General > General Technical Chat
Low cost reliable dosimeter for nuclear fallout survival?
(1/5) > >>
Avaalon:
Hello. I wanted to consult what kind of inexpensive Geiger device could be purchased to protect against radiation in the event of a nuclear fallout or power plant accident, detect radiation in food, water, clothes? Do I need alpha particle capable detector with mica window and are there affordable pancake detectors? I was considering getting a cheaper FNIRSI GC01 geiger counter but I was told chinese glass tubes have low sensitivity and that there issues with accuracy/oversaturation. I hoped to find detector under 100Eu but I can pay for device that might save life.
eutectique:
"nu-klear" from Minutemen Industries Inc would be the cheapest one:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g7uk2yRCqLA
berke:
I suppose you are familiar with this DIY contraption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kearny_fallout_meter not as useful as a Geiger counter but better than nothing.
SiliconWizard:
I wish more people in Europe had them after the Chernobyl event. Authorities were saying that radioactivity would not cross borders. Not sure where all these people would have gone if they had known, though. But suggesting some iodine supplementation would not have hurt. Probably.

https://www.pce-instruments.com/eu/measuring-instruments/test-meters/geiger-counter-kat_40582.htm
David Hess:

--- Quote from: Avaalon on February 05, 2024, 03:39:26 pm ---Hello. I wanted to consult what kind of inexpensive Geiger device could be purchased to protect against radiation in the event of a nuclear fallout or power plant accident, detect radiation in food, water, clothes?
--- End quote ---

If you are interested in how dangerous an area is then an ionization detector or survey meter is more appropriate because a Geiger counter will saturate at a much lower level.  The first responders to Chernobyl should have had an ionization meter to measure exactly how dangerous the area was.

If you want to know if there was a far away nuclear accident, or if your food is contaminated, then a more sensitive instrument like a Geiger counter or gamma ray spectrometer is appropriate.  These devices will pick up the emissions from something like a thorium-containing incandescent mantle or ionization smoke detector, and can be used to detect a nuclear accident from hundreds of miles away, or radon in your basement.


--- Quote ---Do I need alpha particle capable detector with mica window and are there affordable pancake detectors? I was considering getting a cheaper FNIRSI GC01 geiger counter but I was told chinese glass tubes have low sensitivity and that there issues with accuracy/oversaturation. I hoped to find detector under 100Eu but I can pay for device that might save life.
--- End quote ---

I do not think alpha detection will be strictly necessary because it will only reveal surface contamination anyway.  I suspect the glass tubes only have low sensitivity compared to a tube with a mica window because they will not pick up alpha radiation.

My gamma ray spectrometer has no difficulty detecting background levels of radiation and it is not alpha sensitive.

Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod