Nukes
You Will Survive Doomsday
By Bruce Beach
Table of Contents
MYTHS
MYTH #04: You must filter the air coming into a shelter to remove the
fallout.
One of the general misconceptions regarding fallout and fallout
shelters is that the air itself may become radioactive. This is simply
not true. Those with a little learning will then say "Ah, yes, but
it will contain radioactive particles of fallout". That is true,
but a properly designed air intake, even for an expedient shelter, will
cause most of the particles to drop out of the air flow before the air
enters the shelter.
Should the number of particles still suspended in the air be a
problem, an expedient filter, such as a damp sheet hung in the air
intake passageway, will do an adequate job of filtering the air.
If the air vents do not have automatic blast valves then the air
passage should be quickly shut and remain shut for a few minutes after
the brilliant flash of a nearby nuclear explosion (so as to prevent the
popcorning effect described earlier). The air passages will have to be
shut in every case where there is a large fire nearby that is generating
carbon monoxide that would otherwise seep into the shelter.
Most expedient shelters will not have precautions such as those just
described. The danger of carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the main
reasons that most survival experts recommend that even if one has a
basement in their house it is preferable to build an expedient shelter
a considerable distance outside and away from existing structures in case
of fire.
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