Things That Seem 25th Century

Water from Air Generators. Yes, on Amazon.  They are not cheap but if your solar panel survives the EMP, here is your water source. It used refrigeration to extract water vapor from the air 

Solar Well Pump Backup

Have any of you had a solar panel backup installed for a well pump and pressurization pump.  It would seem a pretty straightforward install.  Even without a battery to carry through the night, having water available for drinking and flushing during a prolonged power failure would be good.  

The old house had the well pump and pressurization pump on the backup generator.  In addition we had a 1000 gallon gravity-fed cistern.  

While gravity did not supply enough pressure for appliances without the pressurization pump, it would supply enough to get water from faucets and refill toilet tanks (slowly).

I am not confident that the idiots in charge will not manage to get us into a nuclear war.  Even if they do their job well, Xi seems like he is in trouble domestically and might try to distract with invasion of Taiwan.

I have a month or two of canned chili and likely two months of instant rice.  Water storage is not a problem for weeks but if you want operating toilets and cooking rice, this is harder.

The well pump draws 1.8KW.  That is a peak draw.  I suspect it does not run all the time.  The old house I specified a variable speed well pump because they last longer. Starting is what kills well pumps.  I am going to find out what it would cost to get just the water system solar powered with battery for those rare occasions when it gets dark.  Also what whole house would cost.  I am skeptical that it makes economic sense but all this development around here is going to start causing power outages.

I Think This is Good News for Preppers (and Those Not That Prepared)

 From the research project studying survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

Tumor registries were initiated in 1957 in Hiroshima and 1958 in Nagasaki. During the period from 1958 to 1998, 7,851 malignancies (first primary) were observed among 44,635 LSS survivors with estimated doses of >0.005 Gy. The excess number of solid cancers is estimated as 848 (10.7%) (Table). The dose-response relationship appears to be linear, without any apparent threshold below which effects may not occur (Figure 1).

Table. Excess risk of developing solid cancers in LSS, 1958-1998

Weighted colon dose (Gy) LSS subjects Cancers Attributable risk Observed Estimated excess

0.005 – 0.1 27,789 4,406 81 1.8％ 0.1 – 0.2 5,527 968 75 7.6％ 0.2 – 0.5 5,935 1,144 179 15.7％ 0.5 – 1.0 3,173 688 206 29.5％ 1.0 – 2.0 1,647 460 196 44.2％ >2.0 564 185 111 61.0％ Total 44,635 7,851 848 10.7％

 

Now, 0.005 grays is not a spectacular dose.  5 grays causes death within 14 days.  Hiroshima and Nagasaki were small enough yield to irradiate a lot of survivors.  Primary radiation is usually limited to about 8000 feet.  Big bombs kill by setting things (including people) on fire and blast damage.  

Fallout is the big risk.  I suspect many who may be exposed to fallout will die before cancer becomes an issue.  "One hour after a surface burst, the radiation from fallout in the crater region is 30 grays per hour (Gy/h)"  I am guessing that downwind fallout is going to be less than going to the crater.  ("Let's go sightseeing!")  Fallout in your food likely is a bigger risk.

Building a shelter is a good idea, but with the current shortage of materials and construction workers, preparing an expedient shelter and stocking up on canned food and water will make more sense, especially if you are over 50.

A reader points out the need to mask out fallout.  Does anyone know fallout particle size.  N95 respirators are at least 95% efficient for .3 micron sized particles.  It appears that particles greater than 20 microns are local fallout (which is what we are worrying about); smaller particles will stay aloft likely until they decay.  I bought some potassium iodide tablets because radioiodine is vapor and thus would pass through dust particle masks.