![]() Multistory brick or concrete structures, cores of large office buildings, multistory shopping malls, basements, tunnels, subways, and other underground areas are examples of good shelters. ![]() Areas within a building, such as restrooms and stairwell cores, which are distant from deposited radioactive fallout, provide better protection than those close to roofs, windows, and exterior walls. The best areas to shelter are deep inside buildings made of dense material, far away from fallout that has settled outside. What buildings offer the best protection? What places within buildings offer the best protection?īoth the density of building materials and the distance from fallout affect how much a building can protect occupants from radiation. Individuals who hold authority over large properties are encouraged to assist tenants in identifying areas to shelter (see below). People are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings, creating a mental map of sheltering spaces around them-whether they are at home, at work, in a mall, or on the road. It is important for people to know where the best places are around them to take immediate shelter-both during the day and at night. Is it more important to know where to shelter at home or at the workplace?Ī nuclear detonation could occur at any time. Materials that provide best (1) to least (5) protection from radioactive fallout: 3 A large concrete and steel building is doubly protective, for example, because its dense materials block radiation well, and because people can move to the core of the building, creating greater distance from the radioactive fallout outside. Similarly, the further a person is away from where fallout has settled on and around buildings, the more protected s/he is. ![]() Dense materials such as brick, cement, and earth provide better protection than wood, drywall, and thin sheet metal. 2 The more dense the material that separates people from radioactive fallout, the more protected they are from radiation. Radiation from dangerous fallout can be blocked by dense material such as earth, cement, and concrete, and it can be reduced by increasing a person’s distance from deposited fallout. ![]() How does a building protect people from radiation? The principal goals of this FAQ are to raise people’s general awareness of the protective qualities of the spaces around them and to encourage individuals who oversee large properties to serve as key community resources and educators on fallout protection. This FAQ is useful to commercial building owners and operators, apartment complex managers, safety officers for businesses and schools, neighborhood associations, individual homeowners, and apartment dwellers. 1,2 This listing of frequently asked questions (FAQ) is a tool to aid building owners, operators, and occupants in judging a structure’s ability to minimize fallout exposure and in identifying the best areas within a building to shelter. Quickly going inside and staying inside the nearest and most protective building in order to minimize exposure to radioactive fallout is the most critical lifesaving action for the public after a nuclear detonation. Rad Resilient City Initiative Buildings as Shelters
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