Homeland security for first responders.

Emergency medical services, firefighters and public health departments may be called upon during a nuclear emergency to map out the areas of contamination and restrict access to the areas of higher contamination. Police and fire departments are best served by having individual nuclear radiation detectors in for each emergency first responder to give a timely indication of a nuclear emergency. The durable and inexpensive Model 500 RadScanner is designed to alert you of any increase in nuclear radiation above background levels. The silent Vibrating Alarm built-in to the Model 500VBR is useful in high noise areas.

Placing these simple to operate RadScanners in the hands of every first responder is an effective technique for mapping radioactive cotamination areas. Relying upon one or two expensive nuclear monitors will not necessarily give a good picture of the extent of contamination.

Homeland security for concerned citizens.

You, the ordinary citizen might have to rely upon the local health department and emergency response teams for timely alerts of bacterial or chemical contamination from the accidental or determined acts of others, your radiological safety is guaranteed by the use of a RadScanner Model 500.

This pocket size, battery operated Digital Geiger counter gives you fair warning of any nuclear radiation increases in your immediate vicinity. Local officials, intent on preventing public panic, may delay giving you adequate warning while they evaluate the danger and prepare an evacuation plan. This delay may be crucial to your family's health.

A sharp increase in radiation above the background will alert you to any nuclear contamination from a "dirty bomb" or a nuclear power plant accident. You will be able to move quickly to move your family to safety and provide preventative non-radioactive iodine in the form of potassium iodide tables (KI tablets). In preparation, clean clothing and shoes can be sealed into a plastic storage container for use when you and your loved ones are outside the contaminated area. Carry uncontaminated drinking and washing water and prepackaged food in your vehicle along with the sealed clothes.

Alternate Low Cost Detection Devices.

Some small "key chain" radiation monitors are insensitive to dangerous levels of radiation. These units are set to a trip level (0.1 rad) that is too high to protect you and your family from dangerous levels of nuclear radiation. This is well over the working  range permitted by government regulations. This is fifty times higher than the maximum allowed anyone working a 40 hour week in the nuclear industry. If a disaster occurs, it is much better to move as quickly as possible  around contaminated areas and settle in an area with a very low background. The RadScanner will find the most habitable areas for relocation. You do not want to move your family into an area with chronically dangerous contamination levels not detectable by "key chain" radiation monitors.

There are a good number of old "surplus" Geiger counters manufactured in the 1950's and 60's that are available.  Some of these still work, but do not provide an alarm function or any sort of digital total count at environmental levels. The Geiger tubes are well aged and may not work reliably.

There are some "pen" dosimeters that  are charged up with a small power supply. The charger places an electrostatic charge on a metal coated quartz fiber in dry gas-filled chamber. The fiber bends and is attracted to an oppositely charged chamber wall. As charged particles speed through the chamber they ionize a few of the molecules of dry gas which conducts some of the charge from the bent fiber to the chamber wall. If enough ions are formed by enough particles, the fiber straightens enough to move the end of the fiber which points to a numbered scale. This is viewed by holding the "pen" up to a light. These "pen" dosimeters are quite insensitive to low levels of radiation and must be held horizontal to get an accurate reading and avoid the effects of gravity on the fiber.  The  charger must be calibrated periodically to place the same charge on each dosimeter.
Film and thermoluminescent  badges require processing under laboratory conditions to obtain results.


Meter Conversions, Inc. 1620 West Main Street  Houston, Texas 77006-4712
Tel:  800 523 0515  Tel:  713 523 0515  Fax: 206 984 0487
email:  daniel-s@swbell.net   www.antirad.com




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