The hazardous rain zone of a nuclear explosion can easily extend 10 to 20 miles (15 to 30 kilometers) from detonation, depending on the explosive performance and weather conditions. Nuclear explosions can cause significant damage and casualties from explosion, heat and radiation, but you can keep your family safe if you know what to do and if you prepare for it. The dangers of Nuclear Fallout are not only limited to an increased risk of cancer and radiation sickness, but also include the presence of radionuclides in human organs from food. The highest levels of outdoor rain radiation occur immediately after the arrival of rain and then decrease over time.
The 1963 Limited Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty ended atmospheric testing for the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, but two major non-signatories, France and China, continued nuclear testing at a rate of approximately 5 megatons per year. A nuclear weapon detonated in the air, called an air blast, produces less rain than a comparable explosion near the ground. Therefore, it is important to take steps to avoid countries with access to nuclear weapons and those involved in nuclear agreements. If you somehow survive all of that, you still have to deal with radiation poisoning and nuclear consequences.
For more information on the current state of nuclear weapons in the world, including the scale of bombs, you can visit the Nuclear Notebook in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In order to control the risk of nuclear rain in nuclear reactors, certain steps must be taken. Nuclear rain is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere after a nuclear explosion, so called because it falls from the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. Radioactive fallout has occurred all over the world; for example, people have been exposed to iodine-131 from atmospheric nuclear tests.
Based on estimates, the consequences of the more than 500 megatons of nuclear tests until 1970 will produce between 2 and 25 cases of genetic diseases per million live births in the next generation. There are three very different versions of the precipitation pattern of this test, because rainfall was measured only in a few widely spaced Pacific atolls. All nuclear explosions produce fission products, unfissioned nuclear material and weapon debris vaporized by the heat of the fireball. The ACS regulations against the potential consequences of nuclear reactors focused on the power plant's capacity for the maximum credible accident (MCA).
It is essential to understand how far nuclear fallout can go in order to protect yourself and your family from its devastating effects. Knowing what to do in case of a nuclear explosion is key to surviving it and avoiding radiation poisoning or other long-term consequences.
