''Fallout Protection: What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack'' was an official

United States federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

booklet released in December 1961 by the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

and the

Office of Civil Defense The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) was an agency of the United States Department of Defense from 1961–64. It replaced the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization. The organization was renamed the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency on May 5, 197 ...

. The first page of the book is a note from then- U.S. Secretary of Defense

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

explaining that the booklet is the result of the first task he was given when he assumed responsibility for the Federal Civil Defense Program in August 1961. The task, assigned by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

, was to "give the American people the facts they need to know about the dangers of a thermonuclear attack and what they can do to protect themselves."

Subject matter

Much more straightforward about the dangers of atomic weapons than ''

Survival Under Atomic Attack ''Survival Under Atomic Attack'' was the title of an official United States government booklet released by the Executive Office of the President, the National Security Resources Board (document 130), and the Civil Defense Office. Released at t ...

'', and published in the era of the hydrogen bomb and the ICBM, the book first explains general information and hazards of nuclear weapons,

fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

and radiation. Second, it covers community

fallout shelters A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designated to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War. Duri ...

, improvised fallout shelters and supplies that one ought to have ready in case of a nuclear attack. There is a brief section outlining "emergency housekeeping" which covers water and food conservation and first aid for the time spent in the shelter. Last, the booklet mentions recovery and how to clean up the fallout.

External links

''Fallout Protection'' Booklet History''Fallout Protection''
in various formats from the Internet Archive {{italic title 1961 books Disaster preparedness in the United States Publications of the United States government Cold War history of the United States Nuclear warfare Books about nuclear issues Cold War documents United States civil defense Nuclear fallout

Subject matter

See also

External links