Table Of Content

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Deer Mr. Ditton: Tt bas been a pleasuve for this office to have had the oppor- tunity to ssuist you in the davelomant of your fallout shelter lena. ‘The attached drewings show designs voich meet the oriteria estatlighed by this office for fallout shelters: 2s Family fallout shelter ~ undergromé type + six parsoe: DEPA August 15, 1961 + dug. no. FPS 1. 2. Family fellows shelter = basement type - ‘digas 15, 194» avg. uo. TPS 2. Ax peneous = TFPA Be Faally fallout shelter - sbovegroust type - six persons ~ DEPA August 15, 1961 = dug. a0. FPS 3. ‘oe Douglas Fir Plywood Associstion 4 ta os commanded for the outetading efforte vhich we ore certain Will help in a significant ay 20 emphasize and sncelerste the fallout shelter program tha ie such a vite pert of civil defease. ‘We Aook fowward to continved cooperatinn bytveen the Dougise Fir Biywod Aesootetion end cur office in furtherance of the fallout shelter effort. Stnemely, ey A 1, Pitta, We. ¥_ m. Dittera Eiseutiva Vioo President Douglas Pir Flywed Assoctetion US A stroct Teooan 2, Washington PREFACE ‘This foldoris intended to present, in 2 clear understandable manner, facts that may eave your Life in the event of anuclear attack on the United States and to remove many of the unwananted fave amociated with such an attack without creating a sense of complaeacy. m You will find that it consolidates information from many public organizations euch as the Otice of Civil Defense, ‘which will answer the nagging questians paced hy the prospect of a nuclear catastrophy such 2: 1 seventy-five percent of the casualties in & nuclear attack would be eaused by radioactive fallout following the explosion. Initial Blast, hect and radiation may not pose the greatest threat; 1 what js ncccsaury in the way of food, equipment, end shelter if you are to survive; ma complete outline of shelter ennitation procedurcs; O how a shelter can be ventilated without exposing your family tofataldosos of fallout, i Our best defenses ao well asthe bent deterrents against an enemy attack are a well informed population and properly designed shelters. m One purpose of this guide io to resent the facts obout radioactive fallout and associated problems—without hysteria — in the hhope that they will help to save the lives of you and your loved ones if a nuclear wer should occur. 1 Beconaily, this guide shows how Douglas Fir Plywood can be used in constructing thee types of emily fellout shelters that ave financially feasible for the average American family. FRET Bertie Vite Present DFPA PLYWOOD UNDERGROUND SHELTER PERFORMANCE —'Tha DFPA Underground Shelter lluscrated anv detaled on pages 17 and 18 (oldu!) was dasiged to provide manitou tout SYR wotscton, Tt offer god pro tection against Hlant and thermal eficts. m With 3 feet of earth oover, its protection factor of 5000¢ places the Undarground Shelter high in 0. €. D. Category A (see page 18). It would offer adequate fallout protection from the heaviest yomble attack. This shelter will provide better blast protection than the Above-Ground or Basement Shelters, Assuming a 20 raegaton nuclear bomb, one of the langest curent weapons, the blast protection of this sheltar would be vlaquete if it were Ioeated 7 or more miles from ground zeq0. "The Underground Shelter would not be ignited by thermal radiation from such a blast, This shelter has adequate ataength so that cats can be driven or potked over tin nommal use without damage, Anyona contemplating an wndeegroond shelter should consider the posility of sigh watar SESE tabla or ground water seepage, Por the DFPA shelter, «joint syetem was designed utilizing special mel, slam fibcr tape, and liquid Thiokol. Tis system was laboratory-tested under a 10 foot bead of er. Thon, in be sbeolutely cartain, an Underground Shelter was fabricated and installed —in- tenfonaly in an area of extromely high water table. In use, the shelbr has bean subjected to « 7 foot head of water, with no leakage, Outtiggens were incorporsted in the design to prevent the sholier rom “floating” out of its excavation, m The ptototypé cheer includes approximately 6 equate fot of vable arn adoguate for a masimnu ot sx parsons yftffifyhy scoring to 0... research findings. This shclter oan easily he expanded by inserting ditional 4 foot panels. 