10 Preps For Your Nuclear-Event Go Bag

Yesterday I wrote an article on the locations of nuclear facilities that are scattered all over the US.  In reality, there are probably additional secret locations that we are unaware of. I detail 7 things you should know about nuclear events in this article.

So today, I am writing to suggest that if you live near one of the facilities, you may want to build yourself a nuclear go bag. This is a bag that you would grab in addition to your bug out bag if you had to flee your home because of a dirty bomb, power plant accident, or some other nuclear incident. This bag should also contain most of the items you would need to survive if you have to shelter in place because of radiation. Keep in mind that location might be your home, but just as easily, your workplace, school, or vehicle.

These items are not listed in order of importance:

  • A radiation detector: This can be something as simple as a homemade Kearny Fallout meter as shown in Nuclear Warfare Survival skills. You can also get personal radiation detectors such as the RADTriage, which is a U.S. Military-grade personal dosimeter. This detects radiation exposure in the event of a dirty bomb or a nuclear reactor accident, such as Fukushima and Chernobyl. This is a wallet size card that requires no batteries.  Personally, I have one of the Old Civil Defense Radiation Detectors sets that were made for the cold war. I was able to find it through connections with a volunteer fire department.
  • Potassium Iodide tablets to help protect your thyroid from radiation damage. This packet of 14 tablets covers the 130 mg recommended dosage. This will protect the thyroid for 24 hours, and usually, this is all that’s needed. Dosage: (take as soon as radiation is detected or suspected)
    • Babies, newborn to 1 month – 16 mg, one dose only
    • Babies between 1 month and 3years – 32 mg
    • Children between 3 and 18 – 65 mg
    • Children weighing more than 150 pounds – 130 mg
    • Adults between 18-40 – 130 mg
    • Pregnant & breastfeeding women – 130 mg, one dose only. Adults over 40 should not take KI since they have the lowest chance of developing thyroid cancer and are more likely to have allergic reactions. If your radiation detector indicates continued exposure, children and adults should take an additional dose. Do NOT give additional doses to newborns or pregnant and breastfeeding women.
  • A good quality gas mask with extra filters for every member of your family. Spend some time in researching these. You need masks that will prevent radioactive particles from entering your lungs. Some gas masks have filters that are only good for less than an hour, once activated. This might be fine for Israeli citizens rushing to a nearby bomb shelter, but for Americans, it probably wouldn’t be enough. Have one or two backup filters for each mask.
  • A good rain suit consisting of a waterproof hooded jacket, pants and boots plus gloves. This one is nothing fancy but would get the job done of protecting you. You need one for every member of you family.
  • A good size sheet of plastic to help you seal opening into a room in a building to help keep radioactive particles out. A roll of heavy duty black plastic will be much more effective than black trash bags. Get it at a Lowe’s or Home Depot.
  • Duct tape, lots of it, if for some reason you have to go outside in a fallout area, you can use it around the openings in your rain suite to help keep dust out. It can also be of use if you have to seal a room.
  • N95 particulate masks will help to keep you from inhaling fallout particles. Spend some time wearing a mask like this, just to get used to the sensation. Some people describe feeling suffocated if they aren’t used to wearing a face mask. Also, adjust the mask to fit your face.
  • Soap, sponges and/or a bristled brush (vegetable scrubbing brush) for decontaminating family members.
  • Knowledge “ this may be the most important thing. The items that are listed above are no good if you don’t know what to do with them.  Here is a link you may want to read, Rules on Nuclear Fallout . But the best book is Nuclear Warfare Survival skills, put it in your bag
  • A good bag to store everything in.  It will teach you how to build a survivable shelter. Don’t forget to read the links in yesterday’s post.
See also  EMP Attack: A Reality or Fiction? How to Prepare for it

Every item on this list, with the exception of the radiation detector and potassium iodide tablets, have multiple uses in many different scenarios, so the expense in putting this kit together is justifiable.

Take a bit of time and put this nuclear go bag together. If a nuclear emergency occurs these items will help you whether you shelter in place or bug out.

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4 thoughts on “10 Preps For Your Nuclear-Event Go Bag”

  1. Having materials for expedient field decontamination are also helpful. This article details making your own baby wipes from paper towels and common household products.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3516740/Parent-hack-video-shows-make-baby-wipes.html

    Lacking the pre-packaged body wash you can make a useful expedient solution using water, baby shampoo and a bit of food grade mineral oil USP or baby oil.

    Lacking those ingredients, a 1:4 solution of vinegar and water is useful as a cleanser and deodorizer for personal hygiene, although its effectiveness as a decontaminating rinse depends upon the specific agent. But the practical expedient advise if you have nothing better is that “dilution is the solution to pollution!”

    1. I had a father, Who was at Los Alamos during early 1960’s and
      In Miami during the Cuban missile Crisis A trained Burn tech at Lackland AFB He knew everything from Sun burn to third degree radio active burn The best way to survive a war is to never … To start one

  2. Nice article. I would, however, add that the above protections are meant mainly for Alpha and Beta particles. While scrubbing, washing, and using the potassium iodide pills to saturate your thyroid glands, shielding is the only effective way to protect oneself from gamma radiation. For example, 1/4 inch of lead, .7 inches of steel, 2.4 inches of concrete, or 3.3 inches of packed earth will reduce gamma radiation by half.

    1. Your comment made me think of Lite-form building materials. Many people in my area build their homes out of it. I am a renter, but for retirement, planned on building a mini house in the country with a small basement out of it. I live in an area where tornados and such are possible, so that was my initial reason for wanting to build with it– but this works too, as Omaha is only a 90 minute drive from me… lol
      https://liteform.com/ has links to all of their products.

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