This brings up a couple of points.

How many of our first responders actually have a radiation detector, and know how to use it? Police, paramedics, fire crews? I doubt that many of these units have a device that can measure radiation. So in the event of an incident with a serious radiation threat, the Gov't would need to bring in special teams. They certainly do have such teams - but i'm not sure there is any system to transfer the info to the public. The result is likely to produce a lot of confusion and fear.

Also, it seems to me that there is a big difference between "external" radiation exposure and "internal" exposure. If someone has some contaminated dirt or dust on their clothes, it should be possible to remove the garments and take a shower. Or just wash off the skin with a bucket of water. But if a person is breathing contaminated dust into their lungs - that seems like a much more serious exposure risk.

As far as the public is concerned, there are some practical problems that are really "unsolved". Not enough info and training for people to know how to deal with the risk.

Pete

I have a NukAlert and the parts for several Kearny Fallout Meters.

Can't say for the US, but in the Netherlands, every fire engine has a radiation meter.

Also in the UK.

Here - I don't know. Good question.

A quick comment. It was actually Ian's remarks on this thread that caused me to re-think the problems discussed here.

I re-evaluated, after N. Korea tested a new nuclear device, estimated to be around 100 Kilotons. This is a big step up in destructive power. A-bombs of this size are "city killers". It's not easy to find comparative charts for the effects of nuclear weapons. But one thing stands out as a truly a problem for a 100-Kilton bomb ... retinal damage.

If I am reading the data correctly, a 100-Kiloton weapon is capable of damaging the human retina from a distance of more than 100 kilometers. If you look directly at the blast - which seems very possible - the destruction to the human eye is immense. This means that there would be a huge radius around the location of the explosion where people are partially blinded, or fully blinded. Permanently. This may be the most serious problem from a large-scale nuclear explosion, even more serious than the heat or radiation.

It is certainly true that widespread fires would also be a big problem.

I suggest you read Nuclear War Survival Skills by Kearney

The only thing this manual doesn't cover is Neutron radiation which has twice the penetration of Gamma radiation.

This is a free book and can be found easily on the web.

BTW: the US used an 18 kiloton device to destroy Hiroshima and a 20 kiloton device to destroy Nagasaki.