Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny
It is true; the closer you are to the radiation, the less potassium iodide helps.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
In case of radiation, what about taking potassium iodide to protect your thyroid?
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That is not true.
The fission by-products produced in the detonation of a nuclear warhead may or may not include radio-isotopes of iodine. It all depends on what kind of weapon it was.
Certain plants uptake iodine as part of their natural growth process. Those plants cannot distinguish between radio-isotopes of iodine and stable iodine any better than you can.
Assuming that a particular weapon yields radio-isotopes of iodine as part of the fission process, those radio-isotopes will fallout and leach into the ground, where they will be absorbed by plants, specifically vegetable plants that you would eat (like spinach), or that an animal, like a cow would eat and then you would subsequently either eat the meat of the cow or drink the milk.
Once in your body, the radio-isotopes of iodine will then proceed to your thyroid just as stable iodine would, since your body cannot tell the difference any more than you or a plant or a cow can.
You will not die immediately nor in the near-future, but having radioactive iodine in your thyroid does pose a risk to certain types of cancer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny
It is a good idea to take it, or at least have it on hand, just in case it DOES help
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Again, that is not true.
The purpose of taking potassium iodine is in theory to "load" the thyroid with iodine so that the thyroid stops absorbing iodine. In theory, any radio-isotopes of iodine in your body would then pass through urine and no longer pose a danger to you, provided you stopped eating plants or animals with radio-isotopes of iodine.
Note that your body requires potassium to function normally, but that an excess of potassium is dangerous to you, even fatal, so in lieu of potassium iodine pills, you would be better off heavily salting your foods with iodine table salt or drinking water with a few tablespoons of iodized table salt dissolved in it.
However, you can avoid iodine issues by simply avoiding those foods that uptake iodine.
See how easy that is?
Same with strontium. There are radio-isotopes of strontium produced during certain fission processes. The outer valence electrons of strontium mimic those of calcium. Thus, if strontium falls out and is absorbed by plants that cows eat, then the strontium is in the milk, and if you drink it, the strontium ends up in your bones and teeth, since that is where calcium ends up.
Again, not rocket science.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny
... but of course that all depends on if you are working at the plant when the coolant stops flowing and the rods heat up, or if you are 20 miles, 50 miles, 200 miles away....
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You misunderstand radiation. The issue is burning nuclear fuels. The vaporized particles become airborne just as those fissile isotopes in a nuclear weapon that do not undergo fission or spontaneous fission become vaporized and airborne.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny
up- or down-wind, plowing your field when the dirty bomb goes off in downtown Las-Den-York City.
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No such thing as a "dirty bomb."
Quote:
Originally Posted by SCGranny
Iodine wouldn't/didn't help Louis Slotin of the Manhattan Project, or any other folks who are directly exposed to radiation that systematically breaks down chromosomes, from Madame Curie to present day. But distance and concentration are powerful alterations to the radioactive impacts on your bodily functions, and it just might help you survive.
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There were exposed to gammas, X-rays, neutrons, protons, electrons, nuclei and fission fragments. They did not employ shielding, because they did not know those particles existed at that time.
Splitting atoms...
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
I really believe that as long as you have some distance from a blast, and you have a decent shelter with supplies to spend time in, you can survive the radiation/fallout.
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ICBMs/SLBMs are strategic nuclear weapons. They are detonated at high altitudes. Your primary danger is over-pressure. Anything over 4 psi is dangerous or deadly to you know. If you happen to be directly under the blast, then what is called prompt radiation, mostly from gammas, neutrons and protons would affect you (as would thermal radiation --- heat). Fallout does not occur in the immediate zone, rather it will occur at some distances.
Low yield weapons (ie tactical nuclear weapons) are ground-burst (defined as the fireball coming into contact with Earth -- thus a warhead detonated at 5,000 feet is a ground burst because the fireball will touch Earth). In that instance, you will have immediate fallout.
Surviving fallout...
