[SPAM]Re: [ RadSafe ] FW: [GeigerCounterEnthusiasts] Re:BestDosimeter/Personal Rad Monitor

[Geo>K0FF]

> George: I think the purpose of the cross-post was to extend the question
> from hobbyists to professionals.....
> Regards
> Doug
> ___________________________________
> Doug Aitken
> QHSE Advisor


I see Doug. Could it be that the questioner was looking for an insightfull, 
hands-on and friendly answer? Compare this
"hobbyist's" answer to the ones this question and similar get from the pros:
Re: Best Dosimeter/Personal Rad Monitor


Brent,

This really isn't the best place to be asking. Here and the CDV700CLUB are
groups for folks interest in radiation as a hobby, not HazMat or Health 
Physics.

You need to define further what these "first responders" need. Is it a PRD 
for
Preventative RAD/NUC Detection (PRND), with that you're trying to find 
illicit
material or a bomb. Or, is it for response to a radiation emergency to allow 
the
responder to determine the safety of the environment? Note that you need to
prepare for the latter before you start moving into the PRND side of things.
This is where folks get confused and mean one thing but buy for the other.

The PM1703 is OK if you are doing PRND work. It's very sensitive for finding
that nuke someone's carrying in the ice chest next to you, but maxes out at 
4000
uRAD/hr, which is just 4 mRAD/hr. For emergency response, that's just a 
feather
tickle. The GammaRae mentioned by another member maxes out at 10 RAD/hr. 
That's
somewhat reasonable, but still a joke of a top scale. It's what you get with
these pager-size scintillator units. PRND use only.

I second Rick's recommendation of the Canberra CD V-719 MiniRadiac, now 
known as
the UltraRadiac. It is an outstanding instrument with dose rate capability 
that
not only can do the microRAD/hr ranges seen in normal life, but can go up to 
500
RAD/hr. That is acceptable. Yes, it's a little slower to respond with the 
"time
to count" G-M system that Canberra uses, but that's how it's able to get 
such an
impressive range as opposed to other similar sized units. Homeland Security 
will
fund this device, and uses it at all of its training.

Before you buy anything, the first thing you need to consider is your 
training.
There's classes offered by the state and federal government on radiation
emergencies. It is only once your guys have adequate training should you 
start
looking at equipment. Once you do, next is to find out what your local 
agencies
and state are using. You generally want to standardize with your peers and 
seek
their advice. I looked up the acronyms you listed, and I believe you are in
Colorado, correct?

If so, Emergency Management should be your first stop:
http://www.dola.state.co.us/dem/index.html . If EM can't help you, check out
your Radiation Control office at http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rad/ . It 
seems
they be more into the radiation emergency side of things than your EM office 
is
at first glance. That tends to be the case in a lot of states after FEMA cut
funding for civil defense type stuff in 1996.

Here's a guide by your own state Radiation Control office on this very 
issue:
http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/hm/rad/rml/detectorguide.pdf

Have you yet considered the yearly calibration? Typically, no one does when 
they
buy. Yet, this is one of the most important factors. Your state may still 
have
it's Civil Defense calibration facility open, and they can definitely do the
MiniRadiac's.

Feel free to e-mail me off-list. I do the Civil Defense and Emergency 
Response
side of things for a Southern state's Radiation Control agency. We ended up
ordering 600 MiniRadiac's when this issue came up for our inspectors, County
Health Departments, and other state agencies. We intend to do the same 
shortly
for the Highway Patrol and some other agencies when funding makes itself
available.

-Nick

--- In GeigerCounterEnthusiasts at yahoogroups.com, Brent Keate 
<brent.keate at ...>
wrote:
>
> Homeland Security has authorized some funds for our institution to
> purchase some Dosimeters/Personal Rad Monitors for first responders on
> campus. Does anyone have some input as to what might be the best to
> purchase? We got a quote from our sister group, UCHSC, for a Model
> 1703M-01 from BNC. This unit looks great in that it has a CsI (Tl) and
> a G-M tube detector and stores the event data for later analysis which
> is important as most of these units will go to CU Police and FD
> personnel. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what else I might
> compare this unit to or any input from those who have actually used this
> unit?
>
>
> ________________________________
>
>
> <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=10603698/grpspId=1705083412/
> msgId=16076/stime=1249314094/nc1=4507179/nc2=5191952/nc3=5170419>
>