fallout particles. Usually, householders can make these improvements
themselves, with moderate effort and at low cost. Millions of homes have
been surveyed for the U.S. Office of Civil Defense by the U.S. Census
Bureau, and these householders have received information on how much
fallout protection their basements would provide, and how to improve
this protection.


SHIELDING MATERIAL IS REQUIRED

In setting up any home fallout shelter, the basic aim is to place enough
"shielding material" between the people in the shelter and the fallout
particles outside.

Shielding material is any substance that would absorb and deflect the
invisible rays given off by fallout particles outside the house, and
thus reduce the amount of radiation reaching the occupants of the
shelter. The thicker or denser the shielding material is, the more it
would protect the shelter occupants.

Some radiation protection is provided by the existing, standard walls
and ceiling of a basement. But if they are not thick or dense enough,
other shielding material will have to be added.

Concrete, bricks, earth and sand are some of the materials that are
dense or heavy enough to provide fallout protection. For comparative
purposes, 4 inches of concrete would provide the same shielding density
as:

--5 to 6 inches of bricks.