How to Survive a Nuclear Attack – Gain The Knowledge & Be Prepared

Foreword

A nuclear detonation in the United States is one of the most catastrophic incidents imaginable. While the United States Government is working domestically and with international partners to ensure this scenario never occurs, failing to plan for managing the consequences of such an event would be irresponsible.

Should a nuclear detonation occur, a crucial task for Federal, State, local, tribal and territorial authorities and private-sector organizations will be communicating clear and consistent messages to the public. All levels of government have responsibility for coordinating and communicating information regarding the incident to the public immediately after a nuclear detonation. State, local and tribal authorities retain the primary responsibility for responding to large-scale incidents, such as a nuclear detonation. Effectively communicating health and safety instructions to the population will be a critical factor in building trust, comforting the nation, saving lives and minimizing injury.

This document was developed as a resource for emergency responders and federal, state, and local officials communicating with the public and the media during the immediate aftermath of a nuclear detonation in the United States. An interagency group of communications and radiation technical experts developed the messages in this document, which include key messages for the impacted community and the nation, and anticipated questions and answers for distribution to the public in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear detonation.

Since the 2010 interim use version of the document, the message content was reviewed by state and local responders and tested for comprehension through a series of public focus groups. The document was also reviewed by the Advisory Team for Environment, Food and Health, which is a radiological emergency response group tasked with providing protective action recommendations to state and local governments on behalf of its member agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). FEMA’s Federal, State and local Nuclear/Radiological Communications Working Group also participated in the review and update of this document. The final document takes into account all of the feedback received during these reviews.

Ideally, there will never be a need for these messages; however officials at all levels of government have a responsibility to the American people to be prepared to respond and communicate effectively in the event of any type of national emergency, including a nuclear detonation.

Introduction

The goal of this document is to aid responders in providing information and life-saving instructions to the public in the immediate aftermath of an Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) instructions to the public in the immediate aftermath of an Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) hour period when Federal assistance is expected to arrive and assist the local response forces.

People who receive specific instructions for appropriate actions following an IND attack will be more likely to make effective and prompt decisions to maximize their safety. The underlying mission of this messaging document is to share as much relevant information as possible to maximize public health and safety following a nuclear detonation.

Specifically, this document is designed as a tool for Federal, State, local, tribal and territorial officials and emergency responders who will interact with the media and the public following an IND incident. The pre-scripted key messages and questions and answers included in this document focus on saving lives and minimizing injury as well as addressing the concerns of the nation as a whole. If used across all levels of government, the message consistency and accuracy will also build confidence and trust in the government’s response to the incident.

The anticipated questions are arranged by relevance to preserving health and safety of populations affected by the nuclear explosion. This document also contains several appendices, including 1) Federal jurisdiction following IND explosion, 2) Basic risk communications principles, 3) Example radio and social media templates for use after an IND explosion, 4) Responses to additional emergency response related questions, 5) A list of volunteer organizations and 6) Acknowledgement of the groups that developed and reviewed this document.

While the details of a nuclear incident will vary by its size and location, the issues addressed in this document are universally applicable to any nuclear detonation. While other official sources of messaging may prove useful in the days and weeks following an IND attack, this document is a key resource for officials at all levels of government communicating with the public or media immediately following an IND incident.

“ Improvised Nuclear Device Response and Recovery: Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath” is meant to be used in combination with the“Planning Guidance for Response to an Improvised Nuclear Detonation” (2^nd edition, published in June 2010 by the National Security Staff and Interagency Policy Coordination Subcommittee for Preparedness and Response to Radiological and Nuclear Threats).“Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath” builds from the nuclear incident response recommendations in the“Planning Guidance” and provides life saving instructions that need to be conveyed after an IND detonation.

The information in “Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath” provides messages vitally important to saving lives during a response to a nuclear explosion. While this document does not include instructions for pre-event disaster awareness, the guidance in this document can be used for basic disaster education.

Nuclear Blast

A nuclear blast is an explosion with intense light and heat, a damaging pressure wave, and widespread radioactive material that can contaminate the air, water, and ground surfaces for miles around. A nuclear device can range from a weapon carried by an intercontinental missile launched by a hostile nation or terrorist organization, to a small portable nuclear devise transported by an individual. All nuclear devices cause deadly effects when exploded, including blinding light, intense heat (thermal radiation), initial nuclear radiation, blast, fires started by the heat pulse, and secondary fires caused by the destruction.

Hazards of Nuclear Devices

The extent, nature, and arrival time of these hazards are difficult to predict.The geographical dispersion of hazard effects will be defined by the following:

• Size of the device. A more powerful bomb will produce more distant effects.
• Height above the ground the device was detonated. This will determine the extent of blast effects.
• Nature of the surface beneath the explosion. Some materials are more likely to become radioactive and airborne than others. Flat areas are more susceptible to blast effects.
• Existing meteorological conditions. Wind speed and direction will affect arrival time of fallout; precipitation may wash fallout from the atmosphere.

Radioactive Fallout

Even if individuals are not close enough to the nuclear blast to be affected by the direct impacts, they may be affected by radioactive fallout. Any nuclear blast results in some fallout. Blasts that occur near the earth’s surface create much greater amounts of fallout than blasts that occur at higher altitudes. This is because the tremendous heat produced from a nuclear blast causes an up-draft of air that forms the familiar mushroom cloud. When a blast occurs near the earth’s surface, millions of vaporized dirt particles also are drawn into the cloud. As the heat diminishes, radioactive materials that have vaporized condense on the particles and fall back to Earth. The phenomenon is called radioactive fallout. This fallout material decays over a long period of time, and is the main source of residual nuclear radiation.

Fallout from a nuclear explosion may be carried by wind currents for hundreds of miles if the right conditions exist. Effects from even a small portable device exploded at ground level can be potentially deadly.

Nuclear radiation cannot be seen, smelled, or otherwise detected by normal senses. Radiation can only be detected by radiation monitoring devices. This makes radiological emergencies different from other types of emergencies, such as floods or hurricanes. Monitoring can project the fallout arrival times, which will be announced through official warning channels. However, any increase in surface build-up of gritty dust and dirt should be a warning for taking protective measures.

Electromagnetic Pulse

In addition to other effects, a nuclear weapon detonated in or above the earth’s atmosphere can create an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), a high-density electrical field. An EMP acts like a stroke of lightning but is stronger, faster, and shorter. An EMP can seriously damage electronic devices connected to power sources or antennas. This includes communication systems, computers, electrical appliances, and automobile or aircraft ignition systems. The damage could range from a minor interruption to actual burnout of components. Most electronic equipment within 1,000 miles of a high-altitude nuclear detonation could be affected. Battery-powered radios with short antennas generally would not be affected. Although an EMP is unlikely to harm most people, it could harm those with pacemakers or other implanted electronic devices.