What You Should Know About a Radiological Attack

Whether it’s a dirty bomb, improvised nuclear bomb or some other kind of radiological attack, you can take steps to protect yourself from radiation. The best thing you can do is to limit your exposure to radiation as much as possible.

How can you limit your exposure to radiation?

To limit your exposure, you should go inside the nearest building as soon as possible:

If possible, go to a basement.
If there is no basement, go to the center of the building away from broken windows or walls.
If you are in a multi-story building (without a basement), go the middle floors of the building, and stay in the center of the building. (For example, go to the 5th floor of a 10-story building.)

Building walls, brick, concrete or soil will help protect you from radioactive particles released by a dirty bomb or improvised nuclear device. Buildings with thick, heavy materials—like brick or concrete—offer the best protection. But any protection is better than none at all—even if it’s only temporary. You can reduce your exposure to radiation by up to 10 times if you seek shelter inside.

Why is staying inside the best way to limit your exposure to radiation?
You may expose yourself to radioactive particles that are outside after a radiological attack. Radiation can be spread by the wind to places away from the bomb site, depending on weather conditions. Radioactive dust and smoke can be dangerous if breathed in.

How far radioactive particles spread depends on the:

Amount of radioactive material
Type of radioactive material used (e.g. fine particles will travel further in the wind.)
Local weather conditions
Local landscape

How do you know if you have been exposed to radiation?
Radiation cannot be seen, smelled, felt, or tasted, so you may not know if you have been exposed. But police or firefighters will check for radiation, determine how much is present and if it could cause any danger.

If you think you have been exposed to radiation, you should go inside. Then quickly decontaminate by removing clothes and jewelry.

How will you know there’s been a radiological attack?
You should listen for information from emergency responders, including police and firefighters. They carry sensors to check for radiation, and they will be able to tell you if there’s been a radiological attack.

But you likely will know if there’s been a radiological attack using an improvised nuclear bomb. It creates an explosion with an intense pulse wave of heat, light, air pressure and radiation. You will see a large fireball, and a mushroom cloud.

What are the symptoms of radiation exposure?
Small amounts of radiation exposure may not cause any symptoms, but large amounts of radiation exposure may cause radiation sickness or death within a few days or months. You should seek medical attention immediately if you have:

Skin burns
Nausea
Vomiting.

It is unlikely that a dirty bomb would deliver enough radiation to cause severe radiation sickness.

How much radiation can you be exposed to before you get sick?
The health effects of radiation are directly proportional to how much radiation you are exposed to. There may not be any health effects if you are exposed to low doses of radiation. It takes a very large dose of radiation to cause immediate health effects, such as radiation sickness.

Health effects are determined by:

How much radiation is absorbed by your body
What type of radiation is absorbed
How you are exposed (e.g. absorbed by the skin, breathed in, or swallowed).
How long you are exposed