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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Dosimeters, Geiger Counters, Radmeters and What to Do If . . .
a rural noir was written in the hope of making speakable the question of survival should there occur a nuclear event.
In Jolt: a rural noir, as it is, the event occurs in the northern part of the United States. Now Fukushima
Tai Ichi has achieved in a few short weeks what my seven years of research and writing could never do. And so, just possibly,
the general reader has become more ready to explore and discuss the topic.
8:24 pm edt
The quick question of with what can
I measure radiation levels and how much does a dosimeter, geiger counter, or radmeter cost is easily answered by a quick
check of the web for sites that sell any of the three. However I will include a link below to a site that describes how
a family prepares and responds in the case of a nuclear threat.
Years ago we read of prospectors checking
the ground for radioactive materials with Geiger counters which morphed into something called dosimeters. The handiest
form of a dosimeter is a PEN Dosimeter. For about $150.00 you can get one that will read the accumulated dose for gamma
and x-ray exposure and monitor radiation exposure. The broader term radmeter which includes all meters that measure
rads, a rad being a unit of energy absorbed from ionizing radiation.
So what happens if there is a nuclear event of any kind in your area? Well
if it is fission and you happen to be near it when it happens, not good. However, if the result of the nuclear event is a
concern about fallout, much better. Fission
is the reason they talk about the ten mile radius around a nuclear plant. Fallout is what occurs when there is a release of
radioactive particles into the air.
Whether the fallout will pose a threat to you wherever you are depends on: your distance from the
event; the time it will take the fallout to be carried to you by the prevailing wind; whether or not you have a place to shelter
and supplies to carry you through any time you have to hunker down; and whether or not you and your family have previously
established a survival plan in which everyone knows and understands what they will have to do.
Your first decision has to do with staying or leaving.
If the event is so close there is no time to flee, you have no choice. You hunker down. You gather in your previously agreed
upon shelter area with your previously stored supplies and your solar-powered or wind-up battery-operated radio and you wait
for time to pass and an all clear announcement is made. This is done when it has been assured the level of ionizing radiation
as measured in rads is low enough so that you can go out. At that time, you will go out but you will drink only bottled water
you bring with you and eat no food from the garden, so to speak.
But suppose you are outside and shelter is not near. How do you know if there is
fallout? Well, fallout comes in the form of ashes or dust. And what do you do about that? You sweep, brush, or rub it off
until such time as you can get to wash it off with regular face or body soap and water. Nothing stronger. In tact skin is
your line of first defense. Getting in a car is not much help. The fallout on its top is too close. Getting under the center
of the car might help.
But suppose the wind will not reach where you are for an hour or two. Well, if you have a survival plan, you know when to
leave, what to take, and where to go. And you go. As for the cell phone? Ha! And as for the internet? Ha-ha! You take your
battery-operated radio and leave and you meet in the agreed upon place where you will be provided housing. And you discuss
it all when you arrive at the agreed upon spot.
So there. I have talked about nuclear survival and you have stayed with me to here. And now,
having come this far, I do hope you will read further on one of the many links available on the topic through FEMA, SEMA,
AFFRI, and the Red Cross to name a few. But for now I suggest you click on the link I have selected below for no other reason
than I opened it and liked it for its directness and ease of understanding.
Enjoy. Learning is fun and knowing can save you life and the lives of your
loved ones. http://www.ki4u.com/guide.htm
Roberta in Po-Town,
Feeling more hopeful
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Let's Tell them to Get the Federal Budget Right This Time
10:00 am edt
I'm aware that
my intent with this blog has been to primarily to raise our understanding and awareness of nuclear and
other issues related to survival and, at the bottom line, healthy living. However, as the feminist Kate Millet suggested
with her book Sexual Politics, just breathing can be political and the issues under discussion in Washingon
are too important to pass up without considering how the Federal Government spends our tax dollars.
plan for this blog was to discuss safety standards at nuclear reactors and our need to move more toward increased
reliance on clean energy except I found that in good conscience, I couldn't do that without also discussing
the current tax picture. Also, had the discussions in Washington had less of an Alice-in-Wonderland quality to them with some
of the Congressional freshman seemingly going around repeatedly yelling, "Off with their heads,"
I might have done so. But such is not the case. And so below I include the content of a Letter to the Editor I wrote this
morning expressing some of my own personal views on where the money should and shouldn't go.
