Well-packaged food can be removed from containers, or the containers carefully dusted or washed. Raw fruit and vegetables can be peeled and eaten, but food not wrapped in any manner should be bagged or buried. Most plastic water bottles can take about 15 to 30 minutes of intense irradiation before becoming lethal.

The good news is, most victims of radiation sickness who receive less than 200 rads will recover. Between 200-1000 rads, the situation becomes more precarious but still survivable. From 1000 to 5000 rads, people will exhibit symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, disorientation, low blood pressure, extremely high temperature, or visible radiation burns on the skin which result in loss of skin. These can vary from a sunburned look to actual tissue damage to, and beneath, the epidermis. The sooner the symptoms appear, the larger the dose of radiation. If the symptoms begin within 30 minutes of exposure, the dose is likely fatal. If they occur several hours after exposure and in the absence of the radiation burns described above, they can mean either a low dose of radiation or a psychologically driven reaction to the stress of the event.

If you're far-sighted, you'll stash a supply of potassium iodide against this day. A small dose (130 mg.) taken 1/2 hour before or immediately after exposure can protect the thyroid gland by reducing radiation absorption to about 1 percent (of the original dose). Many emergency technicians advise against this unless you know the nature of the radiation, but others argue that survivors of an atomic blast are unlikely to know the specific isotope of plutonium or uranium (the two common components of nuclear weapons) for weeks or months after exposure. I favor having it, and taking one tablet ASAP, and one every 24 hours, although not if you have a known allergy to iodine, as in the case of CT contrast dye, or if you have a goiter, Graves' disease or autoimmune thyroiditis. Take the medicine for no more than 10 days, and keep the bottle tightly sealed.

If you're lucky enough to have adequate amounts of water, you can detoxify the effects of radiation with baths of diluted Clorox (one cup per tub of very hot water), soaking as long as possible and not rinsing afterward. You can also use the bleach to purify water supplies of pollutants, though not of radiation. Epsom salts will also work in a bath, though less effectively. Bentonite clay, used either externally as a mud-pack, or taken internally (diluted in water) can help detoxify, provided the clay is not high in aluminum content. This works because clays typically bind to heavy metals. You can also use charcoal, though obviously not briquettes treated with flammable agents. Ground charcoal as used in fish-tank filters is acceptable. You can also use seaweed (packs or internally), or mix pectin in water and drink it. I have even see a recipe for domestic pets that calls for water, powdered kelp, apple cider, aloe vera juice, Brewer’s yeast, ground rosemary and vitamin E.

In the meantime, a company called Protectan is developing a pill in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Defense that promises to prevent radiation sickness. This pill can reportedly be taken with equal effect before or after radiation exposure. At $200 a pop, it should enable members of the government and other elite to survive long enough to launch a retaliatory strike at the attackers, further irradiating the earth's atmosphere by contaminating globe-circling winds with the very isotopes we, in our shelters, are trying to avoid.

I hope we never live to see this day, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. Take the time and money to prepare yourselves and your families against this very real possibility. Have food and water supplies ready and emergency phone numbers, a meeting location and a draft plan of action posted in a logical spot in your home. For more information on radiation protection measures, visit the CDC's website, or respond to this post with ideas of your own. The more we know, the better our likelihood of survival.

Disclosure: I don't own Protectan stock.