View supply kit list. You can drink water, juices, or other drinks in sealed containers. Drinks in your refrigerator or freezer are also safe to drink. The package protects the liquid inside from radioactive material.
If you think the container or package may have radioactive material on the outside, use a damp cloth or clean towel to wipe it off before opening it. Water in other containers in your home, such as a toilet tank or hot water heater will also be free of radioactive material.
You can still use tap or well water for cleaning yourself and your food. Even if the tap water is contaminated, you can still use it for decontamination. Any radioactive material that gets into surface water or ground water sources will be diluted to very low levels by the water and will be safe to use for washing skin, hair, and clothing.
For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water. No matter where you stand on that debate, you might be someone who simply prefers not to ingest anything that escaped from a damaged nuclear reactor.
If so, here's what we know:. The EPA recommends reverse osmosis water treatment for most kinds of radioactive particles.
Iodine emits a small amount of gamma radiation but much larger amounts of beta radiation, and so is considered a beta emitter:.
It can remove up to 99 percent of these radionuclides, as well as many other contaminants e. Reverse osmosis units can be automated and compact making them appropriate for small systems. However, EPA designed its recommendations for the contaminants typically found in municipal water systems, so it doesn't specify Iodine by name.
The same document goes on to say, "Reverse osmosis does not remove gaseous contaminants such as carbon dioxide and radon. Iodine escapes from damaged nuclear plants as a gas, and this is why it disperses so quickly through the atmosphere.
It is captured as a gas in atmospheric water, falls to the earth in rain and enters the water supply. This is what happened in Boise, Idaho, where iodine was found in rainwater samples last week and then in drinking water samples a few days later. Reverse osmosis works by forcing water through material with very tiny pores—as tiny as. Almost nothing. Beta particles are larger, carry a negative charge, and require a more dense substance to hinder their path.
Gamma rays are neutral and by far the most dangerous of the three. These rays cannot be easily deflected and can even go through concrete. The term radioactive is defined as an unstable particle that releases subatomic particles. Examples include carbon, radium, uranium. Usually isotopes of elements have enough instability to fit this definition. Although these rays have a positive effect on some fields such as medicine in terms of x-rays, caution is used to prevent bodily damage.
Scientists working with these substances wear protective gear as well as gadgets that records their exposure to the substance. The most common method of purification of radioactive materials in very minute quantities is distillation. However, radioactive materials occur in large quantities and pose a bigger question.
Rather than mass purify radioactive materials, they are currently placed deep underground until radioactive decay keeps it from being harmful. The best way to prepare ahead of time would be to have a stored water supply for you and your family. Many people run into issues when they try to store so much water.
The main drawback is it takes a massive amount of space and people in apartments and smaller homes may not have enough room. Having a Big Berky water filter around is great since it filters out most of the things that can contaminate your drinking water.
Another way would be to have things like a Water BOB on hand so you can fill them as soon as you know that fallout is coming your way. You can also purchase water filters that will get rid of the radiation. Most underground streams will be clean as well.
Water from sewage pits will also be clean is no outside water has been introduced as well as shallow wells. Runoff from roofs and other outside surfaces will initially contain more fallout than surrounding areas. After the first few heavy rains, most of the fallout will have been washed away and you can begin collecting water runoff from these sources again.
0コメント