Re: dial

["1LT Philip Hypes"<1lt_philip_hypes_at_chppm8__apgea@chppm-ccmail.apgea.army.mil>]

     I recently had the opportunity to survey about two dozen
     military vehicles from World War I through VietNam era
     designs.  These vehicles were in a museum.  I was able to
     climb into most of them, but some were welded shut.  I
     was somewhat surprised to be able to detect (presumed)
     radium dials through the frontal armor of a few of the
     vehicles.  The highest readings I took were over 2 mR/hour
     at contact with the dials.  Many of the dials were over
     1 mR/hour at contact.  Unfortunately, the activity in the
     radium paint used on the dials was not very strictly
     controlled.  If I needed a very reliable activity value,
     my first instinct would be to back calculate from the
     measurement, rather than use a published standard for
     a given type of dial.  The older the dial, the less I
     would trust the published data (if it could be found).
     
     Phil Hypes


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