[Milsurplus] MAW-1 HOTSY-TOTSY

[WA5CAB at cs.com]

Marty,

Unless the paint is chipping or peeling, I would not attempt to remove it.  
And I would be reluctant to paint over it, as I recall from somewhere that 
someone did that to a bunch of radios in Europe some years ago.  What kind of 
paint they used I don't know but in a relatively short time, it started cracking 
or chipping, taking the hot paint with it.

What I would do is determine the 2 mr/hr boundary.  Don't regularly sleep 
inside that radius.

FWIW, in Industrial Radiography (both X-ray and Gamma Ray or radioisotope) 
the crew is normally required to wear dosimeters and film badges (or equivalent 
recording dose indicators).  Except in a few instances, they are required to 
establish a boundary around the work area at the 2 mr/hr level.  Unmonitored 
personel are not supposed to be allowed inside the boundary.  Another rule is 
(was) that if there is a natural boundary (walls of a building, for example) 
where the dose rate is less than 0.2 mr/hr, that boundary does not have to be 
marked.  Maximum dose (not dose rate) for industrial users was set at 1250 mr 
(1.25 R) per calendar quarter and 5 R per year.  Of course, we aren't industrial 
users.  My personal rule (I have several sets that are hot to some extent or 
other) is to place them such that I'm normally outside the 0.2 mr/hr boundary.  
0.2 mr/hr amounts to 1.75 R per year.  

In a message dated 1/8/2005 3:16:00 PM Central Standard Time, 
arc5 at ix.netcom.com writes: 
> >Beta &Gamma ionizing radiation 50 mr/hr.  FIFTY
> That's doubtless a "contact" reading.
> 
> >          "     "          "      5 mr/hr
> I'm assuming this is at 2-3 inches?
> Not a harmful dose, unless you sit that close to
> it day and night for a week.
> 

Robert Downs - Houston
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