Let us take a hard look at the facts.
In an atomic war, blast, heat, and initial radiation could kill millions close to ground zero of nuclear bursts. Many more millions—everybody else—could be threatened by radioactive fallout. But most of these could be saved.
The purpose of this booklet is to show how to escape death from fallout.
Everyone, even those far from a likely target, would need shelter from fallout. Your Federal Government has a shelter policy based on the knowledge that most of those beyond the range of blast and heat will survive if they have adequate protection from fallout. This booklet contains building plans for five basic fallout shelters. One of the five—the Basement Concrete Block Shelter—has been designed specifically as a do-it-yourself project. Solid concrete blocks are used to build it. Most people probably would need the assistance of a contractor to build any of the other four types. The least expensive shelter described is the Basement Concrete Block Shelter. The most expensive is the Underground Concrete Shelter. Savings usually can be realized if a shelter is constructed at the time a house is being built.
Each of the shelters incorporates the fundamentals for fallout protection— shielding mass, ventilation, space to live. Each can serve a dual purpose—protection from tornadoes and other severe storms in addition to protection from the fallout radiation of a nuclear bomb.
There are means of protection. But that protection must be provided before, not after, the sirens sound.
