SEAL Survival Guide (59 page)

Following the thermal pulse will be the
blast wave,
which is the outward burst of air from the explosion. This will collapse structures and immediately burst lungs. The blast wave is strong enough to send a person, car, or even buildings blowing away at a speed of three hundred miles per hour. An
electromagnetic pulse (EMP),
which disables all unshielded electronics within approximately a three-mile radius of ground zero, is created by a nuclear explosion when air around the blast ionizes. Don’t expect to use vehicles, phones, computers, or anything non-mechanical after the explosion.

The third destructive component is the
alpha, beta, and gamma radiation
emitted from the bomb, which poses the greatest threat to those not annihilated by the initial blast. The explosion has sent toxic radioactive particles into the air. Eventually these radioactive particles will float back down, resembling snowfall. This toxic snowfall is called
fallout
and comes in three types of particle radiation. Alpha and beta are relatively weak forms that normally require inhalation and skin contact to harm you. Gamma rays are the most dangerous and can pass directly through the body, killing cells, which can become life-threatening after prolonged exposure. There is no way to neutralize the effects of gamma rays once you’ve been exposed to high doses, and death is forthcoming within about six to seven weeks. Only a dense physical barrier made of solid materials will shield you from lethal radiation.

Now that I have your attention on the devastation such weapons can cause, you may understand better why we go to war or do whatever is necessary to keep these weapons out of the wrong hands. You will need to take prompt action, be at maximum mental toughness, and be physically prepared to survive a nuclear attack.

In terms of prevention, the U.S. government has stockpiled two drugs for radiological emergencies: potassium iodine and a product called Prussian blue. The latter is sold over the counter under the name
Radiogardase.
These products can reduce some effects of radiation exposure. Keep Radiogardase and
potassium iodine
in your house. You certainly won’t be able to find any
after
a nuclear strike.

Surviving the Blast Wave

There are really only a couple of things you can do once you see the thermal pulse, but they are important. If you survive the blast, you will have a decent chance of making it through this alive, but realize this is far from over.

1. Before the blast wave hits you, make sure you are lying on the ground, legs crossed, facing away from the blast.

2. Keep your mouth open so the concussion of the blast doesn’t blow your lungs out; a closed mouth allows the pressure to become trapped and will turn your lungs into exploding balloons.

Radiation: Deciding Whether to Run or Shelter In

So you have survived the detonation of a nuclear weapon, which is absolutely amazing. Now you have to decide if you are going to try to outrun the radioactive fallout that will begin to settle back all around, or shelter
in. If you are going to try to outrun the fallout, understand that you will probably be
actually
running, since nothing electronic will work.

RUN

Find out which way the wind is blowing. Travel in a direction perpendicular (90 degrees) to that direction, and you will get out of the path of the fallout the fastest. Depending on wind speed, and the magnitude of the weapon, it’s estimated that you need to be at least thirty miles from the blast to get clear of the most lethal dosages of radiation, which is measured in
REMs.

A breakdown of typical exposure:

• 3,000 REMs at thirty miles from the blast;

• 900 REMs at ninety miles (900 REMs causes death in two to fourteen days);

• 300 REMs at 160 miles (300 REMs can harm nerve cells, the digestive tract, and cause temporary hair loss);

• 250 miles from the epicenter reduces damage from radiation exposure to non-permanent levels.

SHELTER IN

The ideal choice for a shelter is a subterranean concrete bunker, equipped with a filtered-air system and stocked with supplies. Russia has about eight thousand functioning public shelters that could house 11 percent of its population, with five thousand additional ones under construction. China is suspected to have more. Switzerland has enough
fallout shelters
to protect its entire population. In the United States, many buildings in urban areas were retrofitted to serve as fallout shelters during the 1960s. Many of the old placards can still be seen on some buildings, but most have not been maintained or regularly stocked with supplies. There are a number of fully functioning locations designed for government officials and military personnel, providing self-sufficient survival in excess of 30 months. The locations are classified.

1. Try to get into a commercial building (brick or concrete) with a basement. If you live in a house with a basement or an apartment building with a basement, get to the lowest level below ground.

2. If the commercial building doesn’t have a basement, move to the highest floor but remain two floors from the roof. For
example, in a twelve-story building move to the tenth floor. This will give you the greatest distance from the fallout on the ground but keep you away from the fallout that settles on the roof. Remember to turn off any ventilation, such as air-conditioning.

3. To protect yourself from the gamma rays, build a structure around you by using filing cabinets, books, desks, and doors. Gamma rays can’t turn corners, so make an L-shaped entrance to your structure and stay low.

If outdoors,
get to a ravine or ditch, inside a cave—even burying yourself under snow will offer some protection. If you have the time, dig a hole at least six feet deep and as wide, and make a roof of corrugated metal that can be covered with soil. Soil absorbs radiation easily, and this will prevent the initial and most dangerous and lethal radiation from entering your body.

Aftermath of the Blast

Unless you have a Geiger counter, there is no way to measure radiation. It is invisible and has no odor or taste, but it’s there. Time to decontaminate.

1. Wash your body thoroughly with salted water, or soap and water.

2. If you have no water, use uncontaminated cloth or even newspaper and gently brush off any fallout, being careful not to rub it into your body. Another option is to use soil to absorb radiation on your skin by sprinkling it on all parts of your body. You must use soil that was well belowground during the blast, or you will only contaminate yourself further.

3. Dispose of the clothing you had on during the blast. Wrap these in plastic and get them out of the area.

4. Stay put. If you are in an adequate shelter, you should not leave it for a minimum of seventy-two hours. After that point, 90 percent of the radiation from the fallout will have
lost its potency. If you are able to shelter in longer, stay put. During this time the irradiated particles of the blast will still be blowing in the atmosphere.

5. Venture out for one hour a day, and slowly increase the time to two to three hours outside at the end of four weeks.

6. Consider all water from lakes, ponds, and reservoirs to be contaminated. All fresh food will also be contaminated if it was merely wrapped in plastic, although canned foods should be safe to eat.

PANDEMIC

A pandemic is a global epidemic or the spread of contagious and infectious disease across huge swaths of the population. Humankind has dealt with these before. The bubonic plague, or “Black Death,” of the Middle Ages is believed to have originated in China in around 1330
A.D.
By 1347 it had spread via trade routes throughout Europe, and it eventually killed a staggering twenty-five million people, or one-third of the known world’s population. The disease originated from rat fleas. The “Spanish flu,” at the turn of the twentieth century, killed more than half a million Americans in a few months and is now thought to be similar to SARS, commonly known as “bird flu,” which is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus. Health departments are on high alert for any suspected contagion. Unlike the days when it took years to spread diseases along trade routes, with our modern transportation systems, global infestation can occur within days.

Situational Awareness

It’s important to be alert to warnings issued by health officials, but you must also know how diseases spread in order to avoid them. Knowledge and preparation are always vital parts of any arsenal. There are three main methods of transmission.