COMPLETELY SELF-CONTAINED PROTECTION FROM   ·Structural Fiberglass Elliptical Caterpillar ·Tornadoes ·Air Filtration System ·Nuclear Weapons ·Toilet, Shower and Septic System ·Chemical Weapons/Accidents ·Battery Operated ·Nuclear Power Plant Accidents ·Decontamination ·Nuclear/Chemical Terrorism ·Communications System ·Power Plant Failures ·Lighting ·Forest Fires and Famines

CAT 25 External Drawing

CAT 25 Internal Drawing

 

THE CAT 25 DISASTER SHELTER

The CAT 25 is a totally self-contained 40-150 psi structural fiberglass multiple elliptical torrid underground disaster shelter designed to protect 25 adults for long periods or 50 people for short durations such as during tornadoes. The product was specifically designed and developed to protect people during and after disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, storms, forest fires, power failures, nuclear power plant accidents, nuclear/chemical terrorism, and full-scale protracted nuclear, chemical and biological war. A tremendous effort has been made to think of every conceivable incident that shelterists could face in the CAT 25 shelter. Many geometrical shapes were experimented with before finalizing the CAT 25. The CAT 25 includes the fiberglass toroidal structure, fiberglass entranceway, fiberglass/composite hatch, MCAS air filtration system for nuclear-biological-chemical environments, septic system, fiberglass water tank, fiberglass flooring, fiberglass counter, fiberglass shower walls, fiberglass battery housings, two toilets, Forty 12- volt deep cycle batteries, air blower, gray water tanks, all wiring, and all plumbing, etc. The CAT 25 requires approximately 8 man-hours hours to connect the entranceway, water tanks, and septic tank.

 

DESIGN

The CAT 25 is a third generation disaster shelter designed and developed by Walton W. McCarthy, M.E., author of PRINCIPLES of PROTECTION, U.S. Handbook of NBC Weapon Fundamentals and Shelter Engineering Standards, Fifth Edition, 2002, which is the United State’s bible on shelter engineering. He is the principle engineer of RADIUS ENGINEERING INC., with over 29 years experience design­ing “high- tech” disaster shelters. The book is dis­tributed by The American Civil Defense Associa­tion (TACDA) in Starke , Florida, and is known in the industry as P.O.P. The CAT 25 was designed using CAD (computer aided drafting), CAE (computer aided engineer­ing), and FEAM (3-dimensional finite element analysis and modeling). A shelterist in the CAT 25 under heavy, direct effects from two 1-MT nuclear weapons has at least the same probability of survival (99.7%) as a person living and working in peace­time. The shape of the CAT 25 allows it to be a true pressure vessel for resistance to high external pressure. The CAT 25 shelter system is based on 20 years field experience with McCarthy’s successful P6, and P10 fiberglass underground shelters. The CAT 25 is easy to enter with a 45 degree sloped stairwell entranceway. The hatch at ground level of the CAT 25 is produced only in Class IV. The multiple toroid design allows the CAT 25 to bend during ground shock, very unlike a round or cylindrical tank.

ENTRANCEWAY

The CAT 25 has a 45 degree stairwell entranceway which also contains the MCAS air filtration system. The entranceway also contains an Emergency Escape System. In the event that heavy debris falls on the hatch cover and the radios are not able to bring help to clear the hatch, and the debris can not be burned off, emergency escape procedures can be implemented. The P10 uses a battery operated or a hand operated hydraulic pump to power a hydraulic cylinder to force the sliding hatch open.

 

SHELTER CONSTRUCTION

The shelter and entranceway are made of structural fiber­glass manufactured to underground storage tank standards of Underwriters Laboratory, American Society of Testing and Materials, and shelter engineering standards of PRINCIPLES of PRO­TECTION. Fiberglass was chosen as the optimum material because of its extremely high resiliency and corrosion resistance plus its ability to be shaped into a compoundly curved structure. The 40 psi (pounds per square inch) external pressure resistance, with no earth arching, is constant over 100 years and does not have to be de-rated like steel each passing year due to corrosion. Fiberglass also forms a complete vapor barrier which provides a dry atmosphere when placed below ground, and it has proven to be sound in the underground storage tank industries. In addition, one of the greatest characteristics of fiberglass is its ability to “remain intact” if overstressed. The inside of the shelter is smooth, curved, and white to create maximum brightness with minimal light. All of these facilities function without outside electricity through the use of 12-volt, deep-cycle batteries. The inside surface is easily cleaned with common detergents and is easily repaired.

