Nuclear Winter

Fallout is a grim and long lasting feature of ground burst atomic munitions. Essentially, fallout is the irradiated dust and debris particles resulting from a nuclear blast. The half life of these particles can range from an hour, to a week, to many years depending on the intensity of the blast. All radiation is toxic in varying degrees and doses.

The mixture of radioactive elements formed in a nuclear explosion is so complex, with both short- and long-lasting isotopes, that radioactive decay can only be estimated. During the first hour after a nuclear explosion, radioactivity levels drop precipitously. Radioactivity levels are further reduced by about 90% after another 7 hours and by about 99% after 2 days. That is for short term radioactive material. Long term, such as Plutonium, is a different matter. For more information, see here...

The immediate threat is direct exposure to skin from rainfall and dust particles riding on low breezes. The result is external radiation burns and ARS (Acute Radiation Syndrome). In Jericho, the direct exposure from the rainfall was addressed by seeking shelter. It appears that all Jericho citizens save Stanley Richmond were not directly exposed to the radioactive rainfall.

Precipitation clears the irradiated particles from the air, but that is not the end of the problem. As things dry up, normal, every day dust is kicked up as well. Much of that will carry the contaminants. You breath them in, they embed in your lung tissue. Depending on the level of exposure, this can result in death from radiation poisoning in a number of hours or days or can lead to long term health risks such as cancer and leukemia.

The solution to the radioactive particles on the ground is by removing the top 18 inches of soil and disposing of them in an isolated and safe area. The definition of an "isolated and safe area" is subject to debate, and while some suggest burying the radioactive material underneath a mountain, others suggest disposal in the ocean (salt water is an excellent buffer of radiation). However, these solutions are environmentally controversial.

Note: Nuclear fallout particles will not "re-evaporate" from water sources. They are heavier than water and will sink.

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	Keyword tags: Attacks bombs Jericho nuclear Radioactive radioactivity winter More Info: links to this page

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Anonymous

Nuclear winter... about as true as global warming...

Sep 14 2012, 1:53 AM EDT by physicsguy66

Thread started: Nov 30 2006, 12:08 AM EST Watch

The nuclear winter theory holds even less weight than the global warming theory. How many nukes have been set off without having even a regional climate effect. A nuke doesn't kick up nearly enough dust/ash to cause nuclear winter as popularized in Terminator and The Matrix. As one poster noted; it would take every nuke in the world going off at once to even produce less than one degree of a global climate change.

On the other hand, the radiation poisoning is real and would be less than fun.

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RE: Nuclear winter... about as true as global warming...
By: physicsguy66, Sep 14 2012, 1:53 AM EDT

I'm not trying to be rude but Anonymously is completely wrong in his assumption of Nuclear Winter.Nearly all of the studies and models done past and present concerning Nuclear Winter used total weapon yield scenarios of 1000 Megatons to 5000 megatons and some even used 10,000 megatons in the earlier studies when the United States and the Soviet Union had many hundred Multi-Megaton weapons yields in their arsenals. It was assumed these weapons would be detonated nearly simultaneously or within hours of each other. The current total yield of the United States and Russia’s operational nuclear arsenals is approximately 2657 Megatons. This total yield does not include Britain, France, Israel, China, India, and Pakistan. Nuclear Winter effect is caused by the SIMULTANEOUS explosion of several absorption of sunlight when large amounts of soot are injected into the atmosphere by the widespread burning of cities and petroleum stocks destroyed in a nuclear attack, And by large amounts of dirt sucked up by the nuclear explosion themselves. The nuclear fireball itself is on the order of 180 million degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature everything including concrete, metal, and stone is vaporized into something called ionized plasma. This plasma rises up into the middle and upper levels of the atmosphere and eventually condenses into small particles. Some people call it dust, dirt, or soot. The heavier particles fall to earth very soon after the explosion but the lighter particles are carried into the upper levels of the atmosphere and travel great distances from the point of explosion as what we know as fallout. Similar events have been observed naturally when large volcanic eruptions have injected large amounts of dust into the atmosphere. The Tambora eruption of 1815 (the largest volcanic eruption in recent history) was followed by "the year without summer" in 1816, the coldest year in the last few centuries.

