EMERGENCY ACTION PLANNING > Blog > Act of War > Tip of the Day – Time, Distance, and Shielding
Tip of the Day – Time, Distance, and Shielding
20220318 Tip of the Day – Time, Distance, and Shielding
While learning everything I can about protecting myself and my loved ones from emergencies and disasters, I have concluded that there are three terms we can use that will cover most disasters and protect us.
That is time distance and shielding.
Time simply means don’t be there at the same time that it, whatever the disaster or emergency is, happening is the timing issue.
Distance is having space between you and the event, so it won’t affect you. The farther away you are from the disaster or the emergency, the safer you will be from the disaster or emergency.
And shielding if you can’t get far away from it then place something between you and the hazard, so it will not affect you.
So, where did I come up with time and distance and shielding?
During my younger days, way before I started actively pursuing emergency management planning. I was a soldier in the United States Army. During my first tour of duty in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1979 Post-Vietnam, the United States military actively prepared to conduct a nuclear, chemical, and biological war against the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. During my tour with the 101st Airborne, 25th Infantry division and Seventh infantry division we were of the understanding that if the balloon went up, we would probably see tactical nuclear weapons deployed.
Today we have a nuclear weapon armed aggressor invading a smaller country in Eastern Europe. Moreover, the aggressor has made it very clear that he has nuclear weapons and has hinted that he will possibly use them.
And that is where time distance and shielding come into play, when protecting an individual from nuclear radiation.
https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/protects-you/protection-principles.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6037814/
Time; The less time an individual is exposed to radiation, the less exposure you will receive and live longer.
Distance; The farther away you are from the radiated area, the less exposure you will receive and the longer you will live.
And if you cannot spend time away or distance yourself from radiation, you need shielding between you and the radiated area to prevent exposure so you can live longer.
I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But keeping in mind three concepts of time, distance, and shielding are always good to know as limited safety factors protecting yourself from natural, and man-made emergencies and disasters
Till next time
“Be Safe”