If the balloon goes up

[Pete Grey]

I’m trying to remember information on fallout from the old government publication “The effects of nuclear weapons”.

Remember the seven-ten rule for the decay of radiation from fallout.

I’m used to the old unit of exposure to radioactivity the roentgen. A total dose of 400R is fatal to 50% of those exposed, medical treatment is essential, 600R is 100% fatal.

The coarsest fallout starts to fall shortly after the blast (maybe twenty minutes ?). This may give a little time to find shelter, two to three foot of concrete or three foot of packed earth is good.

When the initial fallout has settled call the radiation 100%. It may be 2000R/hr or it may be 5000R/hr, who knows.

If 5000R/hr initially after seven hours radiation drops to 10%. 500R/hr.

After forty-eight hours radiation drops to 1%. 50R/hr. You could possibly leave your shelter, wearing disposable clothing for a few MINUTES only if essential, contaminated clothing is then thrown out of shelter.

After fourteen days radiation drops to 0.1%. 5R/hr. You can then leave your shelter for longer, again with disposable clothing.

After three months radiation would be down to around 0.5 R/hr. a relatively (not normal) life could begin a few hours each day out of the shelter, certainly still sleeping inside.

This is all from memory, from the 1970s.

It’s a lottery, no one knows what would happen , no doubt cancer’s would be more common, life would be terribly hard, but people will survive.