 

 

 

LEACHING SEPTIC TANK

The CAT 25 comes with a 500 gallon fiberglass high pressure leaching septic tank with a gravity dish. The septic tank has a duration of 12 months with 25 people. It is easily pumped out with a manual septic pump from the ground surface by removing the septic tank access cover.

 

SHELTER FACILITIES

The CAT 25 contains 4206+ cubic feet (31,463 gal) with headroom from 7’-6” to 8’-8”. This allows for normal living and a very spacious feeling. There is ample light for reading anywhere in the shelter supplied by white 60,000 hour LED lights. Fresh filtered air is brought into the shelter by a three MCAS filtration units each having a 12-volt 40,000-hour air blower designed to operate 24 hours per day for approximately 30 days and supplies many times the breathing volume of air required by adults and results in a complete air change every 35 minutes. This system has the advantage of maintaining constant shelter temperature, constant shelter oxygen levels, constant shelter carbon dioxide levels, and constant shelter mois­ture levels, plus it prevents overheating which is common with manual air blowers in warm cli­mates. Exhausting of hot, moist, spent air inside the shelter is facilitated through air outlet manifolds in the shelter ceiling. This is the most efficient geometry for exhausting spent air, especially when resisting intruder assaults is a critical part of the hatch design. Forty 12-volt deep-cycle batteries are stored in a fiberglass battery box under the floor. The normal loss of battery power is approximately 1.5% per month. A photovoltaic panel (solar panel) can be used to maintain the batteries if desired. A 50-foot battery charg­ing cable can also be connected from the batteries in the shelter to the battery in a car to allow the car alternator to charge the batteries.

 

MCAS AIR FILTRATION

1.       Contaminated air enters the air intake hole on the elliptical hatch dome. It then travels around under the hatch dome where the air velocity slows allowing rain and heavy particles to fall out.

2.       Contaminated air then travels into the vertical pipe under the hatch dome and past the ball valve.

3.       The contaminated air then travels into the stainless steel micronic washable screen/pre-filter removing more of the heavier particles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.       The air then travels into the Gas Agent Test Housing where the air can be tested using the M256A chemical agent test kit. A 4 inch white pipe plug is removed to insert the test kit.

 

 

 

 

 

HEPA/Carbon Filter Sleeve

5.       The contaminated air then travels into the core of the HEPA/Carbon filter designed to remove 99.99% of particles that are 0.3 u (microns) and larger. This is where the carriers of biological warfare agents are removed. The photo at left shows the HEPA/Carbon sleeve.

 

 

 

6.       The air then travels into the activated carbon layer to remove the radioactive iodine gas.

7.       The next layer is made of Whetlerite/TEDA carbon to remove any chemical warfare agents.

 

Ultraviolet Bulb Over View Port

8.       The air then passes through a filter fabric to remove any carbon fines.

9.       The last stage of filtration after the filter sleeve is the ultraviolet light chamber were viruses and bacteria are exposed to more than 11,000 microwatts seconds/cm2 killing all airborne viruses and bacteria.

10.   The filtered air then enters the air blower centrifugal reverse curve motorized impeller and into the shelter.

11.   As the air blower pumps filtered air into the shelter, the shelter is slightly pressurized. This positive pressure plus the heat generated in the shelter from body heat, cooking, and showering, forces the spent air to the highest point in shelter near the top of the entranceway.

12.   At the top of the entranceway is the air outlet screen where the spent air passes through and up the air pipe and out of the elliptical hatch dome air outlet hole. Some air will pass through and around the hatch cover base because the hatch cover is not intended to be air-tight.

