The
preparations for all these things are similar Last updated 20feb21
Notice Copyright 2005-2021
Ken Young (http://www.DinoDudes.com).
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provided on an "as is" basis with absolutely no warranty or guarantee.
The information is not necessarily correct, complete, or suitable for
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using this information, you assume responsibility for all damages and
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be liable for compensation or damages arising from the use, misuse,
failure to use, or inability to use this information.
Radiological accidents, reactor
meltdowns, terrorist "dirty" bombs, and nuclear weapons all generate
nuclear fallout. It is mixed with dust and drifts downwind. Beware of
rain, which brings down fallout.
Leave the affected area immediately.
If you cannot leave the area in time, take shelter for at least 30
minutes so the worst blows over.
Wear goggles and a respirator. Shower often, and wash your hands &
face before eating drinking, or touching food. Consume only bottled
water & canned food.
The single most dangerous component
of fallout is Iodine-131. Iodine pills protect you from it (and nothing
else). Most of the I-131 from the incident is gone in a month.
Always have some unopened
liquid soap on hand that can be used to shower and shampoo.
Own goggles that seal against
your face, one for everybody.
Own respirators, two for
everybody. A respirator is a dust mask with two strings.
Own an affordable air purifier.
If you want to keep iodine
pills, have enough to last everybody a month. Replace them when they
expire.
Biological agents &
pandemics
(germs are bad)
Update:
Covid-19 seems to spread mostly by air. Masks plus 2-meter/6-foot
social distancing seem to be pretty good protection.
Pandemics and other biological agents
spread from person to person. You can breathe airborne pathogens, but
the
most common way to be infected is to touch something contaminated and
then touch your face. Doorknobs and water faucets are notorious because
people touch them all day long and they are rarely sterilized.
While a virus is smaller than the
holes in cheap respirators, airborne diseases are often spread through
droplets from coughs & sneezes. Respirators protect against
aerosols. They also keep you from touching your mouth and nose, which
is even more important. A
scarf or handkerchief over your mouth isn't as good, but is better than
nothing.
Goggles keep you from touching your eyes, and also protect you from
aerosols landing in your eyes. Wrap-around sunglasses can keep you from
touching your eyes if you don't have goggles.
Wash your hands before taking off your mask or goggles.
Use alcohol to sterilize things that
get touched a lot, like handles, knobs, pulls, and switches. Sterilize
them frequently. A gellied alcohol hand sanitizer is just as good, and
can act as a waterless hand-wash.
Wash your hands frequently, keep your
hands away from your face, and don't pick your nose. Limit exposure to
other people and wear a respirator when you cant. Run your air purifier
continuously.
Floodwater usually contains sewage
and it renders food, pots, and dishes unsafe. Wash thoroughly and then
disinfect for 15 minutes by bleach or boiling. If you touch something
that touched floodwater, and later eat before washing your hands, you
may get violently ill.
Always have a full bottle of
90% alcohol on hand to sterilize things. Soap works in a pinch. Bleach,
ammonia, & peroxide work as well as alcohol, but can corrode or
discolor things.
Own respirators, a box for
everybody. A respirator is a dust mask with two strings. Epidemics can
last a while, and a few masks may not be enough.
Own goggles that seal against
your face, one for everybody.
Own an affordable air purifier.
Chemical accidents & agents
(air is bad)
Chemicals in powder, liquid, or gas
form can get into the air and cause havoc. Stay indoors or leave the
affected area immediately. Wear a respirator. Run your air purifier
continuously. Do not turn on anything that sucks air from outside. A
bathroom exhaust fan sucks air into your house to replace the air it
blows out. So does the one over the stove.
Some chemicals remain on surfaces.
Bleach decontaminates most chemicals, and peroxide is almost as good.
Physical removal with soapy water will do in a pinch (adding baking
soda to the soapy water helps).
Firefighting chemicals cover
food-preparation surfaces
and require decontamination before preparing food. Peroxide is the best
decontaminant for
this.
