A dirty bomb goes off (or an actual nuke). Everyone will want to know if they have been contaminated, how much, etc.

Geiger counters are cheap ($100). If something happens, you should be able to be tested easily. With no plan, what do you do? Do you wait for DHS? Will there be a traffic jam there? How will you find them?

If this happened in your town, picture the panic level. Everyone around would want to know.

So, how about a 'standard place' for geiger counters? One that is distributed according to population. On that is designed to handle lines of cars (with a parking lot for decontam). Unaffected people could be in and out in 20 seconds.
-- just4kinks, Jan 31 2005

Some aspects of disaster preparedness for dirty bombs http://nucnews.net/...0111nn/011127nn.htm
[robinism, Jan 31 2005]

Or every cellphone Walking_20Geiger_20Counter
[theircompetitor, Jan 31 2005]

A piece of Giger art http://www.art54.co...er/pictures/001.jpg
Brain Salad Surgery album cover, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer [normzone, Feb 01 2005]

Interesting quote that supports your idea:

"What we learned at Chernobyl is that getting accurate information to people quickly is what's important,'' Mettler said. ``In Chernobyl, there were as many psychological problems in the `clean' villages as there were in the `dirty' ones. People just didn't trust the government saying the villages were clean.''
-- robinism, Jan 31 2005


//One that is distributed according to population.//

Ha.

//On that is designed to handle lines of cars (with a parking lot for decontam).//

Ha!

//Unaffected people could be in and out in 20 seconds.//

HA!
-- Detly, Jan 31 2005


You could send people to supermarkets. The cashiers can wave handheld barcode scanners around you while you're buying bottled water. On your way out they tell you you're fine. Yes, it would be inmoral.

On the other hand, if you check a clean person with a real geiger counter, chances are high that they will panic. The devices would have to be rigged to jump directly form zero to godzilla.
-- tiromancer, Jan 31 2005


Everyone would have to wait for the decontamination units to turn up. During that waiting period, the SOP is to contain anyone who may have been contaminated and then decontaminate everyone. It is predicted that lethal force would be against anyone who broke such a cordon.
-- oneoffdave, Feb 01 2005



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