13.   As the air passes around the underside of the hatch dome is equilibrates with the outside air. This results in little or no thermal signature because there is little difference between the spent air and ambient air.

 

The sloped entranceway contains three of the MCAS-40 filtration units and one pocket top for storing spare filter elements.

 

STORAGE

There are 482 cubic feet of storage (3615 gal.) under the floor. In addition there are 178 cubic feet of storage (1331 gal.) under the lower bunks that allow sixty 5-gallon food tanks. A 150-gallon fiberglass alcohol tank is located under the floor near the kitchen counter. The 5 gallon food tanks are used to store grain, powdered milk, salt, sugar, beans, TVP, honey, etc. and hold approximately 3000 lbs. of food, forming a 6 month food supply for 25 people. The material and thickness of these food tanks allows the much preferred carbon dioxide packing of food as opposed to the nitrogen packing of food. The methanol tank was sized to boil 3000 gallons of water plus all the food in sixty 5-gallon food tanks.

 

BATTERY BANK

The CAT 25 has 4 battery banks containing 10 batteries stored under the floor.

 

 

 

HATCH DOME ON GROUND AND BASEMENT ENTRY

 

The hatch dome at ground level is aerodynamically smooth. The 24 x 26 inch manhole allows very large people with a 75-inch waist to enter the shelter quickly. The angle of incidence of the hatch dome is only 20 degrees to allow flying debris to glance off. The hatch dome and hatch cover are designed to resist a non-shattering 3-inch diameter hail ball falling straight down at terminal velocity (87 mph) and impacting directly at a full 90-degree angle of incidence. The hatch dome is also designed to resist a non-shattering 3-inch diameter hail ball traveling horizontally at 150 mph. In addition, the hatch dome can resist a solid 2 x 4 wooden stud impacting the hatch dome like a battering ram or javelin at 30 to 350 mph depending on the hatch class. Some debris, depending on the size, shape, angle of incidence, and mass, may cosmetically damage the hatch dome. This can be easily repaired with fiberglass repair kits available at marine and automotive supply stores. The hatch dome is made of a material called “Combat Composite” which is a structural fire-and bullet-resistant laminate developed by Radius Engineering Inc. The hatch dome is also designed to protect the shelter from a fire reaching 1700^oF for one hour while maintaining its structural integrity in compliance to ASTM E119. This design and material makes the CAT 25 very stealthy. It produces little or no thermal signature, little or no metallic signature, and little or no radar signature. When the shelter is installed, all that can be seen is the dark army-green hatch dome at ground level. This makes it almost impossible to be detected by modern target acquisition equipment. It is designed to resist 350-mph winds and more than 8.5 on the Richter Scale. Although the hatch dome is not impenetrable, it is specifically de­signed to resist seven basic assaults from people trying to break into the shelter in compliance to P.O.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SLIDING HATCH AT GROUND LEVEL ABOVE

BASEMENT ENTRY DOOR WITH L.E.A.T. (LETHAL EXPOSIVE ANTI-TAMPERING) AND TRIPLE AXIS SEISMIC JOINT ON BASEMENT WALL CONNECTION.

The hatch dome and hatch cover are manufactured according to The National Institute of Justice NIJ standards from Class 0 up to Class IV (standard on CAT 25) to resist penetration by various threats. The material and thickness vary as the threat level increases. The classes listed below are based on resisting 90% of all of the bullet types at various velocities listed known as (V-90). The barrel length, feet per second (fps) or meters per second (mps) for the test are noted.

