Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Radiation Detection Services $25, Sacramento Area + Radiation Map

Several people have expressed interest in my Geiger counter readings. It is understandable that few want to pay ~$450 for a device like the RadAlert 100 (or even rent one for $80). Also, the available maps I've found are not specific enough since radiation can vary from home to home and even room to room depending on your ventilation.

Perhaps my investment in the RadAlert can pay for itself. I only need to find 18 people in the Sacramento area who will pay $25 for an analysis of their radiation levels.

Email me to book your appointment.

Cities served: Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Carmichael, Folsom, Camden, Roseville, Woodland, Davis, Vacaville, Cameron Park, Shingle Springs, Dixon,West Sacramento, Rio linda

According to Snopes, the following map is a hoax:


Origins: This map showing the projected path of fallout across the western United States following a possible meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan began circulating shortly after a massive
8.9 earthquake hit that country in March 2011. The map bore the logo of the Australian Radiation Services (ARS), an organization which has disclaimed any connection with it:
Australian Radiation Services is aware of information about radioactive contamination being spread from the Japanese nuclear reactor incident released under the ARS logo and name. We wish to be clear that this information has not originated from ARS and as such distance ourselves from any such misinformation.



I'd link you to the Snopes site, but I don't trust the Snopes web site because it gives pop-up ads to Netflix and other sites in Firefox even with pop-ups blocked. Here is the map that they say is a hoax:






80-120 rads - You have a 10% chance of vomiting and experiencing nausia for a few days
130 -170 rads - You have a 25% chance of vomiting and contracting other symptoms
180-220 rads - You have a 50% chance of vomiting and having other severe physical effects
270 More..-330 rads - 20% chance of death in 6 weeks, or you will recover in a few months.
400-500 rads - 50% chance of death
550-750 rads - Nausea within a few hours ; no survivors
1000 rads - immediate incapacitation and death within a week or less.

Day 1 was Friday, March 11, the day of the quake. Time line excerpted from CSmonitor.


  • At 2:47 p.m. local time, Japan is struck by the largest recorded earthquake in its history off the coast of the northeastern city of Sendai. Meteorologists log it at 8.9 on the Richter scale.

  • 11 nuclear reactors shut down automatically.

  • A powerful tsunami triggered by the earthquake sweeps away cars and homes and knocks out regular and backup cooling systems at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Several reactors are affected

  • Day 2 – Saturday, March 12

  • A blast caused by a pressure buildup blows the roof off the containment structure of the Fukushima Daiichi plant's Unit 1 reactor, but reports say the nuclear fuel rods are not affected.

  • Workers begin injecting seawater and boric acid into the reactors in what experts say is a last-ditch attempt to prevent a meltdown after the backup cooling systems for reactors 1 and 3 fail completely.

  • Day 3 – Sunday, March 13

  • There is believed to have been a partial meltdown in the reactor.

  • in southwestern Japan, Shinmoedake volcano erupts for the second time in 2011, sending ash and rock more than two miles into the air. Analysts say it was the biggest volcanic activity there in 52 years.

  • Day 4 – Monday, March 14

  • An explosion caused by pressure buildup blows away the roof and walls of the building housing the Fukushima Daiichi plant's No. 3 reactor and injured 11 people. The plant's No. 2 reactor loses its cooling capabilities after the explosion. Workers begin injecting seawater and boric acid into that reactor.

  • A fire is extinguished, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says that more radiation was released as a result and that "now we are talking about levels that can damage human health."

  • The US Geological Survey upgrades the earthquake from an 8.9 to a 9.0



  • Day 5 – Tuesday, March 15

  • An explosion hits Fukushima Daiichi's No. 2 reactor in the morning. Readings indicate some damage to the No. 2 reactor's suppression pool, a donut-shaped reservoir at the base of the reactor's containment vessel.

  • The plant is emitting as much radiation in one hour as it normally would in six months

  • The head of France's Nuclear Safety Authority, says the international alert should be from a level 4 disaster to a level 6 incident.



Below is a network of citizen radiation detectors. Great idea but I'm not sure how well it is actually working.
Welcome to RadiationNetwork.com, home of the National Radiation Map, depicting environmental radiation levels across the USA, updated in real time every minute. This is the first web site where the average citizen (or anyone in the world) can see what radiation levels are anywhere in the USA at any time

... Mineralab, LLC, the operator of this web site, can not independently verify that the Radiation Levels, or any Radiation Alerts, that are displayed on this Radiation Map are correct and valid. Among other possibilities, Geiger counter malfunctions or proximity of the counters to certain medical procedures or to radioactive items can cause high readings at a Monitoring Station. If the Radiation Map appears to show elevated Radiation levels, contact Mineralab.

via Radiation Network.

The current map for Japan that they have doesn't show any readings as far as I can see. Here is a much better map of what is happening with the plume in Japan from a Dr. Gerhard Wotawa on the ZAMG web site. Does seem to be heading our way, doesn't it?






I'm also working on setting up a monitoring station everyone can check on the web. I just need $80 for the software and the connector cable to hook my RadAlert 50 to my laptop.

Donate

4 comments:

Josh said...

Looks like its getting pretty close to the US coast =/

kevin said...

an word on supermarket runs stateside? I'm debating playing hooky and doing a little more emergency preparedness shopping. I'm in SoCal and can't find anything on that yet.

Xeno said...

No word yet, but heck yeah, get food and water. Always a good idea to have.

james bond said...

bull shit