Geiger Counters to Find Radiation in Meals May Be ‘Meaningless’ (and how to make it work)

[uppityperson]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-12/geiger-counters-to-find-radiation-in-meals-may-be-meaningless-.html

Geiger counters are probably ineffective for consumers in detecting hazardous levels of radiation in food and water at home, scientists, professors and device makers said.

Large samples should be tested in laboratory-like settings to obtain results, said Joseph Rotunda, who heads the radiation measurement division at toolmaker Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Determining whether food, water or milk is safe also requires expert knowledge and more sophisticated equipment than the typical devices sold online, said Atsushi Katayama, a member of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry. “Just pointing a measuring device at your food before dinner is pretty much meaningless,” said Katayama, who has a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Hokkaido University. “Tap water and fish, for example, require special handling, isolation and concentration to get meaningful readings.”

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“People need genuine reassurance,” said Allison. “They should note that no harmful effects including cancer have been confirmed for doses below 100 milliSieverts.”

Buyers should chose an instrument that comes with clear instructions for interpreting results and is sensitive enough to measure background radiation, or about 0.01 microSieverts, Allison and Katayama said. Geiger counters with a digital display and ability to save a log of the results are easier to use and preferable to devices featuring analog screens with moving needles, they said.

(a bit more on how it works, what to avoid, etc)

[Prometheus Bound]

1. Thanks. That was interesting. The same article was in the Japan Times today.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110416f1.html

[uppityperson]

2. You are welcome, I thought it interesting how they do and don't work.

What are you doing, cruising the last open pages and kicking topics that got no replies? I do that sometimes. I thought someone might be interested in this, up 'til now it didn't seem so.

Thanks.

[Prometheus Bound]

3. I was thinking of buying a geiger counter.

And I wanted to see if there was a discussion about it here so I did a search for 'geiger' and got your thread just before it got archived.

I live in Hong Kong and the nuclear plant disaster has been a tragedy for Japanese restaurants here. Business is down 80%. A few restaurants have tried offering geiger counters for customers to check the food but it hasn't helped. I guess they'll all go out of business soon with the rents as high as they are.

Actually, it's Iodine-131 I want to check for and your article says I need a scintillation counter to detect that.

[uppityperson]

4. I'd read several people here talking about getting geiger counters so found the article

and wanted to share. It doesn't look as easy as "point and shoot". I wish you and those more local to the mess the best. I know there are a lot of people concerned about eating at any Japanese restaurant, even if the food has come from nowhere near any radiation. The whole thing has lots of economic ramifications for many people.

[Prometheus Bound]

5. Actually your article convinced me there would be no point in getting a geiger counter.

Our local observatory gives fantastic daily information on radiation levels, updated hourly at numerous points around the city.

Radiation: http://www.weather.gov.hk/radiation/ermp/rmn/applet/map/rmn_hourly_e.htm

Iodine, caesium: http://www.weather.gov.hk/radiation/ermp/rmn/applet/map/rn_e.htm

48- hour forecast trajectory of air from Fukushima: http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/trajectory/fukushima/trajectory_e.shtml

We had only one spike around Mar 29-30, but it has been pretty much clear since then, and the wind's been heading up north recently. We're pretty far south from Japan. Still, my wife is pregnant so I keep an eye on it.

[uppityperson]

6. It is all a bit much, best wishes for you and her. After so long of not being able to trust

those in power, those with power, those involved with environmental and human disasters, it is difficult to know whom and when to trust.