An accident at
a nuclear power plant,
a nuclear explosion or
a dirty bomb
are examples of
radiation emergencies.
If a radiation emergency
happens nearby,
immediately leaving the area may
not be the best course
of action.
Instead,
emergency response officials may
tell you to get inside a
building and take shelter
for a period of time.
This is called
sheltering in place.
In this segment,
you'll learn how to
get inside,
stay inside,
and stay tuned
to protect yourself
and your family.
Here you go.
Catch it!
Whoa, good catch!
Now toss it back to me.
Into my glove.
Good job!
Now here you go, buddy.
Look at me.
Here's the ball coming...almost.
Get it, that's good though,
you're getting close.
Look at that.
I used to love playing ball with
my old man.
Brings back some great memories.
I'm sure it does,
but right now I'm lost.
I don't know where I am.
Sorry,
it says to take a right two
streets down.
[EMERGENCY ALERT TONE]
We believe a nuclear explosion
has occurred.
Get inside a stable building
immediately.
There you go.
Good job, good job, buddy.
John, Noah, quick,
you need to come inside!
There's been an emergency!
Quick, come on!
If you are outside during a
radiation emergency,
or in a car, bus,
or other vehicle,
get inside a building
right away.
There's no way we can get back
to the office now.
We need to get into a place
immediately.
That looks like a good one.
Let's pull up in there.
Cars do not provide good
protection from radiation
outside.
The best place to shelter is in
a basement or in the middle
floors of a brick or concrete
multistory building.
If you can get to a basement or
multistory building within a few
minutes, go there.
If not,
get inside the nearest building;
being inside is safer than being
outside.
Oh,
it looks like there are already
some people here.
Good.
Maybe they know more about
what's going on.
If you have pets that are
outside, bring them inside too.
Carefully remove your outer
layer of clothing before
entering the building,
if you can.
Radioactive material can settle
on your clothing and your body,
like dust or mud.
By removing your clothing,
you are removing harmful
radioactive material.
If you cannot get inside
immediately,
cover your mouth and nose with a
mask, cloth,
or towel to help reduce the
amount of radioactive material
you breathe.
Once you are inside:
Stay inside.
Close and lock
all windows and doors.
Go to the basement or the middle
of the building.
Radioactive material settles on
the outside of buildings;
so the best thing to do is stay
as far away from the walls and
roof of the building as you can.
If possible, turn off fans,
air conditioners,
and forced-air heating units
that bring air in from the
outside.
If there is a fireplace,
close the fireplace damper.
If you have loved ones in
schools, daycares, hospitals,
nursing homes,
or other places during a
radiation emergency:
Stay where you are!
Children and adults in schools,
daycares, hospitals,
nursing homes,
or other places will be
instructed to stay inside until
emergency responders know that
it is safe to evacuate.
Institutions like these have
emergency plans in place to keep
people safe at the facility.
Stay tuned once you get inside
for updated instructions from
emergency response officials.
As officials learn more about
the emergency,
they will be communicating
the latest information to
the public.
Television, radio,
and social media are some
examples of ways that you may
receive information.
An emergency radio is important
to have for any emergency
situation.
A battery-powered or hand crank
emergency radio,
preferably a National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) weather radio is one of
the best ways to stay tuned.
If your emergency radio uses
batteries,
keep extra batteries in your
emergency preparedness kit.
In a nuclear explosion an
electromagnetic pulse, or EMP,
is possible.
An EMP is a side effect of a
nuclear detonation that produces
a surge of energy.
This surge can damage
electronic devices.
Make sure your electronic
devices are working.
If your electronic devices with
batteries are not working,
you can try taking the batteries
out of the device,
putting them back in,
and restarting the device
as normal.
Other devices may only require
resetting switches and circuit
breakers to work again.
Try to use text messages (SMS);
making phone calls could be
hard.
If you have a computer,
or web-enabled device
that works,
use email and social media
websites (like Facebook and
Twitter) to get updates.
Remember,
in a radiation emergency,
one of the best things you can
do is get inside, stay inside,
and stay tuned.
You can find more information on
our website.