Preparedness for when

NewShadow

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Thank goodness someone else can interpret my posts and explain their real meaning to you all, it even makes them make sense to me sometimes, I'll have to try harder at being WHACKY won't I?

Sorry if I caused offence - I'm fairly tired atm and I'm not getting as long to leisurely peruse the internet as I would like.

Separate from your post my reaction to the story is along the following:

The connection between the iodine and the tapes that were found has only been made in the media and there are perfectly valid reasons for the change in policy.

If it were a significant and credible threat the UK threat level would have increased, or at least people would have noticed a fairly well known group of people (COBRA) meeting outside of the regular meeting schedule (as has happened previously before incidents)

There are lots and lots of times over the year where material such as this surveillance is found - Anyone can film a publicly known figure about their day to day life - it requires a car and a mobile phone. Anyone can speculate on how to do horrible things - it doesn't make it likely you'll do them successfully (It actually makes it more likely you won't)

An exec may have access to fissionable material, but that access will be limited to (say) during inspections which happen on a regular basis, and access doesn't mean contact with, and certainly not unsupervised contact with. That exec trying to remove radioactive material would raise many flags and would have as much chance of happening unnoticed as you trying to walk out of your local shop with one of their registers...

I'd be much, much, more concerned if this footage was of the family of one of the engineers. Or (more concerning) almost anyone that works in a hospital.

[Deleted User]

Not offended at all, if you feel like filling in the background to posts it can only add to information in the public domaine, I'm only flagging up things that might be of significance as I spot them so everyone can if they are interested go and read the news item in full and make their own minds up if it is relevant to their reasons for prepping in the first place.

[Deleted User]

I haven't tested any lighting devices for a while, so I'm doing a test now.

Pound-stretcher have "Dinner" candles, in boxes of 10, for £1-99.

The dimensions are:-

Length - 250mm

Diameter at base - 22mm

Diameter at shoulder - 12mm

I shall now light one, and measure the time it takes to burn down.

This could take some time, so, as you where.

[Deleted User]

Here's an interesting scenario that is happening in parts of India right now (I know this for a fact as we watch the IPL 20/20 Cricket and matches have had to be moved because of this problem) there is a heat wave, unlikely I know from the weather today but not unheard of here, think 1976,and the heat has been over 44 degrees C for a while and looks like staying that way without rainfall until June. The water supplies have dried up, rivers etc are dry. India has declared that no fires for cooking may be lit during the day so no hot food and no readily available water. Should we ever find ourselves in a similar situation how would you cope? Drinking water is being tankered in but there will not be enough for washing, irrigating crops, flushing loos and many other things. How would you go about everyday life and under those circumstances?

[Deleted User]

I always have several packets of baby wipes in the house (and I'd get more, if I knew a drought was on the way) so I'd use them to clean my hands, face, armpits and genitals.

The rest of me would have to make do, with an occasional flannel bath.

Toileting would be dealt with, either by bagging it, or burying it.

I'd use my boxes of latex gloves, to protect my hands, while wiping my bottom.

In my case, irrigating crops doesn't come into it.

If the drought continued, and water was becoming really scarce, I'd dig solar stills in the garden.

milasavesmoney

I live in the desert Southwest where the summer temps average about 40-46C. We had an extensive drought that lasted 7 yrs. It finally broke last year. Our clean water comes from drilled wells. Our crop water comes from reservoirs filled up by snow and rain. Fields are irrigated and of course the state had to limit and ration acre feet for irrigation. It had gotten so bad that our wild deer, antelope, bears, etc were coming into towns to eat garden lawn grass and bushes, and of course for water.
I don't understand the no cooking during the day ban being imposed in India.

NewShadow

milasavesmoney wrote: »

I don't understand the no cooking during the day ban being imposed in India.

In the scorching summer, fires in Bihar have killed 66 people and 1,200 animals in the past two weeks. The state government has come up with a bizarre solution - no cooking.

Cooking will not be allowed in villages between 9 am and 6 pm during the summer and those who violate the order can be jailed for up to two years.

Religious functions involving fire have also been banned.

The Nitish Kumar government's logic is that heavy winds are picking up sparks from cooking fires and igniting straw huts.

The latest incident took place in the Begusarai district two days ago, when over 300 huts were burnt.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/no-cooking-in-the-day-bihar-governments-solution-to-killer-fires-1400304

Personally I would have thought fighting fires at night would be more of a concern and would have suggested cooking only in communal/ monitored sites (where they distribute the water) and no fires in domestic abodes (which has it's own logistical complications).

pineapple

Sorry I may be a bit late to the party but did anyone post that Belgium is to issue iodine pills to the entire country? This not just on account of terrorist activities but safety concerns at two reactors. Plus following on from that the Netherlands is also to hand out pills in certain areas
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/30/netherlands-to-hand-out-iodine-pills-in-case-of-nuclear-accident.
I have no confidence that the UK government would even acknowledge there was a risk. I remember trudging round in the rain in the days post Chernobyl. We found out afterwards that the rain had probably been contaminated. Some farm land was eventually 'quarantined' but no iodine pills in sight.
Years down the line there was a little newspaper paragraph that an export of UK dried milk had been rejected because it was contaminated.
Nothing to see here folks. Move along.
A few years back there was the strange 'schmallenberg virus' causing still births and deformities on farms. Not so sure we know the whole truth about that either
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/agriculture/farming/9247916/A-vets-battle-against-the-Schmallenberg-virus.html
After Fukushima the price of Iodine pills went through the roof. I did manage to secure some though not in the preferred form and they are probably out of date now.
Time to revise preps on that front too imo.

Cappella

As regards the drought situation and preps: not bathing or showering daily wouldn't really bother me too much. It IS possible to wash top to toe, including the delicate bits with just a damp flannel and very little water. And Bedsitsit Bobs idea of wipes is a good one. I've got bottles of handwash, the sort you use without water when you visit hospitals left from an unpleasant bout of campyli bacter (spelling?) MrO suffered from last year as well though it would depend just how long the drought lasted as to how long they'd last.
Clothes washing would just have to be minimal. Lots of things can just be shaken and hung on the outside line to freshen up anyway. There's no need to wear something for a day and then wash it. It's a habit we've got into rather than a necessity.
Goodness - this IS making me sound grubby:(
I have some bottled water for short term emergencies but no storage space for more. The Spring on the allotments has never failed us yet though, fingers crossed it would continue to run.

The issue of governments handing out iodine tablets is worrying. I always wonder just what they're covering up. Nothing good, that's for sure. And I'm extremely concerned about both safety measures and old/outdated equipment at our own nuclear power plants, having known several people who worked at Sellafield.
But there are some things that no amount of preparation will help: and I'm not going to live the rest of my life frightened of those. As someone said yesterday MrsLW?that would mean the terrorists and politicians were winning; and I'm not ready for that yet.

Karmacat

Cappella wrote: »

The issue of governments handing out iodine tablets is worrying. I always wonder just what there covering up. Nothing good, that's for sure. And I'm extremely concerned about both safety measures and old/outdated equipment at our own nuclear power plants, having known several people who worked at Sellafield.

It *is* worrying, but in general I dislike the idea of possibly being in the area of a dirty bomb, say, and having to go to the distribution point to be allocated my share. I'd much rather have some on tap at home (which I do).

But there are some things that no amount of preparation will help: and I'm not going to live the rest of my life frightened of those. As someone said yesterday MrsLW?that would mean the terrorists and politicians were winning; and I'm not ready for that yet.

Agreed - I do what I can, and live my life, though its quite constricted at the moment for other reasons.