READY SHELTER
Decontamination of a ship's environment and
personnel is essential to the recovery of the ship.
If the ship is warned enough in advance, personnel
Radiological decontamination is the physical removal
topside shall be ordered to ready shelter before the
of the contamination that results from a nuclear
arrival of the base surge or fallout. Taking ready shelter
is both a contamination avoidance measure and a
weapon detonation. Much of it can be removed easily
radiation mitigation technique. The locations are
with soap and water or by brushing or using a sticky
generally not deep enough within the ship's structure to
surface such as masking tape. The contaminant that
result in much reduction of gamma radiation. However,
remains must be removed either by abrasion (vigorous
alpha and beta radiation cannot penetrate into the ship.
scrubbing) or by chemical means. The latter method
DEEP SHELTER
includes using solvents other than water, such as a
degreasing hand cleaner. This section establishes a
Deep shelter locations are compartments in the
technical basis and describes procedures for shipboard
innermost parts of the ship. Because of distances and
decontamination of personnel, clothing, and tools that
the structural material between these compartments,
have been exposed to radiological fallout. Every
the gamma exposure rate is significantly lower. All
except essential personnel at the most vital stations are
possible situation cannot be covered in this text.
sent to deep shelter to minimize exposure to initial
General guidance is provided that can be applied to a
radiation. Each ship shall designate deep shelter for
variety of ship arrangements. Detailed information on
each battle station in the ship's CBR defense bill.
this subject can be found in chapter 5 of Naval Ships'
Technical Manual (NSTM), chapter 070.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
GOOD HYGIENE AND HOUSEKEEPING
Q10.
A "half-thickness" is defined as the amount of
material necessary to cut down the amount of
Personal sanitation and general housekeeping are
radiation to one-half of its original value.
very important after a ship has been exposed to fallout.
It is extremely difficult to keep all contamination out of
1.
True
the interior of the ship. The ship is not airtight and,
2.
False
unless it has a collective protection system, some
Q11.
The objective of exposure control is to limit
airborne particles will enter either through the
the total dose received by individuals from
ventilation system, through accesses, or through leaks.
both internal and external sources and to
Monitoring and decontamination techniques are not
minimize the transfer of contamination into
perfect and some contamination will be allowed in on
the interior of the ship.
personnel who have been topside. However, the hazard
1.
True
can be minimized simply by preventing it from
building up. Maintaining clean conditions in living and
2.
False
working spaces is one part of the solution. The other is
Q12.
Exposure rate to gamma radiation is
personal cleanliness. A simple practice such as
significantly lower in deep shelter locations
washing one's hands before eating will reduce the
because of distances and the structural
ingestion of contamination.
material between compartments.
1.
True
DECONTAMINATION PROCESS
2.
False
All personnel exposed to the weather while a ship
is receiving fallout from a nuclear detonation shall
reenter through a decontamination station or a
DECONTAMINATION
contamination control area (CCA). Those who must
perform duties topside after the deposition of fallout
L e a rn i n g O b j e c t ive : R e c a l l r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r
has ceased are considered to be potentially
personnel in execution of the decontamination process
contaminated. They may be required to reenter through
and the basic design of the two types of
decontamination stations.
a decontamination station or CCA, depending on the
11-14