1 Underground sheltors axe not normally dual-uee structures, the exoeption being the case where the shelter ia installed adjacent to the basament ia new home conutiuction. Then itis as ufiiteran a» x basement shelier In some areas of the county, this shelter could be ured as a tomado seeped tan area treme at - cellar. a CONSTRUCTION —This sheltar was designed as simply as possible, using a minimam of material sires and types Only 8 foot lengths of 28" Tumber and £98 sheets of ¥ Extrior type (GBH) Douglan fr plywood are required. For lasting protection agent wond destroying insects and fecay, both Tumber and plywood are pressure-treated with wood preservative under American Wood Preservars Association speci- feations. Government tests on wood treated with waterbame salts, expased in'the ground to saere decay and recite conditions, show a durability in excess cf 20 years. Et should be om- hasized that dip or brush treatments of preservative are not adequate for thisexpo- wes teeatnas YUE how tan gest raga en re Jenkage ut tho nail holes. ‘The DFPA (Gif) Underground Shelia has been pana so that it eon be readily mase-produced. Thus, focal Plywood Fahricator Service firma, Lu-Ra-Co preiah or pre-cut home manufacturers, or other specialty manufsctonens, may add family fll- cout shelters to their products. Ox, they can he shop-buit by carpentar contractors, Detailed shop drawings for this shelter sre availble for fifty cents from the Douglas Fir Plywood Association, 1119 “A” Street, Twooma 2, Washington, ‘This shelter may be beyond the ability of all bot the more ambitious “do-it-vounaelfer” a INSTALLATION — Installation of the shelter ie « simple “Oneshot” operation. An excavation contractor or septic tank intallar can ‘cing the shelter, slready set up, in the ste, exeavate, wer the shelter into placa, and hack- fil Or the panels can be assembled hy 2 contractor in the excavated bole. a COST — Tn-place costs for the underground shelter will vary because af different Iahor rates; also, soll and site conditions affect excavating casts, Howeves, hased an experience with the prototype, an inplace cost of $1400:51500, inchiding forced-air ventilation, may he considered for a contractor instalation. = A POSSIBLE VARTATION — In some instance, where it may not be prac- fieal to exeavate an 11 foot hole for an cnderground shelter it is till posible to have a maximum protection shelter by installing the Underground Shelter partially above ground, as illustrated in inset at top of page 18. This system offars blest and fire protection and ccmontielly the. same fallout protection as the underground instalation, with a minimum of excavation, lowering the inoplace cort hy perhaps $200, This enables a maxinmm protection shelter to be built where a rock strata lies close to the ground surface, or where ground water conditions mele excavating and waterproofing dificult. "SIP DFPA FIR PLYWOOD BASEMENT SHELTER PERFORMANCE — This shelter, iustrated and detaled on pages 21 and 22 (fold-out) was designed to provide substantial falowt protection at low cost, = Basements in themselves offer some protection, Assuming frame house construction with brick veneer walls and a fully excavated Iernent, the plywood Basement Shelter has a caleulated protection factor of about 200 £@y. (G..D, Calagory ©). This would give abet 20 timesthe protection ofthe basement itelt (p10- vection factor approximately 10). With this sider many lives would be saved even in the areas of hhesvistflloul, = The sue Busement Shelter builtin the below-ground comer ofa daslightbase- nent with lwo wells above ground bu x euleulated protection factor of about 156, This offers 30 times the protection uf this huwerment ilelf (protection factor approximately 5). m Structurally, the shelter is design Wo withstand eevere earthquake loadings and, of course, the impavod dead lose. It does noc have the ast and fir resistence of the DFP Underground Shelter. An ordiuary frame roe cond comequenty ts bartentshlier) would probably “weatha" tw blast of a 20 megaton explosion centered 15 miles or more away. Resistance of the house itself to conflagration within this area would ke problematice, It is doubtful if the sbelter would be usable itthehouseis destroyed. m The plywood Basement Shelter can ke considered a basement improver samt peck Duslunge ofa besemest sete i casly weno. Tt on double ara storage ar, ‘a:photography darkroom, 2] avworkehop, ABBE 4 yoom for other hobbies, or wk» fe} for dad. It whe emphasized, = ‘the room ia primanily a fall. out shelter, £0 