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
So you're saying that the only plan should be to kill and take?
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Not the only plan, just part of the plan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
But what happens when there is nobody left to kill..
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Then at the very least, the local environment or area of operations will be secure, and we can get down to the business of rebuilding society.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
It's this kind of "plan" that makes life on this planet pretty sucky at times and causes me to question whether we've really progressed beyond that first blob of filth that magically became life in that pool of primordial stew of proteins.
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Well, there's fantasy, and then there's reality.
We can safely house, feed and protect maybe 3,000 to 5,000 people.
What about the other 3 Million who live in the area?
I'm real sorry about their luck.
I am not a god. I cannot save them, nor can I help them, and for me to even attempt to do so would be futile and not in my best interests, or the best interests of the 3,000 to 5,000 I've sworn to protect and defend.
There are 1 Million people who live in this county, and another 2 Million in the adjacent counties. They can live, only because resources and materials are transported into this region.
Without those external resources, this area could nominally support maybe 100,000 to 500,000. Maybe.
What about the 2.5 Million to 2.9 Million? They have to die, so that others might live. In such an Armageddon-like scenario, every person over the "Survival Ratio" is a threat to my existence (and also to the existence of our group). If they don't want to die, then they'll have to flee the area.
That would be Darwin's finest hour, but that is the primary difference between conservatives and liberals. A ship is sinking; there are 100 people, and a life-boat for 8 people. Conservatism says select the best 8 on merit and odds of survival and send them off. Yes, 92 people will die,
but 8 will live. Liberalism says pack all 100 into the life-boat meant for 8, and the ultimate fate is that the life-boat capsizes and
all 100 people die.
Emphasizing that reality sucks...
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperSparkle928
I stashed a lot of MRE's in my underground panic room.... (along with water and lots of supplies).
Also a pile of class-3 stuff, M60's, MP5's, M2's, .50 sniper rifles, and a big pile of ammo. Fortunately my two local buddies are good at this. One was in a search-and-destroy unit in 'Nam, and the other was an army sniper.
Also I hope you are good at spotting M18A1's. (and yes, they are legal to own).
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I used to train and practice penetrating nuclear weapons storage facilities and annihilating the guard force. A panic room would be child's play.
Not impressed...
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gungnir
Spotting Claymores is far easier when you know they're there, Mr "I live near the top of a hill", in a 27.2 square mile area New Hampshire that's 37 miles from Boston and 21 from Manchester, this area may be slightly larger since it may be where mail is delivered add a 5 mile extension zone to the edges. During op may be able to find out exactly where from questioning local population (local population may be useful to locate Claymores too).
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Never underestimate the intelligence of others and never ignore the Learning Curve.
I'm sure a lot of hostile groups will get slaughtered early on, but they will learn and adapt. For example, it won't take them long to notice patterns and "things amiss" or out of place, and they'll eventually figure out that those pipes sticking above ground are ventilation shafts for underground bunkers and such, and they'll learn how to defeat them, drive the occupants out, and get the food and other resources there.
Not underestimating...
Mircea
Quote:
Originally Posted by Themanwithnoname
M2's... Have all you want, but I can't see muchuse for them.
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They are crew-served weapons. They require training, especially to set the head space and timing. If you don't do that, then you risk losing the crew to death or injury, and the weapon from damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Themanwithnoname
People who have actually been shot at and know a can of beans isn't worth risking a bullet when you can buy sacks of beans now for a few bux.
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Why would you ignore the existence of thousands that don't have the luxury of extra cash to buy a sack of beans?
And why would you ignore the Survival Instinct? The instinct and desire for survival is very strong in some people, strong enough to ignore the threat of being killed to obtain food to eat.
And how much time and resources will you expend trying to protect your sack of beans?
You can't stay awake 24/7. Eventually you'll succumb to stress and fatigue. That's why it is better to pool your resources and form a community than to maintain the fantastical notion of defending your little castle.
Adjusting head space and timing...
Mircea