We have people who come here from time to time and point geiger counters around to prove that the nuke plant is contaminating the world, but when asked by whom it was calibrated and how recently, they get a blank look on their faces.

Old civil defense sites are still worth knowing about because of the buildings themselves, which are very sturdy, if old. If it comes down to it, people can bring their own supplies, if they know how much and for how long.

When we built the new library, they knocked down a bank on the site that was built in the late '50s. (The floor was not suitable for large static load of book stacks, so renovation was impractical.) It had been a civil defense site, and was still labelled as such, but the shelter area was like the catacombs. Little tunnels everywhere. When I took the building tour during the evaluation period, I had a 5-year-old with me who delighted in running off to explore the tunnels. Fortunately, we were all keeping an eye on her. I hadn't thought to bring the leash.

It still had some of the supplies down there -- from 1964. I wouldn't have drunk that water for anything.