[R-390] Sticking Carrier Meter

[Ken Harpur]

Thank you Tisha and everyone else that responded...there is some really good info here.
I initially thought of suiting-up in old shoes, paper overalls, gloves and dust mask and doing it outside
but I wonder about any flakes becoming air-borne...perhaps I'm just over-thinking it. I will go with the 
shoes, overalls, gloves and mask and work in an area where I will be undisturbed. Really all I intend 
to do is get in there, relax the screw for the meter movement and get out again. 

Thanks again for the replies, there is some great info in the post below. I will use the tape idea and
 also dispose of it in a zip-lock bag along with the mask etc...

Regards,
Ken

On 22/03/2012, at 6:26 AM, Tisha Hayes wrote:

> 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 <lol>).
> 
> 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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