Geiger Counter Nuclear Radiation Detector - FNIRSI Radiation Dosimeter with LCD Display, Portable Handheld Beta Gamma X-ray Rechargeable Radiation Monitor Meter, 5 Dosage Units Switched

15 years ago I woked as a Forester in Northern WI. I got the opportunity to work inside the Enterprise Radioactive Forest (google this). A forest that the USFS experimented on with Cesium in the 1970's to help deterime what would happen if the big one ever happened and what the effects of radioactive fallout would be on our forest resources. The project ended decades ago, but the forest continued on. When I worked as a forester, I can say it was the most bizzare forest I ever worked in. The trees all grew weird, were stunted, or misformed. A lot had wires coming out of them from the experiment. I also found alunimum rods everywhere. I picked up one of these rods and used it as a walking stick during the project, and kept it as a momento of working on the project (nothing illegal, it was trash). Years later, I found it in my garage and kind of wondered, is this radio active? Seems logical that it could be. All reserch I did on transfering of radiation to metals like aluminum said it was unlikely, but I was curious so I bought this detector. Glad to find out that it wasn't and I could keep my momento. It actually did not register anything, while bannanas sure did.

Before I begin, I need to say that this is a Geiger counter that has been designed to be a dosimeter. It measures the accumulated radiation exposure in fractional units of Sieverts over time. This is a high quality dosimeter considering the price. It can read gamma, beta and x-radiation dosages. Two screens are provided: the first is numerical and the second is graphical. The manufacturing quality of this instrument is evident at first glance. It is beautifully packaged in order to protect the Geiger-Mueller tube in shipping which is otherwise subject to shock breakage. I purchased this item in order to monitor radiation dosages in two places in my home. The first is an activated charcoal filter that I have on my water supply in the basement while the second is a reverse osmosis system with charcoal filters under the kitchen sink. Since there is radon in my well water supply, I prefer to remove as much as possible before it is delivered to the faucets in the house. It also serves to reduce the radon levels in air due to cooking, washing, showering and laundry. Capturing the radon in activated charcoal will also capture radon decay products (daughter products). Some of these have very short lifetimes, but some are extremely long and tend to build up in the activated charcoal filters over time. I wanted to see how these radiation dosage levels increased over time in order to determine the optimal time to change the filters. The first thing that I noticed was that in just one week, after a basement filter change, the radiation had already built up by a significant amount. The radon radioactivity in our water is approximately 3000 pCi/L. If allowed to vaporize due to cooking, washing, bathing and laundering, this amount of radiation could add about 0.3 pCi/cubic meter to the air. The radiation dosage level that was measured close to the tank was 1.4 uSv/hr according to the meter. If multiplied by the number of hours in a year, 8760, we arrive at the accumulated dose per year which is 12.3 mSv. This is the amount of radiation exposure that would be possible were a person to stay in proximity to the tank for an entire year. This exceeds the NRC dosage guidelines of 1 mSv (0.1 rem) per year. Clearly, the filter should not be placed anywhere near where people or children would normally gather or play, for example, a finished basement. I will be monitoring the activated charcoal filter tank for several weeks to see if the radiation buildup reaches equilibrium as the filter capacity is exhausted. This will provide a guideline for how often the filter should be replaced. Short term exposure to the filter during a filter change should not be an issue provided that safe handling practices are followed. As a followup, I have decided to change the activated charcoal filter in the basement four times per year since no one is in proximity to the filter most of the time. One additional piece of information: For occasional proximity to radiation by workers, the annual permissible dose is 50 mSv (5 rem) per year. On the subject of radioactivity and dosage; they are not the same, pCi/L cannot be converted to uSv, or vice versa. The first is an instantaneous radiation level in disintegrations per second from a liter of water, while the second is an accumulated exposure dosage over time. Finally, I am not a licensed professional engineer or health physicist. Always consult with a professional engineer or health physicist who is. Most water system installers pose as being knowledgeable, but they are not. While they may attend training courses in radon mitigation, they do not possess the knowledge required to make sound health decisions for your family.

OK this was one of these items that I really didn't have to have but wanted to get. I was first attracted to the price point for a functional Geiger counter and it has some nice options with it. This counter uses a GM tube I do believe and appears to give me consistent readings when using it with a known radioactive source. It will detect xray, beta and gamma particles and I really like the screen and setting options. Battery life for me has been super good and I like the size and feel in my hands. It is very easy to use but I will say that an area that it could improve in is it's ability to detect and display radiation doses faster and I do wish that it would give the characteristic clicking sound when the GM tube is struck by radioactive particles. So speed of detection and that sound are my only real complaints. I guess both of these are typically available on higher priced units. All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase and it's cool to check out uranium glassware, gas lanterns mantles and smoke detectors. Hope that it works well for a long time to come.

Does what it's supposed to. These are meant to be worn by ppl who work around radiation every day. They turn them on at the start of the day and turn them in at the end so their cumulative dose can be measured. It will detect radioactive isotopes in the immediate vicinity too, though it's more for measuring cumulative dose, which is more relevant, imho. It's not really meant for pinpoint accuracy either but if something around is radioactive it will ɗefinitely detect it. It also has an alarm that will go off if the rate of accumulation crosses a certain threshold, which you can set. It's basically on-the-job safety equipment, so it's pretty sturdy and has long battery life, can easily last through an 8hr day before it needs a recharge. You can switch between: 1.) micro-Sieverts/hr ｵSv/h 2.) Grays per hour Gy/h 3.) milliRoentgen per hour mR/h 4.) Counts per second 5.) Counts per minute No it will not detect the americium-241 (Am-241) in your smoke detector, no it will not detect the trace isotopes in bananas or concrete. According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission: 0.0013 urem per hour at one meter from an ICSD containing a 1 uCi Am-241 source. : So about .0013urem is normal and safe. This matches up with what the dosimeter is reading at all times: ~0.0013urem Background radiation, mostly from the sun.

No way to tell if it's accurate. But the radiation levels do change over time. So far the radiation levels are low.

Works effectively as a radiation detector. Have used to check in house and surrounding areas around home and office. Helps keep peace of mind. Low battery consumption.

Very effective. My cat underwent radioactive iodine treatment, and I needed to protect myself. It's accurate and quick to detect. All my cat had to do was walk by or stand for any period of time. period of time.

Excellent

Excelente