that unessential equipment should be easily and quickly removable. m Another advantage of the basement shelter is that storage epace outside of the shelter can be utilized. Toms for the “long pull” can be stored there, They can bo brought into the halter wben docroase in ontside radioactivity permits brit emergence, rrobably after 48 hours of 20, CONSTRUCTION —"The Douglas fir plywood Betemant, Shelter is tailor-made for the do- ityoureler, 1 tiies concrete Hocke ag) for sticking, laid dry, and securely held inplace with Intetior type (8) Douglas fr plywand panels. The plywood fecing of both sides of the block provides a suitable paint a af ses or the neta benuty of ee mond Racks, hanger, and builtins cin be ensily fastened or anchored to the plywood wall surface, Plywood waste from any TIFPA shelter can readily be used in making built-ins, w Ageia in constructing the basement sheltar, a minimum of different izes and types of materials are needed. In thia cane, the plywood will be permanent without preservative treatment. Bocause of tho verintion among harement shapes and size, the plan details on pages 21-22 nay not apply in all casen. Like the DFPA Underground Shelter, this dso provides the minimum space suggested by 0.0.1. for occupancy by attr six persone. If more space is desired, the & 94° distance can be expanded without major change in the strachue. Or, the © 54° distance ean he increased to, 11" (" with 2x8 joist; and toi 0 with 2x0 jist, = COST — Assuming a sheltor similar in design and size to the basi plan on pages 21:2, the cost of materials won be sant 5250, Om a Ba, dotnet baa, the cost of she DFPA, Basement Shelter is among the lowest quoted for any design, a PLANNING — It basement shelter is omtemplated, earehal planning vill resut in maximum protection and convenionce, and lowest cost. An araa of at last 10 square feet per occupant should be provided. ‘Tho shelter shamld bo placed in a comer with ful soil height outside, and away from ‘windows. If e window nocawatily falls in tha shalter, it should be protoctad with sandbegs, books, ox concrete blak. Planter hoxat may also be used for adttional protection. The hot water [) tank shonld bo easily reachod from the shelter, a6 this is an excellant source of good wBISE. The entrance should be accessible to other parts ofthe house end to other lase- mont rooms to he used when radioactivity decreases. Proximity to outdoor entrance is dosir- ble in case an emetgeney requires evacuntion. Ht headroom available dictates fling between ‘existing joists, reas withont heat ducts or other obstructions should be selected. “SP” DFPA ABOVE-GROUND FIR PLYWOOD SHELTER PERFORMANCE- The DFPA Above-Gronnd Shelter is ilustrated on foldout pages 25 and 28, "hi hater ofoscxclet fallout SAPS protectin, Hs protectin IBM too of ote, 400s intemadiate between the DFPA Rawient Shelter and the Underpond Sle. As de eated by Table on page 13, most lives would he raved by this shelter, even in heavy fallout. m An objection to abnve-grond amily shelters is that they ean, and frequently do, detract. fspm the uppraruner of the property. This is nol the ease with the DFPA Above-Ground Shlier, Atbuntive appenanee plywood grades, auch as Texture One-Eleven, can be applied 1a te out side walls, and finished to suit. As illustrated at bottom of page, this shelter could he built in cokiaton ith «capo and Wf esta stage seu © Ap, apecnalel 64 square fect of livable ares is provided; however, the above-ground shelter can be expanded ‘without major structural change by lengthening the 16 foot sides. » COl sTRUCTION This shelter as been designe ith minim of concrete wos, and with untreated Exterior type Douglas fir plywood and tumber. It can be built on the site by a carpenter con- scr asia), AY cpatew gatas, psy id ede potion tl, could headeit. Itt forhorey without heserent (rot U.S. homes ofr gester Fallout protction than tho Bement Shel ofr T would have Bl ad fe estan ates equal to that of tho Fascment Sheer, Adltone fo resistence can be eset by prictng the utside while, Tets have shonm ht white print api lo the exter als sept hes an thu alto prevent re. The walls and vot wore dined to eam an asesned snow los (30 ps?) fn adtin t th dan Toad of the anasel Al. 8 COST="The sateril cost for this sheller would be approxinmately $800, depending upan Toeaf prive write ons and on ch males ued for the ous Thus if ly tha thi shelton could be contact for aban $1.8, “SBP