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News of the Day ... In Perspective4/14/2007
Americans need civil defense instruction Researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense at the University of Georgia conclude that a concerted effort to teach civilians what to do in the event of a nuclear attack is the best�perhaps the only�way to save untold numbers of lives that would otherwise be needlessly lost (WorldNetDaily 3/30/07). Their extensive three-year study of the effects of nuclear detonations in four American cities paints a grim picture of overwhelmed hospitals and loss of command-and-control capability by the government (Bell WC, Dallas CE, Int J Health Geographics 2007;6:5). �The likelihood of a nuclear attack in an American city is steadily increasing,� Dallas said. �So we need to substantially increase our preparation.� Fleeing on foot even one to five miles in a direction perpendicular to a cloud of fallout could mean the difference between life and death, Dallas pointed out. Huntsville-Madison County, Alabama, is the only county in the United States that is currently revitalizing its Civil Defense Public Fallout Shelter Program. Officials found the national fallout shelter records, which had not been updated since 1992, and has identified additional space to replace previously surveyed shelters that no longer exist. The updated list now totals about 150 shelters with an aggregate capacity of about 300,000 persons, the approximate population of the county. Alabama is one of a half dozen states that still maintains a maintenance and calibration program for its radiologic monitoring instruments. Additional information:
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