As a kid, the threat of nuclear war was a very real. One of the reasons I chose to go to NBC School while in the military was due to my interest in learning how to survive it as a teenager, and realizing that whatever I may have learned as a civilian, I could probably learn a lot more in the military. At one point I served as a Battalion NBC NCO, and assisted in the planning and conducting of battalion level training events.
Although there are a lot of resources out there, the book Nuclear War Survival Skills is still one of the best and most practical. Although a lot of people believe you need a military NBC suit to survive fallout, in actuality, a standard rubber rainsuit will protect you just as well. The military NBC suit is more for the chemicals in a chemical attack than the nuclear radiation threat. You cannot survive in a high radiation dose area simply by what you are wearing. Wearing a protective suit is to help keep the fallout off of your clothing, keep it off your skin, and to make a barrier that is easily decontaminated (decontaminate by hosing or brush off the fallout). Below is a rainsuit on the top, and an military NBC suit on the bottom.
Besides the mask you wear to keep from inhaling radioactive debris, the other accessories you need are gauntlet type gloves and some type of over boot. Both of these items need to be able to be easily decontaminated like the suit you’re wearing, and heavy rubber seams to be the best material for that.
Last, but definitely the most important part of personal nuclear apparel, is the mask. The purpose of the mask is primarily to filter the air you breathe. Inhalation of radioactive particulates will kill you from the inside out. A secondary purpose is to keep the fallout out of your hair and the inside of your collar if the mask has a hood. Even a dust mask will work, but I use a military issue masks for their durability and filter compatibility with what the military uses. Below is the M17A1 Mask on the top, the M40A1 on the bottom. Both have the hoods attached.
A lot of people discount the older M17A1 masks, but if you find one in good condition, grab it. The internal filters are a pain in the ass to change when needed, but this type of mask is harder for someone to rip off your face in a close quarters fight. Also, keep in mind, the side filter models do give you a better cheek weld when using a rifle, and the filter is easy to change quickly.
Keeping track of your personal dose of radiation is done by wearing a dosimeter “pen”. This is pictured on the top above. The item on the bottom is a dosimeter charger. This is basically a meter, shaped like a pen, that you look through and a needle inside tells you what your radiation exposure is on a scale that is inside the “pen”.
Last but not least in the electronics department is a radiation survey meter/geiger counter. Depending on the model you get, you can measure the radiation level in your immediate area, or at a distance (some have a cable that you can place at a distance from the meter). This will give you the Rad/Gray level for your location.
What is shown in this post is just some basic personal protective apparel and equipment for combating a nuclear threat. I highly encourage you to download the “Nuclear War Survival Skills” PDF. I read the book when I was 12, after checking it out from the public library. I then purchased it, and have reread it multiple times and used it as a guide ever since, even after going through the Army’s Nuclear, Biological, Chemical School.
JCD
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Bruce Clayton published an excellent book on the subject entitled “Radiological Defence.” Part of every prepared person’s library. In addition to NWSS, it may be helpful to have a copy of “Effects of Nuclear Weapons”, and still better to have the recently declassified version of “Employment of Nuclear Weapons”
I recommend “Nuclear War Survival Skills”, and “Life After Doomsday” as the minimum of reference material. 1) Because they are easy to understand for someone not versed in the different aspects of the nuclear weapon threat. 2) Because I think they are the most “bang” for the layman’s buck, info wise. I encourage anyone interested in protecting themselves from this threat to read all they can about the subject, from as many vetted authors as you can. Both of those books are on my shelf, and they are solid info, thanks for the reference.
Mr. Dodge:
Cresson Kearney did an outstanding job producing NWSS (ALL of the projects described were extensively field tested!) , and so did Bruce Clayton with both his “Life After Doomsday” and his RaDef book, now sadly out of print. Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine has NWSS available as a free download, and I bought the NWSS videos years ago. I concur that Life After Doomsday and NWSS are outstanding beginner books. I’d call Clayton’s “Fallout Survival, a guide to Radiological Defence” more of an intermediate level book.
“Effects” and “Employment” are definitely more advanced works, and require a good grounding in chemistry, physics and biology to fully comprehend the material contained in these government-published books. However, for those on the fringes of potential targets, the information on blast and other effects is relatively easy to comprehend, and potentially very useful.
Interesting,but,will I add also all that gear to me vehicle,not sure but do travel a lot so when traveling the time I would be closer to what I would consider primary targets,have a lot of gear in work truck as is.I was wondering how much a pain to operate using the hooded unit doing basic tasks?I use a mask for a lot of places I work in construction wise but the units are not hooded,feel also the whole setup in hot weather while certainly beats alternative would be a motivator to use the gear to get out of dodge.What roughly would be the costs to set up this basic rig?
Excellent application of the KISS principal. Older tech does not mean obsolete in all instances. Radiation is not the same as chemical or biological and does not require the same protections. Rain gear and mil-surp masks, or as pointed out even a dust mask, do as much to protect as MOPP when the worrisome agent is dust and particles.
I would also add regards the dosimeters and survey meter to make sure they are actually in tune as it were, properly calibrated. They can and do go bad with age and disuse.
A hand-pump portable spray tank would also be a low-tech decontamination item easily found is any country hardware or farm store, or even a garage sale for that matter.
RR