Chapter 15 · Nuclear and radiological emergency
15.3 The core message: Get Inside. Stay Inside. Stay Tuned.
| Get inside | Stay inside | Stay tuned |
|---|---|---|
| Get into the sturdiest building you can reach in minutes. Go to the basement or the center, away from windows, exterior walls, and the roof. | At least 24 hours, unless there is immediate danger or authorities order otherwise. Close doors and windows; turn off fans and air conditioning that draw in outside air. | Battery-powered or hand-crank radio, phone alerts, text messages. Authorities will tell you when and by what route to leave. |
The CDC in Spanish sums it up as "entre, quédese adentro y manténgase en sintonía." It is the same idea.
Why it works: fallout settles on roofs, ground, and walls. The gamma radiation it emits passes through light materials but weakens with every layer of mass and with distance. Proper shelter reduces the dose by a factor of 10 or more (FEMA). And because radioactivity drops very quickly in the first hours, being protected during exactly that period avoids most of the total dose.