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Anonymous

Whoa slow down there

Mar 28 2008, 2:23 PM EDT by Six-Actual

Thread started: Dec 23 2006, 9:45 AM EST Watch

OK Lets start basic here.
The smaller a device is the less it damages everything.
Anyone disagree? No? Good

Now fall out is going to happen with any device of this class. How much depends on size. How bad depends on how close to the ground. And what kind of ground.
Anyone that tells you that 10 20KT bombs will kick off a "Nuclear Winter" is completely ignorant of what a Nuclear Winter is let alone what it would take to create one. The bomb that was dropped on the bikini islands had more explosive force then all of these bombs combined. Why did we not have a "Nuclear Winter" then? Get over it! Yes fallout can be dangerous, and yes it would suck to be in the range of ANY fallout. But the end of the world? Heck no. Even if you were in a fallout zone you would have to ride it out say two months tops and then it would be safe to get out of the area. The radiation levels would have subsided to a less then lethal level by then. BTW those numbers are based on crowd pleasers of 20MT not tactical nukes.
It is entirely possible that tactical nukes would not even be noticed on the larger scale of things. Have you ever been to a location where a nuke has gone off? I have. I stood outside and walked all around it. And when I got back my dosimeter registered NOTHING. Now I grant you that it was the first atomic blast ever but less then 60 years later all effects are gone.
To much public education.

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RE: Whoa slow down there
By: Six-Actual, Mar 28 2008, 2:23 PM EDT

"OK Lets start basic here.
The smaller a device is the less it damages everything.
Anyone disagree? No? Good

Now fall out is going to happen with any device of this class. How much depends on size. How bad depends on how close to the ground. And what kind of ground.
Anyone that tells you that 10 20KT bombs will kick off a "Nuclear Winter" is completely ignorant of what a Nuclear Winter is let alone what it would take to create one. The bomb that was dropped on the bikini islands had more explosive force then all of these bombs combined. Why did we not have a "Nuclear Winter" then? Get over it! Yes fallout can be dangerous, and yes it would suck to be in the range of ANY fallout. But the end of the world? Heck no. Even if you were in a fallout zone you would have to ride it out say two months tops and then it would be safe to get out of the area. The radiation levels would have subsided to a less then lethal level by then. BTW those numbers are based on crowd pleasers of 20MT not tactical nukes.
It is entirely possible that tactical nukes would not even be noticed on the larger scale of things. Have you ever been to a location where a nuke has gone off? I have. I stood outside and walked all around it. And when I got back my dosimeter registered NOTHING. Now I grant you that it was the first atomic blast ever but less then 60 years later all effects are gone.
To much public education.
"

The first H-bomb test was known as the "Mike" shot, and it was as large as a tractor-trailer, and it was not, nor could be dropped due to it's size. Furthermore, the scenario for a Nuclear Winter would require hundreds of nukes being detonated over a short period of time, to a great many targets all over the globe.

Air bursts cause the most destruction and instant exposure to radiation vs. a surface burst which would cause more radioactive fallout., but less blast damage. Then there's the sub-surface burst....ehhh.....I'm rambling now.

I was at site of the "Trinity" shot many years ago....a lot of glass!

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Anonymous

Nuclear Bomb Fallout: The essentials...

Mar 25 2008, 7:55 PM EDT by carmeniris

Thread started: Dec 8 2006, 6:53 AM EST Watch

Basically, you have so many variables when it comes to radioactive exposure, that it is usually easier to follow the basic rules.

ALARA. This acronym is used in the Nuclear industry to represent the following: "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" This means that there is no "Safe" level of radiation. The less you get, the better your chances that you will not have undesiirable effects.

then, you have: Time, Distance and Shielding

Time: Limit the amount of time near or around radioactive materials

Distance: Each time your double the distance from a radioactive source, you drop your expsure down to only 1/4 of original exposure.

Shielding: Dense materials such as lead or tungsten can reduce exposure to most radiation. Alpha and Beta particles can be shielded with a sheet of paper to a piece of aluminum foil.

Note, some shielding can actually increase your exposure.

ok, thats enough from me.

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Nuclear Winter

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