One of the old cold war watchtowers, meant to warn us in case the Russians would come in their airplanes, with atomic bombs, is still there, within 5 km from where I live.
I feel safe now, remembering the lessons at primary school how to hide under white sheets, and take Iodine supplements well.
Why the white sheets?
For giving a false sense of security against radiation.
For the hotshots, there were bunkers, but, the rest of the people wanted to be safe too. So, hiding in cupboards, under staircases, under tables, and, preferably covered under white sheets was the thing to do.
White sheets reflect light, so, they would reflect radiation too, of course.......
When you look at cold war safety regulations, lots of them is nothing more than that, bogus, to keep the majority of the people from panicking.