BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL, & NUCLEAR
ATTACKS
EVACUATION & IN-PLACE SHELTERING
a) an accident at the Tooele Army Depot or at
Dugway Proving Grounds
b) a terrorist or military attack
c) a truck or railroad accident
d) food or water contamination
If a biological, chemical, or nuclear incident were to happen here,
there are 2 main ways that each of these things could be dealt with.
One is to evacuate, and the other is to do 1 of 3 types of in-place
sheltering. What is really important for you to know is that all of
these things are survivable. We just need to do our part to be
ready for whatever may come, and it really isn’t that hard.
| INCIDENT | IF EVACUATING |
IF NOT EVACUATING |
| do: | ||
| CHEMICAL | evacuate | short-term in-place sheltering |
| BIOLOGICAL | evacuate | quarantining |
| NUCLEAR | evacuate | long-term in-place sheltering |
I. First let’s talk about what happens if we
have to EVACUATE:
EVACUATION
If authorities tell us to EVACUATE, they will
probably
only be evacuating one local area to another, since it would be
physically impossible to evacuate Utah County with the limited number
of access routes. But if we do need to EVACUATE:
• stay calm, listen carefully, and follow all
instructions.
• listen to your radio to make sure the evacuation order applies
to you or that it is coming from an
official source**. Note whether you are to evacuate immediately or if
you have time to pack some
essentials. Do NOT use your telephone. Telephone lines are quickly
jammed in an emergency.
**The only OFFICIAL sources of information are the stations
listed below. Other stations are either getting their information from
them, or they are making it up. Don’t trust any unofficial
source.
for Utah County: KBYU 89.5 FM Radio
for SL County: KSL 1160 AM Radio
or KSL channel 5 TV
If you are told to evacuate immediately, do, and if feasible:
• Close and lock your windows
• Shut off all vents, furnaces, air conditioners, and air exchange
units
• Grab your 72-hr kit and/or car emergency kit if possible
• Lock the doors
• Move quickly and calmly
• You do not need to turn off your refrigerator or freezer, but
you should turn off all other appliances
and lights before locking your home as you leave.
• Make sure someone has notified the families in your Group of 10
and offer to help those who need help,
especially those with disabilities or other special needs.
• If you need a ride, ask a neighbor. If no neighbor is available
to help you, listen to the emergency
broadcast station for further instructions.
• Take only one car to the evacuation destination if possible.
• Close your car windows and air vents and turn off the car heater
or air conditioner.
• Do not take shortcuts because a shortcut may put you in the path
of danger. For your safety, follow the
exact route you are told to take.
• If you take pets with you, take food for them too. Know that
they will not be allowed in public shelters.
Do in-place sheltering if for some
reason
it’s impossible for you to evacuate.
I. Second, let’s talk about what happens if we don’t
have to evacuate.
Biological and chemical agents are carried either by wind
(following
normal wind patterns), in water, food,
or by animal or human carriers. Know
that it is highly unlikely that we will have a problem with
anything
airborne in the Edgemont area. But, if we do, or if you are somewhere
else where something airborne does occur:
1st) Get out of the immediate vicinity of the incident
if it is near to you. Cover your mouth and
nose with a wet cloth or shirt if possible. Run, don’t walk, and
you will have time to move faster
than whatever is being carried by normal wind (which is only 2-3 mph).
Get to where you can
hear official information**.
2nd) If you have been exposed to a chemical agent, follow the DECONTAMINATION
instructions below as
quickly as possible.
3rd) Turn on your radio or TV to one of official
stations listed above**.
If they tell you to EVACUATE, follow the instructions above. But if
not, you will need to do one of the following IN-PLACE SHELTERING
methods (if the problem is blowing your way).
SHORT-TERM IN-PLACE
SHELTERING for a
chemical problem:
IN ADVANCE, select a room in your home where you
would do
the in-place sheltering. An upstairs and interior room is by far the
most preferable as some chemical hazards are heavier than air and
travel along the ground and will enter basement shelters more easily.
The room you choose should have caulked baseboards (or else get them
caulked). And the room should be large enough to hold air for all the
intended occupants. Be aware that a full-size dog uses twice as much
air as an adult, and cats use half the air. To determine air needs and
occupancy have everyone you’ll want in the room stand and twirl
with outstretched arms (or paws). If they can do this without touching
anyone else's outstretched arms there is enough air for one hour. (i.e.
an 8 foot by 6 foot typical bathroom holds enough air for 2 adults and
a child under 6 years of age for one hour.) You will probably only need
to be in this room for about an hour. The chemical cloud will disperse
quickly with the wind.
After selecting which room you’ll use, still IN ADVANCE,
make a
list and keep it handy of what you will keep in that room or bring
there quickly if you have to shelter there. You will need to have:
ESSENTIAL TO HAVE ON HAND ALREADY:
• enough plastic sheeting (4 mil is better than 3 mil but you can
use down to 2 mil) to cover any
windows, vents, or fixtures in your chosen room. Pre-cut and label the
plastic sheeting as described
below.***
• 1 or 2 rolls of duct tape
• a radio or TV to check for OFFICIAL** news as to when it's safe
to come out. It is better to have a
battery-powered radio on hand already, but if you are using an electric
radio or TV, be sure to tape
around the plug at the outlet to keep air out (as well as taping over
all other electric outlets). If you
are using a bathroom, remember to secure around the pipes under the
sink, and around ceiling vents.
• a flashlight in case you lose power -- do not use candles or
lanterns, as they burn valuable oxygen
OPTIONAL:
• a porta-potty (5 or 6 gal. bucket lined with kitchen garbage
bags + some RV/holding tank toilet chemical
or a pail of dirt + a lid or plastic snap-on toilet seat). If you use
your regular inside toilet, DON’T
FLUSH IT, because this displaces valuable air.