NIJ Threat Level	Hatch Material (V-90)	Threat/Bullet Type	Barrel Length (inches)	fps	mps
Class 0	Structural Fiberglass-self-extinguishing (standard)	Light Hammer and hatchet assaults, 3 in. dia. Hail @ 87-mph vertical, 150-mph horizontal 2 x 4 stud @ 30-mph	NA	NA	NA
Class I	Combat Composite self-extinguishing	.22 Cal. 40 Gr. LR .25 Cal Auto 71 Gr. FMJ .32 Cal. Auto 71 Gr. FMJ .380 Cal. Auto 88 Gr. JHP .38 Cal Special Lead 158 Gr. RN .38 Cal Special 158 Gr. SWC 2 x 4 stud @ 70-mph	6 2 4 4 6 6 --	1050 810 905 990 850 850	320 247 276 302 259 259
Class II	Combat Composite self-extinguishing	.41 Mag. 210 Gr. JSP .44 Mag. 240 Gr. JSP .44 Mag. 240 Gr. Lead SWC .357 Mag. 125 Gr. JHP .357 Mag. 110 Gr. JHP .357 Mag. 158 Gr. JSP .357 Mag. 158 Gr. Hornady 19mm 175 Gr. Silvertip 9mm 124 Gr. FMJ 9mm 115 Gr. Silvertip 2 x4 stud @ 100-mph	4 4 4 4 4 6 6 5 5 5 --	1300 1180 1200 1450 1550 1395 1445 1225 1175 1170	397 360 366 442 473 425 441 372 358 355
Class III	Combat Composite self-extinguishing	7.62 NATO Ball 150 Gr. M-80 steel Jack 7.62 NATO Ball 150 Gr. m-80 FMJ 30.06 PSP 180 Gr. .30 Carbine 110 Gr. FMJ 12-Gauge Rifled Slug .223 (5.56mm) 55 Gr. FMC 7.62 x 39 Ball 2 x4 stud @ 200-mph	28 28 24 18 18 20 22 22 22 --	2750 2750 2750 1950 1550 3075 2400	838 838 824 595 473 938 732
Class IV	Combat Composite self-extinguishing	30.06 A.P. M-2 7.62 mm NATO A.P. 308 Win SS 109 FN NATO .223 (5.56mm) 7.62 x 39 Russian/Chinese A.P.I. 2 x4 stud @ 350-mph	26 24 20 22 --	2850 2750 3090 2550	868 838 942 778

 

 

SHELTER DEFENSE

The CAT 25 is not impenetrable but is difficult to break into while shelterists are inside.

INTRUDER ASSAULT	C 25 RESISTANCE
1.       Intruder trying to break into hatch using sledgehammer, hatchets, and guns.	Class 0 Hatch resists light hammer and hatchet assaults Class I -IV Hatch resists all assaults
2.       Intruder trying to clog the air intake/outlet to suffocate the shelterists thus forcing them outside.	Shelterists can open up hatch and reach over to unclog air intake or wait in safety in the shelter for many hours in sealed shelter atmosphere while the intruder is exposed to the outside danger.
3.       Intruder trying to suffocate shelterists by creating fire on top of the hatch thus forcing the shelterists outside.	All classes of the hatch are resistant to fire and the shelterists can breathe normally inside the shelter based on sealed shelter atmosphere.
4.       An intruder trying to run over the shelter or hatch with an automobile or truck.	If this vehicle becomes a threat, the Emergency Escape Manway can be used.
5.       An intruder trying to drown shelterists by forcing water into the air inlet/out.	The air inlet on the hatch dome are baffled to prevent this type of assault.
6.       An intruder trying to attach rope onto the hatch or air manifolds to damage or pull out of ground.	The hatch dome is a smooth design with no projections to easily attach to.
An intruder using a cutting torch to cut the hatch open.	The hatch is impervious to a cutting torch.
All attacks above	Release of tear gas through hatch. Details are available only to actual customers.

 

Tornado F-Scale	F0	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
Wind speed (mph)	40-72	73-112	113-157	158-206	207-260	261-318

 

Hurricane Scale-Simpson		Cat 1	Cat 2	Cat 3	Cat 4	Cat 5
Wind speed (mph)		74-95	96-110	111-130	131-155	155+
Storm Surge- Ft above normal		4-5	6-8	9-12	13-18	18+

 

Hatch Cover interior and Exterior Lock

The hatch slides open and closed hydraulically powered by a 12 volt hydraulic power unit located under the floor of the shelter. The hatch slides and locks wherever it stops. The remote radio controlled transmitter has a button to slide the hatch closed and open. When inside the shelter, the hatch can be closed by standing on the floor and activating the transmitter. This allows entry without human power to move the 250 lb hatch cover. The hatch cover is recessed in the hatch dome and protected from flying debris for 320 degrees. The hatch cover is designed to resist 5300 lbs. of uplifting force caused by the negative pressure of a tornado or explosion and 42,080 lbs of overpressure.

