In the event of a nuclear attack, it is essential to take immediate action to protect yourself and your loved ones. The first step is to enter the nearest building and move away from the windows. This will help provide protection against explosion, heat, and detonation radiation. The 1963 Limited Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty ended atmospheric testing for the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. Still, two significant non-signatories, France and China, continued nuclear testing at a rate of approximately 5 megatons per year.
This means that even today, there is still some radioactivity present in the environment from weapons tests in the 1950s and 1960s. A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (PEM) is the time-varying electromagnetic radiation that results from a nuclear explosion. Estimates suggest that 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. The highest levels of outdoor rain radiation occur immediately after the arrival of rain and then decrease over time.
This means that if a nuclear war were to occur, the effects would likely be limited to areas of heavy local rainfall in nuclear warring nations and would not become a global problem, as long as doses of radiation of approximately 20 roentgen or more are not received. If you find yourself in a situation where a nuclear bomb has been detonated, it is important to take steps to ensure your safety. The most important thing you can do is to find shelter immediately. Look for a basement or other underground area that can provide protection from radiation and fallout.
If you are concerned about radiation exposure, we recommend wearing a dosimeter badge to monitor the scatter radiation in the environment.
