Anyone hear of "flawed rad detectors"...

[Jim Muckerheide <jmuckerheide@delphi.com>]

... oh, by the way, for betas and neutrons!? :-)

...what does "may" be malfunctioning mean? What dosimeters? Used for
beta/neutron?

Another pejorative headline and first 2 sentences!?

   RADIATION DETECTORS CONTAIN FLAW
    Radiation detectors in nuclear plants, hospitals, universities and
  industry may be malfunctioning and causing workers to be exposed to higher
  levels of radiation than previously suspected, according to a report in this
  week's New Scientist. A study by the European Radiation Dosimetry Group for
  the European Union and Switzerland suggests that the monitors worn by
  workers may underestimate exposures to beta and neutron radiation by a
  factor of 10. On the positive side, the majority of radiation exposure comes
  from gamma and X-rays, which the detectors do measure accurately. Still, the
  results are "of particular concern from a radiological protection point of
  view," according to the study's authors. Neutrons are particularly dangerous
  because they can penetrate protective clothing. Two workers died at the
  Tokaimura nuclear plant in Japan last year after exposure to neutrons and
  gamma radiation. "It is important to resolve this problem," says Keith
  Baverstock, a radiation adviser with the World Health Organization in
  Helsinki. "There would be little point in having a regulatory system unless
  you can rely on the measurements you make."
  

Regards, Jim
muckerheide@mediaone.net
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