 

 

 

 

SEISMIC JOINT

This elliptical triple axis seismic joint allows the entranceway free and independent movement from the main shelter. The entranceway is located within the frost line, while the shelter is well below the frost line. This creates tremendous stresses during winter months when the entranceway is forced up 0.5 - 1.25 inches due to frozen ground. The seismic joint removes these stresses by allowing vertical movement of the entranceway and also allows the top of the entranceway to move laterally to maintain structural integrity during rolling ground motion from severe ground shock.

 

SEALED SHELTER ATMOSPHERE

 

When ground fires are present around the hatch, the air blower should not be turned on to bring in fresh air. During this time, the shelterists must breathe in a sealed shelter atmosphere. The safe duration time is based on a 3% carbon dioxide limit. The time it takes for the shelter atmosphere to reach this limit is a function of the number of shelterists, degree of physical activity of the number of shelterists, and the volume of the shelter above the floor. This duration is shown above for adults performing mild work.

 

 

OVERPRESSURE

CHOKING

The CAT 25 does not use blast valves. Instead, it uses the “overpressure choking” which has no moving parts. The inlet air valve and outlet air valve are sized to prevent excessive pressure from developing inside the shelter. This is a combination of what is known as the Ideal Gas Law combined with Bernoulli's Law. These two theories combined state that two volumes of air (outside air volume and shelter air volume) with differing pressure will reach equilibrium or "equilibrate" over a period of time. This period of time depends on the level of overpressure, volume of the shelter, diameter and length of the air inlet and outlet pipe, resistance of air filter, and duration of the overpressure which is very short and constantly decreasing. Simply stated; the air inlet and outlet are sized so that there is not enough time for the two volumes of air to equilibrate. The outside pressure at maximum duration is simply not able to equilibrate through two 4-inch diameter air inlet and outlet within the overpressure duration time.

 

PLUMBING SYSTEM

 

The water supply system is based on a 12-volt high pressure automatically regulated water pump and stainless steel pressure tank to maintain system pressure. The pump produces enough pressure to force the water through the 0.3 micron absolute ceramic water filter and supplies approximately 0.5 gallons per minute at the sink faucet and shower head in the bathroom. Two batteries will supply enough power to pump 1000 gallons of filtered water to the shelter. The fiberglass counter contains a stainless steel sink where dishes and clothes are washed. The sink and shower drain into a 5-gallon gray water tank to supply flushing water to the toilet.

 

Fittings- The shelter entranceway contains two ¾ inch NPTF thru-hull couplings five feet below ground level, for connection to the water tank and five ¾ inch NPTF threaded outlets one foot below ground level for bring­ing in antenna lines, a phone line, a power sup­ply, and a 12-volt power cable from a solar panel to recharge the batteries. There are two additional 1-inch diameter NPTF fittings located in the hatch dome so HAM and Scanner antennas can be installed. Plugs are provided to be in place when antennas are not in place.

 

Toilet- The flush-up toilets are powered by a manual hand pumps and uses water from the gray water tank. The sewage is pumped up to the leaching septic tank through an internal/external hose.

 

Shower- The two fiberglass bathroom floors allows all water from the shower head to drain into the shower gray water tank which is transferred to the sink using a manual foot pump. The gray water is used to flush the toilet. Chemical or nuclear decontamination is per­formed in this shower.

 

 

 

 

RADIATION SHIELDING

Radiation shielding from overhead in the CAT 25 is provided by 8.5 feet of earth at the crown of the shelter ceil­ing. With a TRS (Total Rems in Shelter) of 5 to less than 1 rem at 20 psi, a person would receive a maximum acute radiation dose from overhead and through the entranceway for neutron and gamma radiation equivalent to less than a mammography x-ray. This dose is based on a 500 KT air burst nuclear weapon, which produces a higher neutron radiation dose than the larger MT weapons, plus fallout doses from a 1 MT surface burst nuclear weapon to maximize the fallout gamma radiation dose.

