The Need for Mobility to Survive a Nuclear Disaster

12.31.18 | Monday | Nofit Amir

It may not be time to panic but it’s definitely time to prepare. According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, it’s now two minutes to midnight – which means that the world has hurtled closer to the possibility of a nuclear or radiological disaster than at any time since the height of the Cold War.

Mobility is crucial

Whether it’s thermonuclear war, a nuclear detonation by a rogue regime, a radiological attack at the hand of a terrorist, or an accident at a nuclear reactor – unfortunately, the United States will likely one day experience the horror of a nuclear or radiological incident. In order to survive such a nightmare, the time to prepare is now. Families will need the type of gear that can sustain them through what may be the darkest moment in human history. Food, water, tools, sanitation kits – even toilet paper – will likely be in short supply until civil services can be restored.

The ability to reach safe shelter and then resupply or transport from locale to locale will be critical to any successful survival strategy. In other words, mobility is crucial. The problem, however, is that the surrounding environment may contain lethal levels of radioactivity, visible in fallout or invisible.

HAZMAT suits don’t protect against penetrating radiation (namely, gamma radiation), but only from radiation particles, which do not have the power to significantly penetrate the body. Respiration masks prevent the ingestion of the radiation particles (i.e., alpha and beta radiation) – but, again, cannot protect from radiation that penetrates the body. Prevailing thought has been that the only a thick layer of dense material, such as lead, can protect the body from penetrating radiation. Yet covering the body in a thick layer of lead is not feasible since the heavyweight – 100 lbs or more for full-body coverage – does not enable movement. Thus, wearable protection from penetrating radiation was considered impossible.

StemRad 360 Gamma – selective shielding that will help people reach shelter safely

Enter StemRad. Its technology – which shields tissues in the body that are most vulnerable to radiation – allows a person to be mobile within a radioactive environment and still survive. Selectively shielding these tissues lightens the load, allowing for mobility, while preventing the onset of radiation sickness and mitigating the risks of certain cancers further down the road.

Studies conducted by StemRad in collaboration with the US Department of Energy have confirmed the effectiveness of the shield. A similar shield for astronauts produced by StemRad was proven effective in tests with NASA and Lockheed Martin.

The development of selective shielding technology provides a lifeline, replacing the previously non-commutable death sentence. Selectively shielding the organs that are most sensitive to radiation has created a breakthrough in a human being’s survivability quotient after exposure to radiation in a nuclear or radiological event. When the unthinkable occurs, survivors will now have the ability to reach safe shelter, resupply or transport to safer harbors, as part of their successful survival strategy.