Answer to Question #12395 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Homeland Security

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

Our family has decided to build a fallout shelter in our basement (here in Ohio) after experiencing the recent false missile scare on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. The plans are from 1980 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and involve attaching plywood to the overhead joists and filling that area with firebrick. They say to remove any ductwork overhead to make room for the bricks. But they do not address the issue of electrical wiring supplying power to the guest room which is on the floor above our proposed shelter. Should those wires be removed? Would they conduct gamma radiation into the shelter? We have contacted local contractors, township, state, county, and federal agencies, including FEMA itself. No one can answer this question. Thank you in advance for considering this question.

A

The Health Physics Society (HPS) certainly understands and appreciates your timely question on home fallout shelters. We can appreciate your concerns, especially with the recent news of the false missile broadcast in Honolulu. 

There would be no scientific evidence that radiation from a nuclear weapon detonation would be "conducted through existing electrical wiring" in the vicinity of your proposed fallout shelter. It is our opinion that the existing wiring does not need to be removed. You can place the bricks (shielding to prevent radiation energy from delivering radiation dose to the occupants) in the space. The design of fallout shelters from FEMA should address this issue as many people, such as yourself, could be modifying or designing such a shelter inside their home. 

It is important for you to understand how important it would be to "shelter in place" in a location such as your fallout shelter in the case of either a nation, state, or a terrorist detonation of a nuclear weapon or improvised nuclear device (IND)—also known as a dirty bomb. Our guidance would be to tune in to broadcasts from your government officials who would provide guidance to keep you and your family safe.

Additional information on how to protect your family from such an event is available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (search for Public Health Radiological/Nuclear Preparedness Webinar–August 2017).

Again, thank you for your timely question; we hope this helps you as you go forward with your home's fallout shelter design.

Ken Groves, MS

Ask the Experts is posting answers using only SI (the International System of Units) in accordance with international practice. To convert these to traditional units we have prepared a conversion table. You can also view a diagram to help put the radiation information presented in this question and answer in perspective. Explanations of radiation terms can be found here.
Answer posted on 16 April 2018. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. Be advised that over time, requirements could change, new data could be made available, and Internet links could change, affecting the correctness of the answers. Answers are the professional opinions of the expert responding to each question; they do not necessarily represent the position of the Health Physics Society.