 

Based on the worst cancer cases (leukemia) from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki victims, a 10-rem dose may increase the cancer rates from the cur­rent rate of 352/100,000 up to 355/100,000. It should be kept in mind that the Hiroshima victims were totally unprepared and uneducated. They were malnourished and already suffering from many diseases during a critical wartime period where food, medical supplies, and other necessi­ties were in short supply. In addition, they were not only exposed to heavy, acute external radia­tion doses but also internal radiation doses from eating contaminated food and inhaling radioactive fallout. Educated shelterists can avoid such damaging effects and can determine the radiation levels with a simple radiation survey meter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHIPPING AND INSTALLATION

 

U.S. citizens have a legal right to install a shelter. Under the second amendment of the United States Constitution, U.S. citizens are guaranteed the right to bear arms to provide protection in life threaten­ing situations. Tornadoes, earthquakes, nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare fall under this amendment as life threatening forces. A disaster shelter falls under this classification as a defensive arm.

 

The CAT 25 is shipped on a special trailer requiring overwidth permits. The entranceway, water tanks, and septic tank are shipped and a second truck.

EXCAVATION

 

The customer hires a contractor to dig a hole (approximately 600 yards) with a base dimension of 18 feet wide x 48 feet long at a depth of 19 feet. The top of the hole should be larger to allow for sloped walls. The excavation usually requires one full day. A 64,000 pound excavator or larger should be used to dig the hole. A crane is used to lift the CAT 25 off of the Radius truck and into the hole. If the shelter is installed in a flood zone, the shelter should be installed by berming so the hatch is one foot above the 100-year flood plain or storm surge. Berming can also be used if the shelter is installed in a location which has ledge or if hammer drills can not be used.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXCAVATION

 

The customer hires a contractor to dig a hole (approximately 600 yards) with a base dimension of 18 feet wide x 48 feet long at a depth of 19 feet. The top of the hole should be larger to allow for sloped walls. The excavation usually requires one full day. A 64,000 pound excavator or larger should be used to dig the hole. A crane is used to lift the CAT 25 off of the Radius truck and into the hole. If the shelter is installed in a flood zone, the shelter should be installed by berming so the hatch is one foot above the 100-year flood plain or storm surge. Berming can also be used if the shelter is installed in a location which has ledge.

 

SHELTER INSTALLATION (summary)

 

1)      An excavator is used to dig the hole with 6 inches of crushed stone in the center of the floor of the hole.

2)      The shelter is lifted off of the truck and into the hole by a crane.

3)      The shelter is leveled.

4)      Connect two underground water hoses to the shelter and one 2 in underground septic hose to the shelter.

5)      The shelter is backfilled and compacted with Jumping Jack compactor approximately in one foot increments to 3 ft. Always compact in one foot lifts to the wall of the excavated hole.

6)      The Sloped Entranceway is craned into the hole and bolted to the flange on the shelter using 36 ½ inch bolts. Check the level on the hatch dome.

7)      Connect the gravity cable and gravity dome.

8)      Place a wooden column under the entranceway to hold it in place while backfilling or lean it on the edge of the excavated hole.

9)      The shelter is then backfilled with 350 yards of ¾ minus crushed stone, pea stone, or sand to 2 foot below the shelter ceiling. Backfill and compact and adjust the water and septic hoses during backfilling and compacting.

10)   Gravel is placed in a 5 ft. diameter area where the water tanks will set. The water tanks are lifted into the hole and leveled on this gravel. Connect two underground hoses from the water tank to the shelter.

11)   The air outlet manifold and pipes are connected

12)   Backfilling and compacting continues to 30 inches above the top of the shelter crown.

