Have you given much thought to how your location stacks up with regards to the prevailing winds in your area (both surface, and winds aloft)? An interesting article on AP World 's site today interviews the meterologists that helped guide the Breitling Orbiter - 3 (Around-the-world balloon team) on their successful voyage. They give much credit to studies of the winds following the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. How the nuclear radiation was spread by upper atmospheric winds across Europe I believe has great Y2K relevance in evaluating the safety of the locations we plan to ride this thing out! Proximity to Chemical plants, rail lines and possible derailments, as well as nuclear plants, and storage facilities all need to be considered. A young, attractive Russian mother is a teller at our local bank. When you conduct a transaction you can often see the rash and blisters on the top of her hands. I know the family, and I know that these symptoms first appeared following the Chernobyl disaster. She was downwind and almost 500 miles from the site. She expects cancer will strike early like so many of her countymen surrounding the plant. I pay this risk great attention, because I was almost aloft in a hot air balloon in close proximity to Three Mile Island the morning of the first release during that near catastrophe. Instinct or something kept us on the ground that day. Hopefully the luck will hold! And, for us all in selecting where to ride this thing out!

-- John (JBHager@webtv.net), March 23, 1999

Answers

Being splat between Davis Besse and Perry, unless we get a pure North wind everybody in Cleveburg will get a suntan should something serious happen.

C

-- Chuck, a night driver (reinzoo@en.com), March 23, 1999.

Yes, I'll be downwind of Chicago should it ever get nuked. Also close to but not as badly close to Illinois nuclear plants. I worried about it a lot for a couple of days and then decided you just cannot worry about everything. There is no "perfect" place and you have to work within your own financial means.

All I can say is if it turns out to be nuclear-please God , let it be fast !

I haven't researched this in depth, but a quick survey shows there are nuclear plants in many states, nuclear dumps that need repairs in many states,lots of areas over fault lines, areas subject to flooding,etc.

Would like to see some input here on what you have found to be a perfect area.

-- Sue (deco100@aol.com), March 23, 1999.

I can't vouch for its accuracy, but this site lets you see the fallout pattern of a nuclear blast on the city of your choice. Have fun.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/amex/bomb/sfeature/blastmap.html

-- David Binder (dbinder@sympatico.ca), March 23, 1999.

Nothing *horrible*. 120 miles east-northeast of Chicago. 25 miles northeast of a mid size city. One very large pharmaceutical company, a few small specialty chemical facilities, various sized manufacturing companies.

It's awful hard to be upwind from everything.........

-- Jon Williamson (pssomerville@sprintmail.com), March 23, 1999.

Also on the PBS site where the "blast map" is (wow, that was interesting - thanks for the link)a link at the bottom of the page called "bunker" is also interesting.

SNIP
Tour The Greenbrier Bunker During the Cold War the United States government maintained a top-secret underground bunker in the mountains of West Virginia. Built under The Greenbrier, a luxurious Southern resort, the facility was designed to house the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in case of nuclear attack. Compromised by an investigative reporter in 1993, the bunker is now open to the public.

end SNIP

It is interesting that the government had been able to "hide it" , rather keep it top secret for so long.

Mr. K
***wondering where the new one is***

-- Mr. Kennedy (surprised@the.info), March 23, 1999.

We live downwind from a nuclear plant built in the 1960's.I was told that its operating system system was so old that it pre-dated computers.As it has been scheduled for closure not much updating had taken place.In consequence I was assured that it was one of the safest in the UK.I didn't know whether to laugh or panic !

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), March 23, 1999.

Mr. K.

Look up Suwanee or Suwannee on the web for possible new site.

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@nevia.net), March 23, 1999.