How to Build a Fallout Shelter (Basic)

“The most important thing is to build underground,” says Cédric Vuilleumier, an engineer for the Federal Office for Civil Protection in Switzerland,
where all citizens are legally guaranteed a spot in a bomb shelter.

Packed earth insulates against radiation and blast waves, but don’t go deeper than 10 feet;
if your exits (make two) become blocked in the blast, you may need to dig yourself out.

Start with what Vuilleumier calls a “protective envelope” of concrete and reinforced steel rebar with walls between one foot and 2-feet-7-inches thick.
Don’t build near anything flammable.
Your budget may allow for more spaciousness, but plan for a minimum of nine square feet per person, which is what Switzerland provides.
Install eight-inch-thick concrete and steel doors that open out.
Add a ventilation and air-filtration system that can be operated with a hand crank in case of a power failure.
(Swiss specifications for bomb-shelter parts are the gold standard internationally;
many shelter-building companies in the United States and elsewhere import Swiss-made components.)

Such shelters sound like they are intended for blast protection, not for a living shelter while radiation drops off. While these would probably let one survive the blast near ground zero, if you are down wind of the blast, I doubt you could scamper to safety.
********************************************************

Anyone who is not at least 10 miles from ground zero is most likely not scampering anywhere regardless of shelter.

According to the background info in the pamphlets these are intended to help protect yourself from radioactive particles.

Likewise, those directly downwind have less chances of surviving. Anyone that is 25 miles or more away will become sick from radiation, if they do not have adequate shielding. Any shielding is better than none.

These makeshift shelters are intended for people who are at least 25 miles away and further is better. According to the wind patterns, it is predicted that within 24 hrs almost all of the continental USA will be experiencing some level of fallout.

The makeshift shelters are shown with various things, such as tables stacked with books, bags of dirt, patio blocks etc. whatever you happen to have, if you had nothing better and failed to prepare.

The “permanent shelters” are generally built of concrete blocks filled in 8x8x16 inches or bricks, and built in a corner of the basement that has two walls that are covered with dirt outside. The concrete block room is 5ft to 6ft tall ( there must be min. 16” between the shelter ceiling and the upstairs floor to allow the concrete or bricks above the ceiling).

These shelters are intended to get past the two - week window that they estimate needed for the radioactive dust to settle. They could be stocked with minimum 7 gallons of water per person, hygienic wipes, porta potty of some sort, edible food that requires no heating. Very minimalist, or more elaborate - depends on the budget. Could be set up for months.

These types of shelters that have taller ceilings obviously are better since one could at least stand up and stretch, but remember, radiation is supposedly less closer to the floor. It’s also an advantage that they can be built/disguised and serve as a laundry room or basement rec room with no nosy neighbors the wiser.

When I was in 8th grade, we had a history teacher who taught civil defense classes that spent a week teaching us a lot of stuff, that I have forgotten-hence I was refreshing my memory a few weeks ago.

I do remember being impressed with his demo of how to eat a banana that had been exposed to radiation. So after 2 weeks, they estimate that it would be safe to go out for a bit, and get some additional food from storage-decontaminate the cans outside the shelter, and decontaminate yourself and deposit outer wear outside the shelter. etc.

Potassium Iodide tablets for all is a good thing to have stocked too. If I had it to do over, we would put in a permanent shelter that was nuke/biological/earthquake/tornado proof, even if we had to build a smaller house. But hindsight is 20-20.

I’ve read that Russia has stated that if you know someone is going to attack you, it would be foolish not to attack first. I have also read that China and Russia have had civil defense drills regarding nuclear attacks.

Our government has provided for politicians to have bunkers, but allowed preparation for the civilian population to deteriorate. So it’s up to each of us to decide what is right for our family -will we prepare for the worst, or just hope for the best?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.