13)   The 500 gallon septic tank is lifted into place and leveled and the underground septic hose is connected. Backfill and compact with spoil to 12 inches below the leach holes on the septic tank. Approximately 10 yards of stone or pea stone for the leaching field should be placed around the septic tank (12 x 12 x 2 ft deep) and 2 yards around the emergency escape manway.

14)   When the backfilling reaches 12 inches below ground level, all the antenna cables, telephone lines, 12 volt lines etc. are connected.

15)   Backfill­ing and compacting continues to the original ground level. Back­filling usually requires approximately 16 hours.

 

SHELTERS BUILT ON SITE VS. COMMERCIAL SHELTERS

 

Advantages of purchasing a commercial underground shelter:

1)      With shelters built on site, cost overruns are the rule, not the exception. Many well-intended handymen and contractors have constructed shelters which ended up running well over budget and still did not produce an operable shelter. When a shelter is built on site, you really don’t know what you will end up with. The CAT 25 shelter allows people to deal with known costs and a proven shelter system.

 

2)      Shelters built on site require extensive, time consum­ing, and expensive research to develop a “shelter sys­tem” capable of providing dependable life support—fresh filtered air, blast protection, clean water, light, corrosion resistance, toilet facilities, air filtration for radioactive fallout, chemical and biological agents, etc., all of which should meet - PRINCI­PLES of PROTECTION, U.S. Handbook of NBC Weapon Fundamentals and Shelter Design Stand­ards, by Walton McCarthy, is available for $65.00 from The American Civil Defense Association, (TACDA) Starke, FL (800-425-5397). Even good architects or mechanical and civil engineers, do not have the expertise to develop a good dependable shelter system especially when it must function without local electricity. The CAT 25 shelter system is based on the ES10 and P10 shelter, which has over 20 years proven field experience and complies with all P.O.P. standards.

 

3)      Concrete shelters built on site are not able to be excavated and re-installed at another location and they are very hard to make waterproof, especially under the floor. The shortcomings of steel underground storage tanks are: a) They may require registration because its intended use is for storage of petroleum and/or chemi­cal products. b) A horizontal cylinder is a poor struc­tural shape because it behaves as flexible conduit. c) It must also be cathodically protected or fiberglass coated. d) Steel underground structures suffer from condensation on the inside walls. The CAT 25 is designed strictly as a shelter and can be excavated and re-installed at some other location if desired.

 

4)      Shelters built on site require a building permit and confirmation by a local professional engineer because it involves actual construction, including a septic design. The CAT 25 is a commercially available, professionally engineered disaster shelter with a formal Owner’s Manual reviewing all operations. If required, it is much easier to secure a building permit for installing the CAT 25 shelter than it is for constructing a shelter on site.

 

5)      Shelters built on site often require many days or weeks to complete construction. During this time, children are exposed to the danger of falling in the hole and curiosity seekers are afforded ample time to see what is being constructed. The CAT 25 can be installed in one day.

 

6)      Shelters built on site have no established market value. The CAT 25 has a known commercial value which allows financing by banking institutions.

7)      Large shelters built on site to protect many people present the following problems: a) A separate piece of land must be agreed on by the shelterists and pur­chased. This piece of land may have to be commercially zoned. Local land may not be available; also, a caretaker may have to be appointed. b) A professional engineer and architect must be consulted for the design. c) A commercial building and septic permit must be issued. Even a single-family shelter is difficult to con­struct unnoticed. This is rather difficult to obtain because the building code requirements do not apply to under­ground structures designed for disaster environments. The technology for modern shelters is very different than that of standard building structures. d) Under­ground and above-ground storage tanks designed to contain fuel and water must be registered and approved by local and federal environmental protection agencies (EPA). e) Notification to the local fire department of the exact location of all fuel tanks must be made. f) Financ­ing such a structure by a local bank is impossible be­cause it has no resale value due to its custom nature. g) To make matters more complicated, the applications for all the above permits are a matter of public record. The only solution in the United States is to install a commercially available single or dual family shelter.

 

 

 

 

WARRANTY

Radius Engineering Inc. Warranties that the fiberglass parts of the CAT 25 Disaster Shelter will not leak, cor