Makes a little too much sense for the government to take action. But thanks for posting it.
By Jay Reeves
Associated Press
Sunday, September 30, 2007
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- In an age of al-Qaida, sleeper cells and the threat of nuclear terrorism, Huntsville is dusting off its Cold War manual to create the nation's most ambitious fallout-shelter plan, featuring an abandoned mine big enough for 20,000 people to take cover underground.
Others would hunker down in college dorms, churches, libraries and research halls that planners hope will bring the community's shelter capacity to 300,000, or space for every man, woman and child in Huntsville and the surrounding county.
Emergency planners in Huntsville -- best known as the home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center -- say the idea makes sense because radioactive fallout could be scattered for hundreds of miles if terrorists detonated a nuclear bomb.
"If Huntsville is in the blast zone, there's not much we can do. But if it's just fallout ... shelters would absorb 90 percent of the radiation," said longtime emergency management planner Kirk Paradise.
Huntsville's project, developed using a $70,000 Homeland Security grant, goes against the grain, as the United States scrapped its fallout shelter plan after the Soviet Union's collapse. Congress cut funding, and the government published its last shelter list in 1992.
After Sept. 11, Homeland Security created a metropolitan protection program that includes nuclear-attack preparation and mass shelters. But no other city has taken the idea as far as Huntsville has, officials said.
Many cities advise residents to stay at home and seal up a room with plastic and duct tape during a biological, chemical or nuclear attack. Huntsville does too, in certain cases.
Local officials agree the "shelter-in-place" method would be best for a "dirty bomb" that scattered nuclear contamination through conventional explosives. But full-fledged shelters would be needed for a nuclear bomb.
Huntsville program leaders recently briefed members of Congress, including Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., who called the city's shelter plan an example of the "all-hazards" approach needed for emergency preparedness.
"Al-Qaida, we know, is interested in a nuclear capability. It's our nation's fear that a nuclear weapon could get into terrorists' hands," Dent said.
In all, the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency has found 105 places that can be used as fallout shelters for about 210,000 people. They still seek about 50 more shelters for an additional 100,000 people.
While officials have yet to launch a campaign to inform people of the shelters, a local access TV channel showed a video about the program, which also is explained on a county Web site.
If a bomb went off tomorrow, Paradise said, officials would tell people where to find shelter via TV and radio. "We're pretty much ready to go because we have a list of shelters," he said.
Most shelters would offer more comfort than the abandoned mine, such as buildings at the University of Alabama in Huntsville that would house 37,643.
Plans call for staying inside for as long as two weeks after a bomb blast, though shelters might be needed for only a few hours in a less dire emergency.
Unlike the fallout shelters set up during the Cold War, the new ones will not be stocked with water, food or other supplies. For survivors of a nuclear attack, it would be strictly "BYOE" -- bring your own everything.
"Looked" as in perception.
So people risked dying with smirks on their faces. They "stopped worrying and loved the bomb" one could say.
His actual answer: unstocked nationwide local, state and federal boondoggles
My answer: personal responsibility and a comfortable home.
Back in the fifties and early sixties I participated in hundreds if not thousands of “duck and cover” school drills with the rest of nation. Under the desk, on the floor, blah, blah.
Older and wiser in high school we* decided the best thing to do if awaiting an imminent nearby Nuc was: race to the curb, secure your spot, sit down, legs wide, bend over, (as far as you can) and kiss your butt goodbye cause you’re gonna die!
Things haven’t changed much. :-)
Monolithic dome home or shelter. If you want one, dig up your back yard and build it.
The last thing we need is yet another government program “for the children”
Anybody remember the Super Dome?
I think I’ll grab a six-pack, climb a hill and watch the show. Screw It!