[R-390] Meters...

[rbethman@comcast.net]

The issue ISN'T simply the meters.

The issue is OPENING them and getting inside them - thereby exposing the 
material DIRECTLY to the individual.

I am VERY well acquainted with the missions you were involved in. 
 Worked for AEC for seven years myself, plus eleven years of reactor 
operations, maintenancs, and refueling.

The issue is alpha particles, while being the easiest to block, are the 
MOST damaging to the internals of the human body, i.e., ingested or inhaled.

As long as you USE the meters in their designed cases - YOU will have NO 
PROBLEMS.

This whole thread HAS BEEN REGARDING opening the case, and working on 
them or even removing the dial face.

In regard to exceeding the max annual allowed dosage level - you can't 
do that even by working on the insides.  BUT - would you care to inhale 
dust from plutonium , uranium, OR radium?  That is the topic.

Bob - N0DGN

Dan Arney wrote:

> What a bunch of worry warts. How many 1,000's of guys were around them 
> for 50 years and
> "DO YOU KNOW OF ANY STERILE OR MIS FORMED OLD OPS?" No way.
> I flew over the AEC test site for 2 years in Airborne Radiation 
> Monitoring Service (ARMS) wearing a dosimeter to measure 4 different 
> forms of radiation plus all of the instruments in the aircraft with 
> never an excessive reading on the bi monthly dosimeter checks.
> I can assure you that there is no way to exceed the annual allowed 
> M-roetgin (sp) readings.
> My ROLEX wrist watch has a tare count of 185 Mr on a 18" 
> photomuliplier tube used for setting ZERO prior to flight and then an 
> hour flying over our calibration site near Pahrump, NV to ZERO the 
> plane prior to tracking a leakage event and or tracking all on the 
> nuclear sites in the USA.
> So send me all of you hot bad meters and let me clean and store them 
> in all of my 30 plus R-39XX radios.
>
> This has been covered numerous times.
> Please show proof of damage from meter exposure PERIOD
> Hank
> KN6DI
>