[R-390] Sticking Carrier Meter

[Barry]

What should be done to properly dispose of any dusty paint particles that happen to end up on the desk/tape?

Barry - N4BUQ


 On Wed 21/03/12 12:26 PM , Tisha Hayes tisha.hayes at gmail.com sent:
> Regarding the potential for radioactive exposure or contamination from
> panel meters;
> 
> I have worked with radioactive materials for most of my adult life,
> including leaking sources and gross contaminants. Most of what you
> will find in a panel meter would be Radium 226 mixed with a
> fluorescing material. As an external radiation hazard you would need
> tens or hundreds of times more radium than is used in a panel-meter to
> be any sort of risk. An old piece of orange Fiesta-Wear dishes is much
> more radioactive (they used uranium as a salt to obtain the orange
> color in the glaze).
> 
> Old radium paints become "friable". Meaning that they are prone to
> flaking due to the fact that it is; 1) an old paint. 2) radiation
> bombardment over decades has a tendency to loosen up paint particles.
> This means that you do not want to be touching or rubbing the painted
> surface as it can rub off. Once the material is loose then it becomes
> a potential external and internal contaminant. I would suggest a
> simple dust mask as has been mentioned by other and cheap surgical
> gloves when handling.
> 
> We had a few tricks that you can adapt to varying degrees;
> 
> 1) apply a piece of clear shipping/ packing tape across the meter
> face. This fixes the radioactive materials in place and eliminates the
> contamination hazard. It does not look bad if you do it right and
> leave it in place when you are finished. Just trim up the edges of the
> tape.
> 
> 2) Always work in a pre-cleaned area and make a little work area to
> capture any loose particles. If you have the packing tape, make it
> into a 6-10" wide loop with the sticky side out and let it adhere to
> your desk. Just work above this piece(s) of tape and any material that
> falls off will get stuck on the tape.
> 
> 3) Thoroughly clean the area after you are done with soapy paper
> towels and water.
> 
> 4) Thoroughly clean yourself (hands, face, arms, etc...) when you are
> done. This too is with "real" soap and water (not a guy's way of
> washing up that involves getting your hands wet and wiping them on
> your pants ).
> 
> I only got "crapped up" one time where I had to leave my right shoe
> behind after walking around on the other side of the purple and yellow
> tape. Sometimes we would set off a hand and foot detector but one
> visit to the sink with soapy water and towels eliminated those
> contamination incidents.
> 
> You definitely do not want to be grinding up the paint from a
> half-dozen panel meters and snorting it as Radium 226 is treated by
> the body like calcium and goes right to the bones.
> 
> Tisha Hayes
> formerly a FEMA Radiological Instructor III, DOE certified dosimetry
> control officer, "lab-rat" at a few national laboratories
> AA4HA
> 
> -- 
> Ms. Tisha Hayes/ AA4HA
> -
> "Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the
> rain"______________________________________________________________
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