Geiger counters ineffective for checking food, water

[AsahinaKimi]

Radiation factors hard to gauge; experts say rely on official data
Bloomberg

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.

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

[CoffeeCat]

1. Oh please...More reason to buy a Geiger counter!

...I've never heard anyone say that a Geiger counter is unreliable--until now.

They want to dissuade average citizens from understanding the radioactive substances
that are in the milk or falling from the sky in rainwater. So what do they do--tell us
that Geiger counters are all of a sudden just no good.

What a load of PR bullshit. And I've worked in PR for 15+ years, so I know bullshit
when I read it.

Recently, a man posted a youtube video of him waving a Geiger Counter over his car
that was in his garage. The car had just been rained on. He moved the Geiger counter
over a dry car in his garage and the levels were low--but when he moved the Geiger
Counter over the wet car, it went crazy and the readings were very high.

This is what they are afraid of. THE TRUTH! Oh no, we can't have average citizens
with technology that will reveal the lies! We must tell them that technology that
has been reliable for decades--is suddenly not a good idea.

They know we have YouTube. They know we can stand in the grocery stores measuring
the radioactivity of produce--and alert the media. There are thousands of disastrous
consequences coming their way if the people have Geiger Counters and can demonstrate
that things are really bad.

If anything--this is a call to arms--to go out and buy a Geiger Counter and start measuring
when it rains--and also to measure fresh produce. This same brand of bunk was also used
during the BP disaster. US citizens must be kept in the dark and stupid--that's their
best defense.

Please don't fall for this obvious baloney.

[Lasher]

2. I know better.

Mad Max used a Geiger counter to detect radioactivity in some water a guy was trying to sell him in Bartertown, so don't try to tell me they're ineffective.

[JohnyCanuck]

3. Yeah, just rely on the official data like the ground zero workers

who were told the air was safe to breath after 9/11.

[CoffeeCat]

4. or the people who live on the Gulf coast...

...who were told that Corexit was as save as Palmolive dishwashing liquid.

Or tell that to those who said the Corexit would harm sea life. We were told
that the ocean was just so big, that it didn't matter.

Or tell that to those who were concerned about so much oil in the Gulf. We
were told, again, that the ocean is just so big. And besides, lots of algea
just love oil and these small ocean creatures would eat it all up--no problem.

And your point is well taken. If our government would like to firefighters,
first responders and police officers--and cause their deaths--why do we even
bother to trust what they say?