General Background and Product Information

In today’s world of terrorism and nuclear proliferation, many people rightly worry about a nuclear event. Most people, however, are confused by how a nuclear event could occur and how to mitigate the damage. Some background:

1.  A nuclear event occurs when there is an uncontrolled release of radioactive material.

2.  Radiation will typically occur when atoms of certain basic elemental material begin a process of change in their atomic structure. Typically these elemental materials come from the Transition Metal Group (eg.Cobalt, Cesium, Strontium, Thallium) or the Actinide Metal Group (eg.Uranium, Plutonium, Technetium, Radium).

3.  Radiation can be very dangerous because over time it can destroy various surfaces and any living cell. It can cause cancer over a long-term period depending on the strength of the radiation, the total time of exposure and the distance from the source of the radiation.

4.  The book Dirty Bomb by Gilbert King (Penguin Group Publishing) is typical of the abundant new literature on nuclear devices. The book makes many important points.

A “Dirty Bomb” is also known as a “Radiological Dispersal Device” (RDD). It is, in essence, as simple device as possible, and very cheap by most standards. Essentially “it is a conventional explosive such as dynamite that has been packed with radioactive material, which scatters when the bomb goes off. A dirty bomb kills or injures through the initial blast of the conventional explosive and by airborne radiation and contamination,” reported the Council on Foreign Relations”. (p.20)

The effects of radiation are not immediate and may go undetected for years. But long-term effects might be radiation sickness, high rates of cancer, high infant mortality, and sickness brought on by a compromised immune system. (p.35).

“Radiological attacks constitute a credible threat. Radioactive materials that could be used for such attacks are stored in thousands of facilities around the US, many of which may not be adequately protected against theft by determined terrorists,” Henry Kelley testified before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 6, 2002. (p.36).

“Radioactive materials, dispersed in the air, could contaminate up to several city blocks, creating fear and possible panic and requiring costly cleanup”. (p.37) US Regulatory Commission.

5.  It is most likely that a nuclear event will involve the Transition Metal Group since these metals are more readily available to terrorists and others. It is important to be prepared for other types of events as well.

6.  Since radiation is a result of changing atomic structure, the basic building blocks of all things, radiation can never be totally eliminated or “killed”. It is always present to some extent. After a nuclear event, the best that can be done is to attempt to remove as much radioactive material as possible from a surface or from human skin. The sooner the mitigation and decontamination is attempted, the better.

RDS products have been shown in laboratory testing and in real world applications to significantly remove radioactive material from surfaces. The products perform to levels that scientists refer to as “high decontamination factors”. This means that, in many cases, almost all of the radioactive material can be removed using our products.

No product, however, will completely decontaminate all surfaces. The level of decontamination will be affected by the weather conditions and other factors in the area of use and by the exposure to recontamination. For example, in the event of radioactive dust in a dirty bomb attack, decontaminated areas may become recontaminated quickly if the surface areas (including yourself) are not quickly secured. Also, porous surfaces are difficult to decontaminate to high decontamination levels. The relative strength of the radioactive material and the time length of exposure will also affect the ability to decontaminate.

Be aware that after you complete surface decontamination, any items you used, such as gloves and rad-wipes, will be contaminated. These must be disposed of as radioactive waste (along with any contaminated clothing) as per the instructions in our Instructions for Use.

7.  RDS’ patent-pending solutions are revolutionary because they act to dislocate or “lift” radioactive ions from most non-porous surfaces into the water-based solutions. The wipes clean the surface and the radioactive material is transferred onto the wipes for rad-waste disposal. As noted previously, be aware that after you complete surface decontamination, any items you used such as gloves and rad-wipes will be contaminated. These must be disposed of as radioactive waste (along with any contaminated clothing) as per the instructions in our Instructions for Use.

8.  Damage to the human body and organs from radiation are a function of Energy (how powerful the radioactive material is) and distance away from the source. After decontamination, move the radioactive material (wipes, gloves, clothing, etc) that you have put into the labeled trash bag as far away from you as possible and alert the proper authorities for removal.

9.  Please carefully review all other information in this manual including supplemental information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). more information