* * * * * * * * * *
As the Federal
Government wrangles with the budget, let’s tell our representatives: we’re tired of having more than half our
tax dollars go to the military; we do support Medicaid and Medicare; and we do like the little guy.
Let’s say, “Cut back
our military involvements arms build up, the cost of which –missile by missile – drains our coffers and drags
us into deeper debt. And bring our troops home!”
And yes, we do want to decrease time spent on Medicaid-Medicare documentation
and to redirect those savings into recipient care, thereby significantly reduce the Medicaid-Medicare cost per enrollee. And
yes, do raise the taxes on the rich—that top ten per cent of the nation that owns ninety per cent of the wealth whose
taxes over the past fifty years have instead been regularly lowered. And yes, we do want unions to have
the right to negotiate terms and conditions including hours, responsibilities, salary and benefits.
While extreme distracters to
the right consistently move the discussion away from the real issues—health and safety, family stability, the right
to work, clean environment—we need to speak out clearly through their noise: No new nuclear plants. Give us CLEAN ENERGY:
water, wind, geothermal! Give little guys a voice—especially as in states where there are unions, while workers may
be happier, salaries tend to be lower—so unions are not all about money. And for goodness sake, bring
our military home!
Roberta in Po-Town,
Doin' the Right Thing
Roberta M. Roy incorporated Alva Press www.alvapressinc.com on October 5, 2004. The express purpose of Alva Press, Inc., was to ensure a safe venue for
the publication of her works and those with similar focus. As such, upon the completion of the science
fiction novel Jolt: a rural noir, Alva would immediately publish it. Further Alva Press, Inc., would offer a
venue for Roy to publish her children's books, including Yell'n'Tell. (At this point Yell'n'Tell needs
only design as the watercolor illustrations by Dan Dyen are complete and the text fully edited. But then there is also Wedding
Ready, complete, but in need of an illustrator talented in the art of drawing forest animals. But all that anon.)
Currently, until the soft cover version of Jolt's Library of Congress Number
is in, Jolt waits to go to press. Usually the LCN takes but a few days after which will become available in hard cover
at $24.95 and Trade paper at $14.95 (plus $5.50 mailing).
was some five years in the writing; its research took longer. It's scientific basis for nuclear survival has been
carefully reviewed by oncologists and experts in the effects of ionizing radiation for accuracy of representation. Jolt
is a fast-paced novel that spans two years in the lives of a group of diverse urban, suburban, and rural residents brought
together in an imaginary part of the northern United States. There in Locklee, the small town to which those who are forced
emigrants flee, they become mutually caught up in the necessities associated with post-nuclear survival.
Check www.alvapressinc.com for a more thorough review of Jolt as well as the most recent updates on its publication
and availability. And should you be so inclined and care to help defray the last payment of its first printing, a check
in the mail to Alva Press for your very own pre-publication autographed copy of Jolt: a rural noir would be a
Thinking of self-publishing? Emergency response?
Send your questions, comments or ideas to RobertaMRoy@alvapressinc.com
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to publish on this web site, questions posed of particular interest to the community with your or our
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1) If you walk out uninjured from a nuclear event, you probably will survive.
bywords to survival from
a nuclear event are TDS: Time,
3) Use regular soap and water to decontaminate from fallout.Strip and shower or cleanse as best you can. Use bread.
4) Nuclear fallout contaminates open water and plants.If there is fallout (ashes),use bottled water and canned goods.
5) Babies as well as adults can take Potassium Iodide (KI) to protectthe thyroid against ionizing radiation.
6) There is no plume with a nuclear power plant meltdown.
7) A large event may seem ‘over there’ if you can’t define its impact.Ionizing radiation is invisible.
8) A family needs an escape plan.
9) A community can respond as a team to mass events.
10) After a mass event, a communitymay heal changed but well.
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