This subject was brought up during the Dem. debates . They said that some experts believe that there is a 30% or better chance that the U.S. will be hit by a terrorist nuke device .
What are you doing to prepare for this ? Other than just buying some of those pills that protect your thyroid [ can't remember the name of the pills ] or building some kind of bomb shelter , if you can [ I rent so building a shelter is not an option ] . I can't think of anything I can do besides continue with my usuall preps - stocking food , water , meds and some extra ammo .
I guess there are some things that you can't prepare for .

... "30% or better chance" ...

Over what time period?

... "30% or better chance" ... in the next 24 hours is pretty scary.

... "30% or better chance" ... between now and the end of time is somewhat less than gripping.

Especially considering that a 'dirty' bomb, a radiation dispersal device that makes a mess, is by far the more likely form of "nuke device".

I figure I'm well away from any, population centers, ideological or symbolic targets. I don't consider it a major threat. Of course a simple BOB or kit likely has a pretty much what you need. A P-100 dust mask to keep particles out of your lungs and a simple disposable poncho to keep the dust off your skin are a pretty good start. Add a set of rubber gloves and boots and your set for most dirty bomb events.

Potassium iodide can help to keep your thyroid safe from radioactive iodine uptake and your certainly free to keep a supply handy for a worse case but I wouldn't think the mushroom cloud form of nuclear device is very likely. Even if it is I'm not close enough, or down wind of, any likely targets so it doesn't apply to me directly.

In the wider scale of things a natural disaster or accident is by far more likely to be your survival challenge.

A 30% chance? How soon?

I can say that there is a 100% chance that North America will be reduced to molten goo when the sun expands in it's old age.

Personally, I'm not too worried. I stay out of real cities.

My preps for that include the following:
1. Determine where a nuke would likely be set off (in my case either in the Port of Houston, the refineries/chemical plants along the ship channel, or leats likey to me - downtown Houston)

2. Figure out likely range on initial blast using the google maps nuke blast tool (do google search for link). I'm outside the range of intial blast if it occurs in any of those three locations.

3. Always try to know which way the wind is blowing. Unless we are in some weather event the wind usually blows south to north here during the day and north to south at night.

4. A bottle of potassium iodide and dosage information is on hand, though mainly beacause it was easy for me to get.

5. DW and DD1 have been taught what to do if they see a mushroom cloud (get inside, turn off AC, close all windows, etc.)

After that it falls under normal emergency preps (shelter in place or bug out depending on situation).

-Blast

Hi Blast,

A handy little fallout calculator is available at

http://www.fas.org/main/content.jsp?formAction=297&contentId=426

Just program the location, the yield and the wind speed and direction.

Excellent! That's much more useful than the one I had used at http://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/gmap/hydesim.html. The ability to change wind speed/direction on your link reassures me even more that a nuke set off down here we be terrible but not likely fatal to me at home.

-Blast

A 30% chance of a nuke going off on American soil... Wow... I'd like to know how they arrived at that statistic. 3.3 percent more and that's a 1 in 3 chance.

Still, I'd bet against those odds in Vegas.

And yet, I have prepared for such things. Ultimately though, my actions are going to depend on where a nuke goes off as to whether I Bug Out or In.

As for Potassium Idodide, I don't stock it. Would it be under the current harsh regulations that has hit the sale of some types of Iodine, or is it far enough removed to be unaffected?

Considering that my office overlooks Ground Xero, and DW works near Times Square, getting insdie when the mushroom cloud appears may not be an option. We just may not be able to run that fast. If you can feel the heat, you are probably within range of a shockwave. Do not run, unless you are real close, get down, find cover, NOW, and wait for two waves. Shockwaves will come in and go out. If you are this close, you are in a tough situation, but what else can you do?

What can you do???? Seems obvious to me- DON'T BE THERE! Working in NYC (or any other large city for that matter) is, in my opinion, a choice against one's own survival for many reasons.

Dirty bomb is really easy- don't worry much about it. While radioactive contamination of your person isn't a *good* thing, it's not automatically fatal. It's not even as bad as so-called-Journalists would say. They think you'll die if you look at the radioactive element in a smoke detector.... (a bio-bomb on the other hand could be a major problem)

My biggest nuke concern is a single EMP burst high overhead. Now THAT would do some widespread economic damage plus our veneer of civilized behavior would rupture and then cause physical harm.
Are your electronic survival devices stored EMP-protected???
(Unclassified sources suggest the Iranians have been practicing for an EMP strike. Makes sense- all it takes is ONE warhead to hurt us on an enormous scale.)

I'd be much more worried about the possibility of an accident when they finally start transporting all that spent fuel from around the country to yucca mt. Don't watch much television but happened to see a history channel show about the transporting of hazardous materials and that was some scary stuff.