[ RadSafe ] Video of Meter - Up to 10,20 µSv in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture 163km from Fukushima Dai-ichi

[Thomas Johnston]

Begs the question.
What were the readings in this area prior to the Rx accident?

Thomas Johnston
Frederick, MD

On Mon, May 23, 2016 at 1:22 PM, Rees, Brian G <brees at lanl.gov> wrote:

> OK, 0.18 or so uSv/hr is a slightly high background, but certainly not a
> level to get too concerned about.  Since I live at 6800' (2,070 m) I may
> see that depending on surrounding soil/rock formations.  So it appears that
> the selection of uSv/hr is appropriate.  Since the dose rate light is
> blinking on the instrument I doubt if the reading is in some unit of count
> rate.
>
> The meter is moved a meter or so horizontally , and a reading of 0.51
> uSv/hr is observed.  The 0.51 uSv/hr reading is substantially higher than
> most backgrounds, and interesting, but again, certainly not a level to get
> concerned about.
>
> The time constant of the instrument is long, and the reading does not
> appear to be a result of electronic interference from something like a
> radar, or other transmitter.
>
> The meter is then moved closer to the ground - it looks to me to be moved
> about 1-2' (30-60 cm) closer- and a reading of 10.2 uSv/hr is observed.
> The instrument behavior and increase in reading appears to me to be a
> result of distance, and if you assume it's being held a few cm from the
> ground, seems to ROUGHLY follow a 1/r2 relationship.  It may be a hot
> particle,  or similar point-like source.  This is not a dangerous level,
> and if the source is at or near ground level, not an external radiation
> hazard, or a great hazard if ingested (along with however much dirt you'd
> also be ingesting).
>
> So, it's not a dangerous situation, it's interesting, and since hot
> particles containing fission products may be found from time to time as a
> result of the Fukushima reactor accident, shouldn't be terribly alarming.
>
>
> Brian Rees
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Roger Helbig
> Sent: Monday, May 23, 2016 6:52 AM
> To: RADSAFE
> Subject: [ RadSafe ] Video of Meter - Up to 10,20 µSv in Ichinoseki, Iwate
> Prefecture 163km from Fukushima Dai-ichi
>
>
> https://nuclear-news.net/2016/05/22/up-to-1020-%C2%B5sv-in-ichinoseki-iwate-prefecture-163km-from-fukushima-dai-ichi/
>
> Is this meter or its reader perhaps being mislead due to lack of
> experience or other cause?
>
> Roger Helbig
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