Radiation Detection

Home Depot sells a test kit for Radon gas for about $30.

Anemia has many causes. One cause of anemia is low iron intake (vegetarians have this problem). So anemia does not immediately indicate radiation exposure. Nothing beats a clean differential diagnosis by a physician. In the end you might discover that a healthier diet and exercise might address the anemia.

Yes, a dosimeter. Check into purchasing a luminescent one, it will light up when exposed, and the brighter it is the more it's getting hit. It is also re-usable. I've never needed one so I don't have a source to recommend, but you could Google and hopefully find some sellers. Best wishes.

A dosimeter will be too slow to allow identification of any potential source. To do a proper frisk you must use a high sensitivity device like a Geiger Counter.

But as others have mentioned, there are many other causes that can create the symptom of anemia; ulcers, low iron diet, genetics, many diseases, mild systemic poisons, etc. So to jump to the conclusion of radiation effect is a big leap. If your friend does not have any of the other radiation side effects from an acute dose, then I'd hold off trying to do a radiation scan of the house.

I wish you and your friend the best of health.

Not sure I understand your comment about "a dosimeter will be too slow to allow identification of any potential source." Pocket dosimeters provide direct and immediate readings of ionizing radiation. So what do you mean?

Dosimeters measure whole body dose. These measure instantaneous cumulative dosage over time. A radiac reads the instantaneous radiation level and is very sensitive to variations, therefore utilizing the detachable probe on some units one can pinpoint fairly accurately where the source of the radiation is and its instantaneous level at that point in time.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

True, but you can still point your dosimeter at a source and read gamma; you don't even need to point it, just be near the source. Time distance shielding, right?

May I have a unit please.

Are you talking about the gamma function, or just the Greek letter Γ. Maybe your talking about the electro-magnetic Gamma rays that have a frequency higher than 10¹⁹ which puts each photon at an energy level above 100KeV. You cannot read these directly with your eyes for they are well out of the visible light spectrum.

Now if you wish to use a dosimeter to identify if you have a Gamma ray source in the room, you will not be able to point anything. You will have to put the dosimetry in one and only one location, reset the unit and wait long enough for a dose to be recorded that will clearly not be a random background burst. Record how many micro Sieverts or micro Greys you've acquired and how long this has taken. Now move your dosimeter to another location and again reset the dosimeter. Repeat your measurement routine. If you do this for a third measurement, the three readings will give you the simplest of two dimensional representation of three dimensional field that contains ionizing radiation. Repeat this process until you've located which item, if anything is a gamma source. Oh, you will also have to do this once outside of the room to identify what your background level is.

I repeat, a dosimeter is the wrong test instrument. A Geiger or Scintillation counter will have the individual second, counts per second resolution that will permit practical sweeping of a room. Geiger and Scintllator detectors can also be made so that you can point the detector.

I fully agree that a scintillation counter is better than a dosimeter for locating a source, I was just saying that a direct reading dosimeter could be used to see if a source is present in the space. Didn't come across like that though. When I started in naval nuke power we wore film badges then went to TLDs. If you went into a radiation or high radiation area, you wore additional dosimetry; a dosimeter under your anit-Cs and one outside for access to read it. When I got out of it in the mid-90s, they still read in REM and milliREM.

The US Nuclear Navy still uses TLDs, but are now testing electronic dosimetry. And they are still using the units REM and milli REM but are now contemplating using SI units (Sieverts). As with anything that the Nuclear Navy does, technology is still 10 yrs behind the times.

Radiation dosimetry is the equipment that measures the dose of radiation that a body receives or stops and transfers energy to the body. Most dosimetry instruments are calibrated to display the dose a nominal sized human being receives for the type of radiation encountered. This is an integrated, cumulative value with the unit of a Grey (Gy). A further conditioning of this dosage number sometimes gets converted to give a relative value of how damaging to the body the type of radiation dosage has. This then gets the unit of Sieverts, formerly called rem. But I digress. Since this is a cumulative number, walking briskly past a 10,000 Becquerel (Bq) source will produce a considerably smaller dosage than sitting for hours in a room with a 5 Bq source. So a true dosimeter will not permit localization of sources. Some dosimeters though either include or just integrate the radiation levels of a radiation detector to produce a dosage reading. A radiation detector like a Geiger counter or a scintillation detector will nominally display counts per second. A radiation detector will quickly show the difference between a 10,000 Bq, a 5 Bq and background sources.

For radon, a test kit as suggested by guest (or perhaps one of these) is probably cheapest & easiest. A geiger counter would be unlikely to detect radon (as the radiation produced is alpha particles, and there wouldn't be many of them anyway).

To do a rough check for gamma radiation, you could try this. Take several sheets of photographic film - the fastest (highest ISO number) you can get - leave them in their light-tight wrappers. Put one (the control) somewhere away from the suspect areas, with preferably about the same temperature range as the suspect areas. Place the other sheets around the suspect areas - maybe one in the living room, one in the study - you get the idea - and a couple near the junk collection.

[Note: materials and processing are easier to obtain if you have a photography shop accessible (one that still caters for film).]