• coats, blankets
• a telephone
HAVING MADE THESE DECISIONS IN ADVANCE, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO IF
AN INCIDENT HAPPENS:
First: **Turn on a radio or TV for OFFICIAL information. In Utah
County this is KBYU - 89.5 FM, and SL County is KSL - 1160 AM, or
channel 5 on TV.
Second: Turn off all mechanical or electrically operated
air intakes or air exchanges to your home, business, school, or
church, etc., namely your furnace or air conditioner, chimney flue
dampers, and any fans. TURN THE FURNACE OR A/C OFF either at the
furnace switch or at the thermostat. Don’t just turn the
thermostat down. Do not take the time to get on your roof to cover
vents and/or chimney openings.
Third: Close, lock, and secure your home (windows, doors, animal
entries, etc.). Close windows, blinds, and drapes.
Fourth: 1. Gather your family and pets and the listed supplies
into your selected room, and using the pre-cut and labeled plastic
sheeting*** and duct tape, make the room as air-tight as possible.
While gathering your family, you can provide a minimal amount of
protection to your breathing by covering your mouth and nose with a
damp (not soaking wet) cloth.
2. Wet some towels and jam them in the crack under each door in that
room.
3. With the pre-cut plastic sheeting and duct tape, cover over windows,
heat vents, light switches,
power sockets, fireplaces, baseboard gaps (if the baseboards
aren’t caulked), light fixtures, and
entire door frames.
*** In advance, cut the plastic sheeting to fit entirely over the
window and door frame (so that you are actually taping the plastic onto
the interior wall and not the casing), and then label each cut piece of
plastic sheeting with a marker pen as to where it will go.
4. Limit activity and air usage in the room.
5. It is advisable not to use water from the taps or flush toilets as
this could displace valuable air.
6. Do not use lanterns or candles. This definitely uses oxygen. If your
power is still on, it is fine to use
your electric lights.
7. Stay inside your sealed shelter until you are told OFFICIALLY it is
safe to leave. Realize you may still
need to stay indoors, quarantined, for a longer period of time.
When you are OFFICIALLY told it is safe to come out, have one person
put a wet cloth over their mouth and nose and go through your house,
opening up all doors and windows to air out anything that has come into
your home. You can use fans to help air out your home.
QUARANTINING for a
biological problem:
As you saw above, in-place sheltering for a chemical problem is
extremely short-term and requires an absolutely air-tight room. Neither
of these is the case when the problem is biological. It is extremely
unlikely that we will experience a dangerous cloud of biological stuff
blowing our way. More likely is that the problem will be an outbreak of
some disease that comes either through contaminated food or water, or
via contaminated people.
If this should occur QUARANTINING will be required. This means you, if
you are sure you haven’t been exposed, will stay in your home
for the length of the community life of the disease. This could as long
as 3 months -- the authorities will tell you when it’s safe to
stop the quarantine. During quarantining, you can use your heat and
electricity, go out to the wood pile and garage, but you must not come
in contact with other people that you can’t be certain have not
been exposed. If you are sure you have been exposed, go to the
hospital immediately. If you don’t know whether you’ve
been exposed or not, do separate quarantining of yourself from the
rest of your family members -- perhaps in the garage, until you are
sure one way or the other.
NUCLEAR ATTACK AND LONG
TERM IN-PLACE
SHELTERING:
If a Utah receives a nuclear blast, although it may not be right
near
us, the bigger danger is the fallout. This would be the case for us
even if the blast were in California. Here are some facts to know:
• never look at the blast
• begin taking Thyroid-Block tablets or some other
form of potassium-iodide/iodate according to the
instructions on the bottle (possibly 1 tablet/day for 2 weeks).
• decontaminate from fallout (fallout is dust, dirt, or particles
that have radiation molecules attached to them.)
Anything porous must be thrown away. (See DECONTAMINATION instructions
below)
• go to a FULL basement and stay there
100% for
at least 2 weeks if you are within 350 downwind miles of the explosion.
Listen to OFFICIAL information. Mass is what protects you from
radiation. So window wells could be filled with dirt, magazines, or
books. You will probably need to stay in your basement or fallout
shelter for at least 6 days if you are further away than 350 miles, and
then only come out for short periods after that until official
information gives the OK. After 2 weeks you can come out for short
periods of time, and after 3 weeks for several hours.
• water can be decontaminated from fallout
by
filtering it. Radiation does not attach to water, only to the dust
and particles that have dropped into the water. NEVER boil water with
fallout in it until after is has been
filtered.
• after 5 weeks it might safe to be outdoors for up to 14
hours/day.
DECONTAMINATING:
If you have been exposed to a chemical agent or nuclear fallout, BEFORE
ENTERING YOUR HOME OR SHELTER, remove ALL your clothing and all
jewelry and wash your skin and hair completely: first with water, then
with bleach (3/4 cup Clorox in 1 gallon water), then with soap and
water. Don’t get the Clorox solution in your eyes, ears, nose, or
mouth. If the problem is nuclear fallout, you can skip the Clorox step.
You can also wash your jewelry and any plastic ID or credit cards. Dry
off with a clean towel. All clothing, paper, and wash cloths, must be
put into a garbage bag to be thrown away later when it is safe to go
out. If it’s safe to be outside, and your water supply is safe,
you can use your hose.
As you can see, this means you should keep 5 gallons of water, a wash
cloth and towel, some Clorox, and soap and shampoo, some wet wipes, and
some garbage bags in your garage or other decontamination place.