Fallout Measurement Station Established in Tucson

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Physicians for Civil Defense in cooperation with the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona (MRCSA) has established a first-of-its-kind, automated NukAlert Fallout Measurement Station in Tucson, Arizona.

The station is a rooftop radiation detection system with a measurement range from low-level background to 1,000R/hr. It can capture, hold, and measure fallout from a nuclear power plant failure, nuclear detonation, or radiological dispersal device.

Such stations are needed because the existing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) RadNet stations (approximately three per state) are not appropriate for monitoring a massive radiological event or events. They are too widely scattered and saturate at low radiation levels.

The Tucson station reports radiation levels continuously to multiple databases over the internet, which may be viewed at the manufacturer's test database site.

The NukAlert Fallout Measurement Station, which is available to state, local, and federal agencies from Apogee Communications Group, is explicitly designed to accomplish Task 5.5 of the RadResilient Cities initiative. MRCSA and the manufacturer will be working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enable fixed monitoring stations such as this one to post continuous real-time radiation readings on the RadResponder Database. We are also working with a firefighter organization on hosting a public database of real-time radiation readings.

The NukAlert Fallout Measurement Stations are inexpensive, easy to install, and even contain software to interface with building control systems to close off outside air intakes when increased radiation is detected. Their design was guided by the environments described in these government documents: Key Planning Factors: Response to an IND in the NCR, Improving Hospital Preparedness for Radiological Terrorism, and Considering the Effects of a Catastrophic Terrorist Attack.

The heart of the station is the extended-range NukAlert, (NukAlert ER), which combines the functions of a Geiger counter, dosimeter, and high-dose survey meter in one compact instrument.

"We urgently need more such stations," states Physicians for Civil Defense president Jane M. Orient, M.D. "Flashpoints that could trigger war are proliferating, as in Ukraine and Syria—along with nuclear weapons technology."

"It's past time to activate your personal preparedness plan." She recommends immediately downloading and printing out the 60-second training card and the book Nuclear War Survival Skills.

If you want to be able to know whether you personally have been exposed to a dangerous level of radiation, she recommends the SIRAD (Self-Indicating Instant Radiation Alert Dosimeter) monitor created by the Department of Defense for first responders and the military. These monitors work by instantly and permanently changing color as radiation is absorbed. Currently these monitors, which are the size of a credit card, are available at J.P. Labs, 120 Wood Avenue, New Jersey, for about $40, but inventory is very limited. Alternatives to SIRAD include the NukAlert key fob survey meter and the homemade Kearny Fallout Meter, which you can make from instructions in Nuclear War Survival Skills.

For community and national preparedness against all potential radiation hazards, Physicians for Civil Defense is proud to sponsor the pioneering fallout system and thanks the MRCSA members for hosting the station.

Physicians for Civil Defense distributes information to help to save lives in the event of disaster.

Contact: Jane M. Orient, M.D., (520) 323-3110, [email protected]

SOURCE Physicians for Civil Defense