The UK Government has published official guidance on what to do in the event of a radiation emergency, setting out three immediate actions: go inside, stay inside, and tune in to official advice. The guidance says people should "follow this guidance as much as you can" if such an emergency occurs.
Three immediate steps
The government advises that if there is a radiation emergency, the first step is to go inside. "Go indoors and stay there," it says. "Close the windows and doors to the outside. Try to stay away from the outside walls."
The second step is to stay inside. "Staying inside protects you from radiation," the government says. "Turn off fans and air conditioning if you have them. You will be told what to do next. You might need to stay inside for one or two days."
The third step is to tune in: "Check the news to find out what to do next," says the government. "Official advice might be given on the radio, television, internet, social media or by the police. The government will put advice online at GOV.UK."
Evacuation and radiation risks
The emergency services might tell people to leave the place where they are staying. "This is called evacuation," says the government. "Get ready to leave in case you are told to. Only leave if you are told to. Going outside might mean your body gets more radiation."
The official advice refers to a "radiation emergency" — something happens that means people might be exposed to high levels of radiation. The UK Government gives the scenarios of an accident at a nuclear power station or an accident when radioactive material is being transported as examples. It stresses that these incidents do not happen very often. However, nuclear weapons also produce deadly levels of radiation, which lasts longer and is more widespread than the instant destruction caused by their detonation.
What happens when a nuclear bomb detonates
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) says: "Nuclear weapons are the most destructive, inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. Both in the scale of the devastation they cause, and in their uniquely persistent, spreading, genetically damaging radioactive fallout, they are unlike any other weapons."
The Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation goes on: "A single nuclear bomb detonated over a large city could kill millions of people. Several nuclear explosions over modern cities would kill tens of millions of people. Casualties from a major nuclear war between the US and Russia would reach hundreds of millions."
ICAN describes what happens when a nuclear bomb detonates: the fireball from the explosion would reach its maximum size in 10 seconds; it releases vast amounts of energy in the form of blast, heat and radiation; an enormous shockwave reaches speeds of many hundreds of miles an hour; the blast kills people close to ground zero, and causes lung injuries, ear damage and internal bleeding further away; people sustain injuries from collapsing buildings and flying objects; thermal radiation is so intense that almost everything close to ground zero is vaporized; extreme heat causes severe burns and ignites fires over a large area, which coalesce into a giant firestorm; even people in underground shelters face likely death due to a lack of oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning.
"In the long-term, nuclear weapons produce ionizing radiation, which kills or sickens those exposed, contaminates the environment, and has long-term health consequences, including cancer and genetic damage," says ICAN.
How likely is nuclear war?
Tension is increasing around the world. NATO has said Russia is growing increasingly reckless, and it has been accused of attacks on specific targets in Germany, Poland and Estonia, as well as its ongoing deadly campaign in Ukraine. The UK Government has started updating its so-called "war book", which hasn't been updated in decades, the BBC reports, and the UK's most senior soldier has sounded the alarm. Sir Richard Knighton said the threat from Russia meant Britain was living through the "most dangerous" period of his 35-year career in the armed forces.
However, this does not mean nuclear war is as much of a threat given the extreme nature of this scenario. Indeed, it may not even involve boots on the ground, and one expert told the BBC that "it's not the tanks you need to worry about — it's the cutting of cables on the ocean floor, it's the hacking into systems on which so many things depend. The possibility for asymmetric war, for cyber war, is growing by leaps and bounds".
Professor Anthony Glees, an academic at the University of Buckingham and security expert, said: "The list of attacks and overflying by drones we strongly believe have been launched against us by Russia grows daily." He added: "We are told that NATO chiefs are convinced Putin knows that if Russia crosses into NATO territory to start even a limited ground offensive against a NATO member, Article 5 will kick in and he risks a nuclear war with NATO which he cannot win and will end with his destruction."
