Chapter 23

Survival In Man-Made Hazards

THE NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENT

SHELTER

23-29. As stated earlier, the shielding material's effectiveness depends on its thickness and density. An ample thickness of shielding material will reduce the level of radiation to negligible amounts.

23-30. The primary reason for finding and building a shelter is to get protection against the high-intensity radiation levels of early gamma fallout as fast as possible. Five minutes to locate the shelter is a good guide. Speed in finding shelter is absolutely essential. Without shelter, the dosage received in the first few hours will exceed that received during the rest of a week in a contaminated area. The dosage received in this first week will exceed the dosage accumulated during the rest of a lifetime spent in the same contaminated area.