If nuclear weapons are used, a “dirty bomb” is detonated, or a nuclear power plant explodes, the main rule remains unchanged: when you hear the siren, go to a shelter.

Turn on the radio, television, or internet to receive alerts about the threat and further instructions.

Operational information will be provided by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the General Staff, the police, or local authorities on their official websites or social media pages, or through official Viber or Telegram channels. If the internet connection is unstable, you can use lightweight versions of social media apps such as Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite.

The main criterion when choosing shelter is whether you can reach it within minutes. If there is no specially equipped shelter nearby, the best option is a basement or the central part of a large concrete building with as few windows and doors as possible. See the illustrations for the safest parts of a building in the event of a nuclear attack.

If your child is at an educational institution when a nuclear explosion occurs, they must stay there in the shelter with the other children.

Even if the school or kindergarten is within a five-minute walk from home, you should not leave your shelter to collect your child. This would put you at risk — you could be exposed to radiation outdoors — and would also endanger your child, the other children, and the teachers or caregivers in the shelter.

According to safety standards, shelter rooms must be sealed from the inside to prevent harmful substances from entering from outside. Parents arriving from outdoors may carry radioactive dust on their clothing, or it may enter the room with the air where the children are sheltering.

So going outside means putting not only yourself at risk, but also the children and the staff. In the event of a release accident or a nuclear explosion, any building is safer than being outdoors.

To ensure the school or kindergarten is prepared for any scenario, we recommend checking in advance that the shelter there will protect your child from radiation in the event of a nuclear explosion — and making sure your child is also prepared for such a scenario.

To do this, you need to:

• 1. Make sure that the teachers, caregivers, and school or kindergarten administration have an action plan in case of a nuclear explosion. They must act according to the general rules for this type of emergency. The rules are here.
• . If the administration has not informed you about this, agree in advance with the other parents and the teacher that in the event of a nuclear explosion, the shelter doors where the children are staying will not be opened until official permission is given by the authorities.

This means it will not be possible to collect your child before official announcements confirm the danger has passed. Explain to all parties that opening the shelter door unnecessarily and letting in parents arriving from outdoors will endanger the children.

• Make sure the shelter is adapted for use in conditions of nuclear danger. Does the school administration have the relevant documents and inspection reports from supervisory authorities confirming that the shelter is suitable? There should also be a State Emergency Service report confirming that the premises are in satisfactory sanitary and fire-safety condition.

Some institutions have special anti-radiation shelters or more reliable hermetically sealed shelters. However, if such shelters are not available, it is permitted to use basic shelters, provided they meet the following requirements, which you can verify yourself:

• It is located in a basement, underground room, semi-basement, or on the first floor, in the main school building or no more than 100 meters from it, with enclosing building structures. There must be no tanks containing hazardous chemicals, flammable, combustible, or explosive substances nearby, and no water supply or sewage mains nearby.
• The shelter is supplied with electricity, artificial lighting, water supply, and sewage systems. If these are absent, there must be space to install portable tanks.
• There must be no openings in the walls other than doors. If there are any, they must be sealed with sandbags, soil, concrete blocks, or bricks.
• The shelter must have at least two evacuation exits. For shelters with a capacity of up to 50 people, one exit is permitted.
• No water, sewage, or other mains should run through the shelter.
• Entrances must be fitted with reinforced doors made of non-combustible materials — metal, or wood lined with sheet metal — or protective screens made of stone, brick, or reinforced concrete, to a height of at least 1.7 meters.
• The shelter must have ventilation.
• The shelter capacity must be at least 1 square meter per person.

Since the shelter should be designed for children to remain there for at least 48 hours, check whether it contains the items that the educational institution’s administration must provide:

• places to sit or lie down: chairs, benches, beds, gym mats, or sleeping mats;
• warm blankets or sleeping bags;
• plastic bags;
• reinforced adhesive tape for sealing the room;
• cloths and wet wipes;
• water for cleaning the body, objects, and surfaces of radioactive dust;
• drinking water at a rate of 2 liters per person per day;
• a supply of canned and freeze-dried food;
• food containers;
• tightly sealed waste tanks for buildings not connected to sewage;
• backup artificial lighting, such as flashlights, candles, or kerosene lamps;
• fire extinguishers;
• a first aid kit with emergency medical supplies;
• a supply of potassium iodide tablets for the maximum planned number of children and staff in the shelter:
  • infants from birth to 1 month — 16 mg per person;
  • children from 1 month to 3 years — 32 mg;
  • children from 3 to 12 years — 62.5 mg per person;
  • adolescents from 12 to 18 years, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and adults up to 40 years — 125 mg per person.
  • Adults over 40 usually do not need iodine prophylaxis. The rules for iodine prophylaxis are here;
• FFP2 and FFP3 respirators based on the maximum number of children the shelter can accommodate;
• means of communication and alerting: a telephone, a battery-powered radio with shortwave and medium-wave bands in case there is no power or communications, internet access, and preferably Wi-Fi devices;
• tools: pointed and flat shovels, crowbars, axes, saws, hacksaws, and so on.

