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Comment by currenciessfe | Hacker News Reader

Do you also carry an N95? A Tyvek suit would also help.

I have a packet of KN94 in my pack (more for "required for compliance for covid" randomly happening, but also for this), and some gloves (nitrile 2x and 1x mechanicswear for shooting/climbing/hot/cold). Tyvek suit would be more hassle to carry vs. the benefit than I'm willing to do.

You can pack it quite small if you never tried, in the size of an average book, maybe less if you vacuum pack it.

Yeah, bigger than I'd want to carry in the backpack I carry everywhere which also contains 1-2 laptops, trauma kit, etc. I'd just sacrifice whatever clothing was exposed when it happened. There's plenty of other clothing in the world.

It looks like there are grades of Tyvek - similar to masks? - what's the min level you'd recommend?

For preventing the radioactive fallout from touching you and remaining there any level is appropriate since the fallout is in the form of dust or rain which can't pass through these suits.

Obviously radiation will pass through it, for protection against that you need lead based suits.

Yeah. Have a few in my backpack, one in the car, a whole bunch at home. I get that you wouldn't have one 3 years ago but most people have N95 nowadays, even if it's just leftover.

Most of the N95s are in government storage, slowly turning brown.

Or, you know, in stock at your local HomeDepot https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-9205-N95-Aura-Particulate-Dis...

Yes, now. Try that a year ago.

And there’s still big piles around in warehouses, turning brown and rubber straps deteriorating.

I don't understand why you seem to think that gov't stockpiles don't end up in the hands of government employees and medical professionals as they are intended to, or that the storage conditions of N95 by the gov't is any less suitable than commercial warehouses?

Unless these N95s are being stored in a bog, I have a hard time understanding how they're "turning brown" and "deteriorating" in the span of two years.

Such unlikely claims would need a source.

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