My nuke plant job was pre-outage/outage scheduler, to schedule construction in the half year leading up to, and then during, a refueling outage. Chaining together in computer of activities of putting up scaffolds, ripping off insulation, changing pipes, welding, repairing pumps, valves, motors and actuators.
How antsy. Several types of ansty for several groups of people.
Because I worked at a plant was actually empathising as if I was there and hearing each stage of developments, surprised at myself because normally that is "just news" for other industrial accidents half a globe away. That actually stressed me on their behalf, weird.
Feel very bad for families within tens of miles , I hope report I just read was translation problem, because if 17 REM/hr (170 mS) was detected at a place 30km from plant, thats going to poison people that couldn't get out..
If bad thing happens, meltdown with the hole that's in reactor #2, or worse a spent fuel pool fire, going to be bad for people within hundreds of miles, other countries involved, and maybe the wind goes south to tens of millions around Tokyo during some part of it. Would be ugly for years to come. And just think of food and other kinds of trade from Asia, could be some unpleasant surprises for global trade, and I wouldn't trust our government to set the correct limits on food (or even make adequate system for testing food or toys or clothes)
If worse case happens, several fuel pools and uncontained reactor meltdowns, that's dozen plus Chernobyls of contamination, there will be some portion of that which goes global. Most the "experts" are poo-pooing that just as they have low-balled how bad this thing could get (and most of them, comparing what they initially said, get more wrong with every new development, I've noticed).
From Chernobyl, cows in Washington had the radioactive iodine in their milk go from 2-3 pico-curies to 500+ Tiny, but ingested radioactive things a whole different world than "shine" on your body. It's a concern, especially if we amateurs can detect slight upward changes in radioactivity, might mean problematic levels of certain isotopes are going to be built into our bodies.
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As for surveying gear, for starting collection sometimes couple pen dosimeters with charger units show up very cheaply, $20 or so on ebay, even some are there now that the other stuff is commanding premium, because most people just not familiar.
After getting the low end covered, someday nice to have the big bad survey meter that can do 500 REM/hr or more, sometimes those that are rebuilt and recalibrated sometime in the 90s are $70. Useless as a rock for us in the USA in the present situation,but in U.S accident or war would be useful.
I've got one, if the needle on that thing ever moves, it'll be because something biblical happened. Retreat to safety / get away from the bad thing!!
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