If not all these items are available, work with the other parents to ensure they are purchased, or find and provide them yourselves.

• Pack an emergency backpack for your child. It should contain: a bottle of clean water; nutritious bars or snacks in sealed packaging; a note from the parents with the child’s full name and the contact details of parents and close relatives, including names, phone numbers, and addresses; a phone if possible, along with a charger and power bank; an individual supply of any necessary medications; respirators for several days; a change of underwear and clothing; a sleeping bag, if the institution does not provide one; a favorite toy or personal item; and other items according to the child’s age, such as diapers or baby food.

Important! To avoid burdening your child with heavy items every time they go to school or kindergarten, arrange with the administration or the teacher or caregiver for these items to be stored at the institution, in a location where they can be quickly accessed during an air raid alert.

• Be sure to inform the school or kindergarten medical worker, the teachers or caregivers, or the administration if your child has a thyroid disorder or an allergy to potassium iodide. They may need iodine prophylaxis in the shelter, but only after an official instruction from the State Emergency Service or the authorities confirming that it is necessary.
• Have a conversation with your child about the fact that in the event of a nuclear threat, they will stay in a shelter with other children for a period of time. Do not frighten the child, but do not minimize the situation either. Explain that this is important in order to wait out the danger, and reassure them that as soon as the danger is over, the whole family will be together again.
• It is also important to discuss this scenario with all members of your family.

If you are not certain that your child will be safe in the educational institution’s shelter in the event of a nuclear explosion, it is your decision whether your child should continue in-person learning while this threat exists.

Depending on the situation, local self-government bodies or the institution’s administration may decide to temporarily suspend in-person learning at your school.

The recommendations were developed based on the experience and instructions of Ukraine following the accident at the Chernobyl NPP (1986), by the Center for Strategic Communications together with the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety, and drawing on information from open sources: the State Emergency Service, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and the Patrol Police of Ukraine.

Important! Iodine prophylaxis may only be carried out after an official announcement that it is necessary.

The need to take a stable iodine preparation — potassium iodide — may arise both after an accident at a nuclear power plant and after a nuclear explosion. However, it is justified only when the radiation is caused by radioactive iodine. In other cases, including the use of “dirty bombs,” taking iodine preparations is prohibited and may cause irreparable harm to the body.

Adults over 40 and people with thyroid disorders usually do not need iodine prophylaxis.

Iodine prophylaxis consists of a single dose of potassium iodide tablets. A second dose is recommended only in case of prolonged exposure lasting more than 24 hours, repeated exposure, or if the person has consumed contaminated food or water.

Dosage of potassium iodide tablets:

• infants from birth to 1 month — 16 mg;
• children from 1 month to 3 years — 32 mg;
• children from 3 to 12 years — 62.5 mg;
• adolescents from 12 to 18 years, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and adults up to 40 years — 125 mg.

For more about iodine prophylaxis during a nuclear threat, see this video.

The use of “dirty bombs” by Russia during the war cannot be ruled out. These bombs are also called “terrorists’ weapons.” Since they are a tool of intimidation, they may be used in areas where there are no active hostilities and where population density is high.

A “dirty bomb” is a mixture of explosives — for example, dynamite — and radioactive substances. Another name for such a bomb is a radiological dispersal device, or RDD.

It should not be confused with nuclear weapons. A “dirty bomb” cannot create a nuclear explosion, although it can spread radioactive contamination across relatively small areas and limited distances. The main danger of a “dirty bomb” is the blast itself, which can kill or injure people.

Those at the epicenter of the explosion are the first to be exposed to radiation. At greater distances from the blast site, danger only arises if people inhale dust, eat contaminated food, or drink contaminated water.

The rules for protection in the event of a “dirty bomb” are therefore the same as during a radiation accident at a nuclear power plant: go to shelter, stay in shelter, and follow further instructions from the authorities, the State Emergency Service, or the police. More details are here.