Non-Advice from the Government in Case of a Nuclear Attack

Owen Graham / December 20, 2010

The latest campaign of the U.S. government focuses on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. The only problem is that, like many government programs, it does not offer much useful advice. According to government officials, the best thing one can do is stay put and find shelter. Sounds like the old “duck and cover” from the Cold War, doesn’t it?

Finding shelter (e.g., in a car, basement, or hole in the ground) might spare an individual some effects from intense nuclear radiation, light, and pressure waves that are created by a precipitous rise in temperature in the blast zone, provided you have a good basement. However, this shelter will do scarce little to mitigate the massive fires that occur after a nuclear explosion.

A high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack would have an even more devastating impact. According to national security experts James Carafano and Richard Weitz, “A nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere above the American mainland can easily disable the country’s electrical grid.” It is important to note that an EMP is produced during any nuclear weapons detonation. (more…)