Nuclear Fallout and Food Contamination

[Ben Rumson]

Most of you know I live in the suburbs of NoVA. A nuclear attack on the Capital city has always been on my mind since I was a child. I never believed and still don't believe we will be nuked by the Russians. The Russians aren't stupid and do want to live to see another day. Mutually assured self destruction has always been a saving grace.

However, things have changed since the Cold War. The chances of a nuclear exchange in the Middle East and Asia are high in my opinion. Persons who would want to detonate a nuclear device would do so believing they had done a good deed for Allah.

Those same persons could easily shuttle something over here and detonate it in DC. The fallout from the device so close would be intense. Wind would play a large part for NoVA. A nuclear exchange overseas would bring fallout to the entire North American continent.

Over the years I've read up on what to do in preparation of fallout. Have I followed all of my own advise? Not really.

I may be able to reduce the chances of contamination for me and my family for a required short period of time by "hunkering down". The two week period would allow radiation levels to fall below a dangerous level.

Question is, what about the canned goods and stored water that I couldn't fit in my small "safe area". Do they dissipate the rad level the same as the outside air? Would the canned goods and water be safe after two weeks much like the air. Would the canned goods and water soak up and retain the rad level beyond what the air would? I can't find an answer to these questions

Evacuation is not an option due to traffic.

[Catbird]

Radioactive "fallout" consists of small particles, down to dust size, which emit ionizing radiation. This radiation is what causes burns, sickness, and cancer. If you injest the particle, it sits in your body emiting radiation until it decays. If the particles get in your hair or clothes they will irradiate you until you remove the clothing or wash your hair. This is why they trained us in the army to use raingear and wash as often as possible, especially hairy areas, when obligated to travel through areas contaminated with radioactive fallout.

If radioactive dust falls on foodstuffs, it will irradiate it just like it would do to you. The radiation will cause subtle chemical changes to the food, but it won't poison or make it radioactive. In fact, it will tend to sterilize it. Canned foods are fine. Wash the can before you open it and you're golden. Food which you can wash and peel, such as apples and potatoes are riskier, but probably still okay. Un-peelable foods like lettuce and un-washable foods like cereals are last resort only.

[Ben Rumson]

Thanks Catbird: Let me give a scenario based on your comments.. The numbers I'll throw out are made up and are for proportional purposes only.

Lets say my house is sealed up tight with magic duct tape and plastic. All of the fallout dust is outside of my house. The irradiation process is filling my basement to 100rads by penetrating walls etc.. The small safe area I constructed inside the basement only has a level of 20 rads due to additional insulation etc.. I quickly leave the safe area into the larger basement and grab a can of beans and a beer that's been sitting in the 100rad level area.

Are the beans and beer sitting in the 100rad level area more dangerous then the beans and beer I had stored in the safe area at a 20rad level?

Make sense?

[Catbird]

Are the beans and beer sitting in the 100rad level area more dangerous then the beans and beer I had stored in the safe area at a 20rad level?

Short answer: no, they would be no more dangerous to consume than the beer and beans you left sitting in the back of your pickup. The ionizing radiation emitted by the fallout is energy which moves through the food, much the same way heat energy from the burner on your stove does, except the energy levels are much smaller.

Ionizing radiation is sometimes used to preserve food by killing microrganisims without drying, excess heat, or chemical preservatives. A good primer on food irradiation is found here.

[Cybrludite]

If it's up to 20 rads an hour in your shelter, just bring in the beer. You'll be puking within about 12 hours anyway, and would reach the LD50 after 3-4 days. (Or maybe a bit longer. I don't have my fallout effects calculator handy here at work.) Under that circumstance, you might actually be better off making a run for it in your car. Depending on just how hot it is outside, of course.

[Denis]

For a technical discussion of this topic, you need Glasstone's book.

In the 1960's the UK Government issued a booklet called Protect and Survive. It's discusssed on Wikipedia here.

I remember reading the Irish equivalent of Protect and Survive as a child - the advice was basically to stay indoors and eat canned food.

[Dub_James]

Speaking of which...

Enjoy...

I believe I have one of those books in electronic form somewhere. My basement's about the safest place where I am, although that's not saying much.

[Whirlibird]

Kerry's Nuclear War Survival Skills

Captain Dave's Nuclear page

Captain Dave's

One of the better informational sites out there. With lots of cross references.

[Catbird]

No discussion of nuclear war would be complete without;

Tom Lehrer - Who's Next (starts at 0:16)

Tom Lehrer - We Will All Go Together When We Go

[mekender]

IIRC, water does a really good job of insulating against radiation...

advice i remember from WAY back was that double walled containers with water in the middle of the walls would get rid of almost all penetrating radiation...