[moses]

this looks like any easy method for contaminated water http://www.parowanprophet.com/Nuclear_War_Comes/water_filter_instructions.htm :thumb:

 

[Silveressa]

It sound like a plausible method, although testing it for credibility could prove difficult/impossible.

Thanks for sharing

 

[kahn]

Make a still out of a 7 gallon or larger pressure cooker, you're good to go!

 

[FredLee]

Cresson Kearny also recommended the filtering of water thru clay soil.(of Nuclear War Survival Skills fame)

 

[kahn]

Why risk filtering when you could easily distill and know it worked 100% ?

 

[Silveressa]

Why risk filtering when you could easily distill and know it worked 100% ?

Depending on the situation, carting around a still might not be a feasible solution, (if you're relocating away from an area expected to take heavy fallout etc..) or if it breaks and you have no ready means to repair it.

Having a easily available second method could well be a life saver depending.

 

[moses]

Why risk filtering when you could easily distill and know it worked 100% ?

because distill dosen't work 100% it does not remove fall out particles it removes everything else but that.

 

[Lowdown3]

Obviously you want some water in storage so you don't have to mess with contaminated water for a while. Think a minimum of 2 weeks to a month of stored water in your shelter/basement/backyard hole in the ground.

Now that being said, let's say for whatever reason you DO have to get some more water not soon after fallout arrives.

Understand that fallout decays fairly rapidly. If you are going to be serious about nuclear survival you'll need a few critical instruments like a good survey meter and dosimeters. You can't smell, taste or "sense" radiation.

OK so you get a 5 gallon bucket of water (we are assuming there is fallout in every open water source at this point) and you cover it and let is SIT for a day. If you really are SOL on water at this point, you'll probably want to have a couple buckets going like this so your not waiting. Also, if it's still "hot" outside you'll want to limit your trips outside also. But DO NOT drag the contaminated water into your shelter if at all possible- the fallout in the water IS an emitter still.

So after a day or so the fallout particles (most of them) will have settled to the bottom of the bucket. NOW draw the water from the top of the bucket, not going much past 1/2 way (that's still 2 gallons of water and honestly, if you planned this bad, you shouldn't be complaining). I would siphon it with a hose being very careful to keep the hose at the top of the water level only. Try not to shake the bucket or otherwise disturb the water when your doing this (in other words don't stir up the fallout on the bottom).

Just doing that, you've saved yourself a pile of contamination to deal with. NOW filter the water several times. A decent filter like a Katadyn or Berkfield will remove it.

Lacking that, you'll have to improvise. Coffee filters will remove a lot of small debris from water. A standard house has a lot of materials that can be used to make a simple water filter-

Aquarium rocks from a fishtank or small (clean) pebbles.
The aquarium filter (usually activated charcoal) itself makes a good filter.
Clean sand.
Charcoal- not the stuff you buy in the bag, this usually has lighter fluid or other ingredients in it.

In SERE classes I've made water filters out of a discarded 2 liter soda bottle- with some of the above ingredients (you can also use your sock if need be) and wasn't worse the wear.

Back to the fallout- If you know your going to have to filter contaminated water start taking your KI if you haven't already. At least this will block your thyroid from some of the emitters if you do ingest some.

The question will be: die of dehydration in a few days or cancer in a few years, most will answer the latter.

Prior preparations will keep it from getting to that point however.

Hope this helps.
Lowdown3

 

[Lowdown3]

Forgot to add-

Keep in mind also that whatever you need up using as a filter- even the elements from a Katadyn or Berkfield, they are now "hot" after using them to filter fallout. They are in essence a SOURCE of radiation until they are decontaminated. Keep them away from you. Flush the filter elements off with a lot of water, watching where the water goes (don't do this in your shelter) and CHECK THEM with your survey meter after you clean them. I would bag them and mark them and keep them separate from any other gear. You don't want Aunt June accidentally putting contaminated filters in your Berky six months after the fact

 

[kahn]

because distill dosen't work 100% it does not remove fall out particles it removes everything else but that.

Ummm Ok there, what scrool did you go to? Truth of the matter is that radioactive particles are solids and distilling H20 removes all particles from the water and leaves them behind during the distillation process. Water itself does not become radioactive, it's the particles within it. Granted, distillation does contaminate the pot but in this situation something is gonna have to get contaminated to get clean water.

Now the problem with the dirt filter is:
1. You're running a high possibility of getting the bacteria/parasites from the dirt into the drinking water, E. Coli, C Diff, salmonella, Giardia, Staph, roundworm, tapeworm ect. and many of those can kill you even quicker than radioactive water.
2. If it has rained, you have no way to tell how far the smaller radioactive particles have washed down into the ground, so by building a dirt filter, you might just be wasting your time.

Then again, if someone posted it on the internet it must be trut and it has to work right?


Also contaminated filters would become rather hot, very quickly, remember the more they absorb, the more dangerous they become and over time would end up being one of the most radioactive things around you.

 

[moses]

This is straight out of the BOOK Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearney why don't you ask him what school he went to. This also in the FEMA library.

The dangers from drinking fallout contaminated water could be greatly lessened by using expedient settling and filtration methods to remove fallout particles and
most of the dissolved radioactive material. Fortunately, in areas of heavy fallout, less than 2% of the radioactivity of the fallout particles contained in the water would become dissolved in water. If nearly all the radioactive fallout particles could be removed by filtering or settling methods, few casualties would be likely to result from drinking and cooking with most fallout- contaminated water.

Filtering through earth removes essentially all of the fallout particles and more of the dissolved radioactive material than does boiling-water distillation, a generally impractical purification method that does not eliminate dangerous radioactive iodines. Earth filters are also more effective in removing radioactive iodines than are ordinary ion-exchange water softeners or charcoal filters. In areas of heavy fallout, about 99% of the radioactivity in water could be removed by filtering it through ordinary earth.

Settling is one of the easiest methods to remove most fallout particles from water.
Although dissolved radioactive material usually is only a minor danger in fallout-contaminated water, it is safest to filter even the clear water produced by settling, if an earth filter is available.

Good luck with distilling and leaving all the solids behind to become air born again>

 

[kahn]

Just like the rest of the cold war propaganda that was printed but unproven. Remember these are the same people that told you to "duck and cover" to survive a nuclear blast.....

You drink from your dirt filter, I'll stick with a simple still, we'll see who takes in less garbage and bacteria in their water supply.

Also when you distill, the solids left behind have a tendency to cake up in the bottom of the pot, and not become airborne.

 

[Silveressa]

One would likely be safer to combine both methods; Filter it through the dirt first to remove as many particles as possible, then distill it.

All things considered the extra step couldn't hurt, and the less radio active fallout caking in your distiller the better. (provided you run a Geiger counter over the dirt to make sure it's not contaminated first before running water through it.)