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Many potential terrorist attacks could send tiny microscopic "junk" into the air. For example, an explosion may release very fine debris that can cause lung damage. A biological attack may release germs that can make you sick if inhaled or absorbed through open cuts. Many of these agents can only hurt you if they get into your body, so think about creating a barrier between yourself and any contamination.
Nose and Mouth Protection
Face masks or dense-weave cotton material, that snugly covers your
nose and mouth and is specifically fit for each member of the family.
Do whatever you can to make the best fit possible for children.
Be prepared to improvise with what you have on hand to protect your nose, mouth,
eyes and cuts in your skin. Anything that fits snugly over your nose and mouth,
including any dense-weave cotton material, can help filter contaminants in an
emergency. It is very important that most of the air you breathe comes through
the mask or cloth, not around it. Do whatever you can to make the best fit
possible for children. There are also a variety of face masks readily available
in hardware stores that are rated based on how small a particle they can filter
in an industrial setting.
Given the different types of attacks that could occur, there is not one solution
for masking. For instance, simple cloth face masks can filter some of the
airborne "junk" or germs you might breathe into your body, but will probably not
protect you from chemical gases. Still, something over your nose and
mouth in an emergency is better than nothing. Limiting how much "junk"
gets into your body may impact whether or not you get sick or develop disease.
Other Barriers
There are circumstances when staying put and creating a barrier between
yourself and potentially contaminated air outside, a process known as
"shelter-in-place," is a matter of survival. You can use these things
to tape up windows, doors and air vents if you need to seal off a room from
outside contamination. Consider precutting and labeling these materials.
Anything you can do in advance will save time when it counts.
Use available information to assess the situation. If you see
large amounts of debris in the air, or if local authorities say the air is badly
contaminated, you can use these things to tape up windows, doors and air vents
if you need to seal off a room. Read more:
Deciding to
Stay or Go.
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filtration) Filter Fans
Once you have sealed a room with plastic sheeting and duct tape you may have
created a better barrier between you and any contaminants that may be outside.
However, no seal is perfect and some leakage is likely. In addition to which,
you may find yourself in a space that is already contaminated to some degree.
Consider a portable air purifier, with a HEPA filter,
to help remove contaminants from the room where you are sheltering. These highly
efficient filters have small sieves that can capture very tiny particles,
including some biological agents. Once trapped within a HEPA filter contaminants
cannot get into your body and make you sick. While these filters are excellent
at filtering dander, dust, molds, smoke, biological agents and other
contaminants, they will not stop chemical gases.
Some people, particularly those with severe allergies and asthma, use HEPA
filters in masks, portable air purifiers as well as in larger home or industrial
models to continuously filter the air.