How to prepare for major highway chemical spill

[MBI]

Originally Posted by Jim in NZ

Except where upwind is downhill, in which case, many vapours (those that are more dense than air - gasoline/petrol, ammonia, LPG/natural gas, to name a few...) hug the ground and can actually travel against a light wind.

Good point, thanks for that reminder. It's been too many decades since I've been through any of that kind of training.

[neiowa]

Originally Posted by 6471

The highways & rail lines are FULL of toxic matetials being transported 24/7 & it has been one of Homeland's greatest challenges. And there ARE no real good solutions to the threat.

How far is safe? L.E.O.'s are taught the "rule of thumb".
Hold your hand at arm's length . . .if you can't cover the spill with the end of your thumb . . .you're too close !
....

And the Canary rule of thumb is - where the LEO wandering around to see what is going on falls over is the edge of the FD hot zone.

[PeterWiggin]

activated charcoal should help, yes?

You can buy a 20" box fan for less than $20, a 6-pack of merv 12 filters for $40, and a bag of activated charcoal. Lay the fan intake up, put the 20"x20" filter on it, dust it with AC and stand the fan up while on and it'll hold the fan in place. You could always just duct tape the filter to the fan.

Am I wrong in thinking that would help significantly?

[CONELRAD]

Originally Posted by PeterWiggin

activated charcoal should help, yes?



You can buy a 20" box fan for less than $20, a 6-pack of merv 12 filters for $40, and a bag of activated charcoal. Lay the fan intake up, put the 20"x20" filter on it, dust it with AC and stand the fan up while on and it'll hold the fan in place. You could always just duct tape the filter to the fan.



Am I wrong in thinking that would help significantly?

Yes, you are wrong. This would be a very bad idea in an actual chemical emergency. There’s more to filtering chemical vapors than just activated charcoal. It would be far smarter and safer to close all doors and windows and leave your heat/ac off until the cloud dissipated.

[PeterWiggin]

Originally Posted by CONELRAD

Yes, you are wrong. This would be a very bad idea in an actual chemical emergency. There’s more to filtering chemical vapors than just activated charcoal. It would be far smarter and safer to close all doors and windows and leave your heat/ac off until the cloud dissipated.

oh! Thanks! I thought with AC alone I could leave all my doors and windows open and breathe deep. Thank goodness you clarified that. You sir are a saint!

[neiowa]

Originally Posted by PeterWiggin

oh! Thanks! I thought with AC alone I could leave all my doors and windows open and breathe deep. Thank goodness you clarified that. You sir are a saint!

Pay attention to those that know what they are talking about and you'll learn something.

A box fan with a furnace filter? Seriously? It's not that hard to find useful CBRN and Nuc prep info. The feds published TONS of good info during the 1st Cold War.

[PeterWiggin]

Originally Posted by neiowa

Pay attention to those that know what they are talking about and you'll learn something.

A box fan with a furnace filter? Seriously? It's not that hard to find useful CBRN and Nuc prep info. The feds published TONS of good info during the 1st Cold War.

I'm offering a solution to those on a budget and/or those who don't really think these things will happen, but want to have some resources available.

Isn't that the point of this site? To make do with less, just in case you don't have more?

When you go hiking in the woods, do you bring a game cart with and extra 100 pounds of gear because you're incapable of improvising with the 20# you brought with you?

You people and your condescension. Open your mind.

[jfountain2]

Originally Posted by PeterWiggin

Isn't that the point of this site? To make do with less, just in case you don't have more?

No, it’s actually not the point of this site. The point of the site is to offer resources and useful info so people can learn more about survivalism, homesteading, bushcraft and prepping.
While offering info that is budget minded and helpful to members who can’t afford the super deluxe mega bunker with a 20 year supply of mountain house and never ending water supply is a great thing, the info needs to be something that will not harm anyone or cause them to think they are in no danger.
So... if someone posts something others know is not a good idea or may cause more problems than it’s worth it’s good for other members to point out where they are wrong.

For example, a guy once posted asking about some mushrooms growing in his yard, another member said ‘try them and let us know if they are ok’....
Wrong answer. 90% of mushrooms are very dangerous to ingest, a large percentage of them can kill you. If our members had just said screw it and not pointed out how wrong that guys suggestion was, a person could have died.

[CONELRAD]

Originally Posted by PeterWiggin

I'm offering a solution to those on a budget and/or those who don't really think these things will happen, but want to have some resources available.

Isn't that the point of this site? To make do with less, just in case you don't have more?

When you go hiking in the woods, do you bring a game cart with and extra 100 pounds of gear because you're incapable of improvising with the 20# you brought with you?

You people and your condescension. Open your mind.

Unless you have a background in HazMat/CBRN, you probably shouldn't be approaching this subject from the position of trying to offer "solutions" to anyone. It's certainly okay to put the idea out there and discuss it, but don't offer it up as though it's coming from a knowledgable source. CBRN isn't a forgiving environment where you can give someone the wrong info and they'll probably be fine. CBRN isn't as simple as hiking in the woods and it's ridiculous to imply otherwise.

Within the context of this thread, you don't need to inject fresh air into a home for an event like this because it's unlikely the event will last long enough to require the addition of fresh air. The vapor cloud will dissipate or be blown further downwind long before that needs to happen. If the event is so bad that you need to seal your home and use positive pressure to survive it... I'm sorry to tell you this, but that means you're so close to source of the plume that you'd be overcome before you'd have time to rig up your improvised CBRN shelter.