Wait one week, then get all films processed at the same time - negatives only. If the negative from any of the suspect areas is appreciably darker than the control, it would definitely be worth investigating further. You can objectively measure using a lamp and a camera lightmeter.

[Disclaimer - radiation level monitoring for small increases of irradiation (as when performing personal dosimetry) generally needs longer exposure times (typically one month) and very accurate optical densitometers to assay the film negatives and quantify the results].

Try the RM80 Geiger counter from AWARE electronics. it attaches to your PC, laptop, netbook, etc. We use them for demonstrating radiation to high school students. It will measure the background radiation as well as radiation from specific objects. It will detect alpha particles.

Anemia can be cause by a shortage of vitamin B12 which some people can not absorb efficiently so I have an injection once a month and the iron in my blood has increased.

Good luck.

Do internet search of 'Geiger Counter rental'. I spotted one place that provides weekly rentals (Approx $40). You may be able to locate one nearby and negociate a one day rental. Good luck to you and your friend. P.S. you may as well check him, also.

If you have the expertise to use it, you might try Galson Laboratories. I rent Industrial Hygiene equipment from them. I've never rented this type of equipment but they may have it available.

There are several types of dosimeters, but they all take time to get a reading so you might need to place a few around and leave them for a week or two.

This is a good answer: don't start messing you're selves with radioactivity.

If you are in doubt of what he has stored in his house: just don't go in anymore and call in officials.

They will clear the risk and make sure nothing harmless remains.

Guess you find the problem and it is radioactive, what do you want to do with it? Sell to AQ?

It is also important that the officials find out how he could obtain it as normally these things should be listed and tracked until harmless.

Unquestionably, have your friend visit a doctor. He probably has already since he knows he's anemic.

Second thing, tell him to make sure to get enough Vitamin B12; have him eat liver regularly, and take B12 tablets, too (they're non-prescription at pharmacies). Ask the pharmacist how much he can take safely, and mention how often he'll be eating liver.

And DO have him see a doctor. Knowing that he's anemic is one thing, finding the reason why is another. For that matter, ask your friend .. maybe he knows already what's causing this.

Good luck to him! DZ

I have a Geiger counter. It's from back in the fifties, when these things were all the rage. Got it for less than $50, and it works just fine. Like Guest said, just do a search and you should be able to find one, cheap.

emc_c

Be careful with this. It may "work fine" but calibration with a check source of known quantity is essential. If you have not had it calibrated at least annually by a competent calibration lab, there's no way I'd trust any reading I got from it.

HALLO FRIEND: ANY GAS TUBE WILL DO CONECTING IT TO AN AUDIO AMP. JUST IN PHONO. LIKE A NEON LAMP,A FLUORECENT TUB. IF THERE IS RADIATION YOU ARE GOING TO NOTICE IT. IN THE SAUND IT PRODUCE. IF THERE IS NOT.....SHOULD BE NOT SOUND AT ALL. KRASNOPOLSKY

A prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation has been shown to lead to certain types of cancers. I am wondering who does not think it is Leukemia? If it is the doctor, then he is a quack and you should get your friend another opinion. Any doctor worth his weight would be running a battery of test to determine what his anemia is due to.

Radon gas is a lung exposure risk due to the inhalation of the gas. Anemia is an symptom of whole body exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition there are other symptoms that are associated with high doses of radiation.

In addition, in recent years there has been an increase in people finding radioactive material (sources, irradiated material, etc...) in scrap yards and garbage dumps. If you friend collects scrap metal for recycling, there might be a chance that he may have picked up something. The best thing to do is contact your local fire department/hazmat team. Also each state has a Radiological Health Department. Either of these organizations will be out right away to perform a radiation survey of your friends basement.

I would have your friend go back to the doctors and demand that they exactly find out what is causing the anemia and to put his mind at ease, have someone survey his basement to determine the presence of any radiological material.

Please do not delay in getting your friend some help.

Good Luck!

Thanks you all for the feedback and suggestions.

My elderly friend is a retired Mechanical Engineer who spent the majority of his career working in the nuclear industry in the UK and Canada. He's very active, cycles everyday, even in winter (only drives when he absolutely has to) and is normally in very good health. I hope to be in the same shape when I reach his age (81) and he still goes downhill skiing (might have to cancel his trip to British Columbia, Rockies).

He's already under investigation by Doctors and they have ruled out Leukemia. His diet is somewhat to blame but his sudden onset of ill health was triggered by getting a double dose of the flu shots (regular seasonal flu and H1N1 flu at the same time). He started going downhill 24 hours after those flu shots. I suspect that he already had a compromised Immune system before the flu shots and that put him over the edge.

I will find out If the local authorities can step in to rule out a radiation hazard in his home.

Happy Holidays

Nothing reliable that I'm aware of. The kind of exposure you're talking about wold probably be picked up via a dosimeter. You may be able to find those out there offered along with laboratory analysis. Cost??

Doubtful that exposure would come from the "metal bits". If he has a large number of old gauges (may use radium to illuminate), old electronics,... Are you located in the U.S.? If so, I know that your county or city public health department may be able to assist in the investigation with equipment and expertise. I'm not sure whether or not there are equivilents in other countries.