yellow walls. It measured 10 by 11, with a height of six feet. Concrete blocks eight feet thick surrounded it. About 40 gallons of water were stored in the shelter, with an additional 160 gallons in tanks in the basement connected to the shelter by a hose. Food consisted largely of canned goods, with crackers and other items. A canned heat stove was on hand to heat meals, but when Bryan participated in a shelter occupancy experiment, it was discovered that this type of stove was very slow to heat the food. They also had a ratemeter and dosimeter, and as shown above, a portable radio. Little money was spent on furnishings, since most were hand-me-downs or camping gear.

The children slept on the double-decker cots, and one cot was left out during the day for seating. Another cot was unfolded at night for sleeping. A folding table rounded out the furnishings. Toilet facilities consisted of a portable toilet using plastic bags, which would be sealed in food cannisters after they had been emptied.



Re-use of N95 Masks

Most N95 respirators are intended to be disposed of after a single use. However, during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were insufficient numbers of respirators for healthcare workers, and strategies for preserving the supplies were necessary. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control published strategies for reusing masks, rather than disposing of them after each use. Those strategies were published online.

As of May 2021, that agency reported that the supply of approved respirators has increased significantly, and most healthcare facilities should resume conventional practices, namely, disposing of masks after one use.

However, with the increased availability of N95 masks, many consumers are using them for protection outside of the healthcare context. We have previously published a review of some of the available N95 and KN95 masks.

While they are now readily available, the cost might be prohibitive if a whole family wears them all day and then has to dispose of them. Therefore, many consumers may want to employ the same strategies to be able to use a single mask for more than a single use.

I rarely wear an N95 mask for more than a few minutes at a time, and it’s usually in relatively low-risk situations, such as a supermarket. Therefore, it would be extremely expensive to discard it each time. Therefore, I store the mask and re-use it at a later time. I use a procedure similar to these instructions from the North Dakota Department of Health, which show the approved procedure for re-use.  Basically, I carefully remove the mask in a brown paper bag until the next use.  This video from the University of Nebraska is a good overview of the procedure:

If you are looking for particular masks, I have used and recommend all of the following, all of which are made in the USA. You can view my full review of these masks at this link. (Note that availability varies, but all of these are usually available at Amazon. You may need to search for different colors or different size packages.

 

 



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Plain Facts About Fallout Shelters: 1961

1961DecPS1Yesterday, we featured some fallout shelter designs from the December 1961 issue of Popular Mechanics. The public relations department at the Office of Civil Defense must have been working overtime, because that month’s issue of Popular Science also carried a feature entitled “Plain Facts About Fallout Shelters.” The Popular Science article was written mostly in Question and Answer format. It started by noting that those who build fallout shelters in the past kept it secret for fear they would be considered crazy. But according to the magazine, “safety precautions against the ravages of atomic war no longer reveal old-maidish nervousness but admirable prudence.”

Unfortunately, the magazine lamented that many buyers, as well as builders, of shelters didn’t know what they were doing. So the article is devoted to dispelling some misconceptions and providing good information.

The chart above illustrates that radiation is not necessarily fatal, but the dose is the key factor. The stress on fallout shelters was because much of the country would be free from the immediate effects of the blast, but would be subject to deadly fallout. The general idea was that if you were in the “probably die” category, you would want to move yourself up to “sick,” or even better yet, to “safe.” And a fallout shelter would do that for millions of Americans.

After explaining the basics, the magazine urged readers to write to the Office of Civil Defense for further information. It also made the reminder to check local building codes before starting work.



1961 Fallout Shelter Designs

1961DecPM1Sixty years ago this month, the Cuban Missile Crisis was still almost a year off, but protection from nuclear weapons was already on the minds of many Americans, and the December 1961 issue of Popular Mechanics carried construction details for four fallout shelters. The deluxe model shown above, with an estimated cost of $1841 (about $17,000 in 2021 dollars) was typical of that offered by commercial builders. It was an underground room that could be used in peacetime for some other use, with an attractive patio on top, complete with a built-in grill.

1961DecPM2The other end of the cost spectrum was represented by the design shown at left courtesy of Prof. R.M. Stephenson of the University of Connecticut’s nuclear engineering program. He estimated that the design would reduce radiation levels by a factor of 200-1000, meaning that it would save lives even in areas of high fallout. The material consisted of 100 sandbags, 10,000 pounds of dry sand, and some miscellaneous lumber, with a cost of only $30 ($279 in 2021 dollars).

1961DecPM3The next least expensive was the design shown at right, with an estimated cost of $97 (about $900 in 2021). The initial construction of this design was done prior to the emergency, requiring about 33 hours of labor. A wooden frame was mounted to the wall with a hinge for the ceiling, with the concrete blocks stored nearby. In time of emergency, the construction could be completed in about two hours, assuming you were in a hurry, which you probably would be. To save space in this shelter, food and water was to be stored outside, with the occupants brining in a one or two day supply.

The final design, shown below, could shelter four persons at a cost of $280 ($2600 in 2021 dollars). This design was made mostly of concrete block. Some lumber was used, and the designers recommended that any lumber in contact with existing basement floor or walls be coated with tar or white lead paste to prevent rot.

The magazine offered a booklet with more details about the designs, and also directed readers to the Office of Civil Defense for more free information.1961DecPM4



1946 Compass/Match Case/Fire Starter

1946OctBLSeventy-five years ago this month, the well equipped Scout might have in his pack this combination compass, match safe, and fire starter. A compass was at the top, with a window to view the direction. To avoid confusion, the window was labeled “YOU ARE LOOKING” to make clear that if you saw an N, then you were looking north, rather than having the N printed on the north side of the dial.

Matches were stored in a watertight container, but just in case you ran out, the side had a “flint of pyrophoric metal” that could be struck by a knife. The ad declared that it was the only compass “that can build a fire in a split second,” and I’m guessing that would be done with one of the matches inside. With practice, the flint would probably work, but it would take some practice, and probably wouldn’t happen in a split second.

The product was manufactured by the DuPage Plastics Company, 10 South LaSalle Street, Chicago. It was officially approved by the BSA, and is advertised here in the October 1946 issue of Boys’ Life.


While this particular model is no longer available, there is a modern replacement, shown at left. I have one of these, and while I’m not sure it’s from the same manufacturer, it looks identical. There’s a compartment for storing matches, and as far as I can tell, it is waterproof. Strike anywhere matches are still available, but they’re often hard to find. I simply use regular strike on box matches and include one of the strikers from the box inside with the matches. If all else fails, it does include on the side what is now called a ferro rod.

The modern version also includes a whistle, which is quite loud, as well as a tiny mirror inside the cap, which presumably could be used for signaling.

I’m guessing that the compass on the 75 year old version was better than the modern one, but the modern one does, indeed, work. You have to be careful, however, because if you don’t hold it perfectly level, it will bind up and not move. The best way to use it is to check it once, and then check a second time to make sure that north hasn’t moved.

Especially if you buy the three pack, the modern version is very inexpensive.  Like this Scout 75 years ago, it’s not a bad idea to have one of this in your pack.



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Expedient Tent Frame

1941OctPMEighty years ago this month, the October 1941 issue of Popular Mechanics carried this self-explanatory idea to quickly make an emergency tent with materials that might be at hand. Any poles of similar length could be used, but in this case, it’s two oars and another stick of the same size. To quickly turn them into a tripod, a bucket is placed over the ends as shown. The frame is then covered with a piece of canvas or other available material.

If the idea looks familiar, it’s probably because we previously showed how to make a similar tripod for cooking using an empty can.