Shower as soon as you are out of the contaminated area.
Put on your mask and goggles before going outside to leave the
contaminated area.
Always have some unopened
bleach on hand to decontaminate things. Soapy water works in a pinch.
Own respirators, two for
everybody. A respirator is a dust mask with two strings.
Own goggles that seal against
your face, one for everybody.
Own an affordable air purifier.
Skunk
stench removal (stink is
bad)
Tomato juice does not remove skunk
stench well (it is not acidic enough). Skunk stench is an oil, so is
attacked by acids and oxidizers. Bleach & peroxide are good
oxidizers.
If the stink is not on you, wear
gloves and protective clothing. If it is on you, the clothes can be
saved.
Put a quart of hydrogen
peroxide into a bucket.
Add a teaspoon or two of dish
soap and swish it around with a sponge until it dissolves.
Add a small box of baking soda
(which will foam like crazy).
Start sponging the stink off,
because the baking soda will only foam for a few minutes.
Allow it to soak in for 5
minutes before rinsing.
The dish soap lifts out the stench so
the other ingredients can get at it. The peroxide chemically attacks
and neutralizes the stench. The baking soda mops up whatever is left.
Bleach is almost as good as peroxide,
and vinegar is better than nothing. Both bleach and peroxide can
discolor things.
This
mixture neutralizes poison oak
if applied before it soaks into the skin. The bad stuff in poison oak
is another oil.
This mixture takes pepper spray
off your skin, but don't put it in
your eyes. First get the pepper spray off your hands and face
with neutralizer,
then you can flush it out of your eyes with lots of water.
Keep these ingredients outside, and
buy them before you need them. You will not want to go into your house
or drive your car for them.
A bucket & sponge
Hydrogen peroxide
Baking soda (sodium
bicarbonate) in moisture-proof packaging
Dish soap
Remove lingering skunk stench from
your house or car with bowls of vinegar, pans of ground coffee, or
trays of baking soda.
Some liquid soaps contain an
ingredient that can liberate a little chlorine gas from bleach. If the
solution makes you cough, don't breathe it.
Wonderful bleach
Bleach sterilizes surfaces from
biological agents
Bleach decontaminates surfaces
from most chemicals
Dilute pure bleach 10:1 for a
milder bleach that still sterilizes and decontaminates without ruining
things.
Use 1/4 teaspoon of unscented
bleach to sterilize a gallon of drinking water. Mix & wait 30
minutes. Add 6 more drops & wait again if you can't smell the
bleach. The fragrance in some scented bleaches is poisonous.
Bleach can react with other
household cleaners, producing chlorine gas. They used it to kill people
in world war I. Do not store bleach in the same cabinet with other
chemicals or cleaners (other than laundry products). Bleach is best
stored low.
Accidentally drinking bleach
happens. Don't panic. The symptoms of drinking too much straight bleach
are vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, etc.
Ozone generators are bad
Ozone generators are effective air
fresheners. They can also cause health problems when used long-term.
Ozone ages rubber rapidly, so repair bills for everything you own can
bleed you white. Prefer an air purifier with a filter
rather than an ozone generator.
Background information
BioChem agents are chemicals
produced by biological organisms. Examples include botulism toxin,
poison oak and skunk juice.
Always wash your hair, beard,
& mustache before bed if exposed to an NBCS agent. Your hair
absorbs this junk and transfers
it to your pillow. Then you breathe it all night long.
Your indoor NBCS
supplies
An affordable air purifier with
spare filter
A small box of respirators for
everyone (a
respirator is a dust mask with two strings)
Goggles that seal against your
face, one for everybody
Unscented bleach (always keep
an unopened jug around)
Alcohol (90% or better)
Iodine pills (optional)
Your outdoor NBCS
supplies
A bucket (the rest of the stuff
fits in the bucket)
Two one-quart bottles of
hydrogen peroxide
Two small boxes of baking soda,
in waterproof packaging