VENTILATION TESTS OF FALLOUT SHELTER SPACES IN NEW YORK CITY AND VICINITY

Natural and forced ventilation tests were conducted during 1964 at eight shelter sites. Included were three summer tests in high-rise building core areas two summer tests in public school corridors and basements one summer test in a home basement one summer test in a buried community shelter one winter test in a buried private shelter. Using electro- mechanical Simocs to simulate shelter occupancy, the resulting physical environment was measured and analyzed. Manual ventilation devices and water- cooled heat exchangers were developed and tested to determine their ability to provide a more tolerable shelter environment. Formulas for predicting shelter ventilation and temperatures are discussed. Methods for improving ventilation rate are suggested. The report concludes that effective temperature ET in naturally ventilated above-ground shelters loading one person10 sq. ft. will not exceed 85F with outside air at N.Y.C. 15 summer design level. In naturally ventilated buried or semi-buried shelters one person10 sq. ft., ET may exceed 85F at same design level. During normal winter weather Conn., naturally ventilated underground shelters with efficient heat sinks will have uncomfortably low ET 40F-50F, if loaded with fewer than one person10 sq. ft. Radiant reflective insulating paper is found to increase ET by 10-15F while preserving the heat sink.