There's a bit of the suicide mentality which seems to come into play - and when we were talking about a full US-Soviet nuclear war - that was sort of acceptable.

However today, a hit reactor, a dirty bomb, a small nuke - ARE survivable, in fact only a relatively small area will be affected. Why doom citizens because of outdated thinking? We are the richest nation on earth - surely we can afford shelters.

Heck, Saddam has tons of bunkers: under his palaces, under the heart of the city and in remote places. However his people are vulnerable. Why should we imitate Iraq and leave our people vulnerable?

A fallout shelter may seem apocalyptic to the neighbors. However, if one's putting in a new pool or something - one might just want to have the bulldozer dig up a patch in the corner for an "underground cabana". ;-)

If you're having steel work and cement work done anyway - you can create a real clean looking strong shelter for another 5-7 grand or so, maybe less.

Worst case scenario you get a cool storage place for your garden tools or a subterranean guest room. ;-)

I don't think the folks buying or building shelters these days are the same ones doing so just five years ago. Now its almost like getting bars for the windows or installing a security system or a smoke alarm. It's just a precaution.

Thanks for the links,

SDAI-Tech1