The Town Crier

Here a welder is working on a new family fallout shelter which is described as providing almost absolute fallout protection.

Shelter Of Corrugated Metal Proven By CD To Reduce Fallout Hazard

What may be the best answer to survival in a nuclear attack arrived in Hartford this week and is being exhibited at the Home & Garden Show. It is called a family fallout shelter and has been termed the best protective device yet produced. Civil Defense authorities have described it as providing "almost absolute fallout protection."

The shelter, made of corrugated metal is cylindrical in shape and measures 7 feet 8 inches high, 5 feet 10 inches wide and 14 feet long. It has been designed for easy installation in a backyard or sideyard by a local distributor and includes interior furnishings for a family of six. Three feet of earth covers the shelter when installed with only a hatchway and two vents showing above ground.

In the midwest, where the shelter was first introduced, it was found that the availability of this type of protection had a marked effect on the public. Where a feeling of hopelessness had existed, concerning survival during attack, people now recognize that they can protect themselves. The proven efficiency of the design, ease of installation, its close to home location and the availability of low cost FHA financing have contributed to this new attitude.

Civil Defense research has shown the wide difference in the shielding provided by various types of shelters. The first floor of a house reduces the outside radiation intensity to 1/2, the basement to 1/10 and an improvised basement refuge to 1/100. This new shelter, however, reduces the hazard to 1/5000.

To obtain the same amount of protection as provided by the family shelter covered with 3 feet of earth, it would be necessary to be shielded by 2 1/2 inches of lead, 7 inches of steel, 24 inches of concrete or an eight foot thickness of wood.

The local Newington distributor, The Atomic Safety Corporation of America located at 168 Kitts Lane, is offering two models, and a choice of interior furnishings. Cost including installation is estimated as comparable to the lower priced compact cars. Low monthly payments are possible because the FHA will allow up to five years on loans.