About Survival

The Hapless Wanderer’s Guide to Nuclear Radiation

The biggest problem in the area of radiation monitoring, aka Geiger counters, is that almost all Geiger counters have the wrong scale for nuclear war. They are rendered useless in the event of nuclear war. After a lot of snooping, I found a few that will work. I’m going to list them below, then we need to go down the rabbit hole of radiation units.

It’s a bad sign if the Geiger counter displays microSieverts (μSv). You want milliSieverts (mSv). It should display at least 100 mSv or 100,000 μSv. At 500 mSv, death is not common unless other medical conditions are present. At 1000 mSv, the chance of death is 5% to 10%. At 2000 mSv, the chance of death is 30% to 50%. At 4000 mSv, the chance of death is 80% to 90%.

Everybody should get the Rad Triage 50 Personal Radiation Detector. The cost is less than $25. It’s a dosimeter card that fits in your wallet or pocket. It functions as a nuclear radiation detector, electromagnetic field detector, and anti-radiation dosimeter. It instantly detects radiation from sources like nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons fallout, and dirty bombs, monitoring medically significant doses between 50-4000 mSv through a color-changing sensor. The detector squares are green until 500 mSv. At 1000 mSv the square is grey, and you are in trouble if the radiation reaches that level. This U.S.-made, military-grade dosimeter needs no batteries or calibration and is impervious to an EMP bomb. Its shelf life can be extended up to 10 years if stored in a freeze. The Rad Triage 50 Personal Radiation Detector gives you a rough big-picture look at the radiation situation.

Radiation decays pretty rapidly. It drops to 1/10th of the original after 7 hours:

  • 7 hours: 1/10
  • 7^2 (49 hours or about 2 days): 1/100
  • 7^3 (343 hours or about 2 weeks): 1/1000
  • 7^4 (2401 hours or about 3 months + 10 days): 1/10000

After 2 days the radiation level would be: [Start Radiation Level]/[100].

What about the radiation scale? When should I be worried?

Here’s an overview of the radiation danger associated with the different levels of radiation exposure as measured by the Rad Triage 50 Personal Radiation Detector:

  • 50 mSv: At this level, the health risks are generally low, but there might be a very slight increase in the lifetime risk of cancer. This is equivalent to about 5 years of natural background radiation. Acute symptoms are unlikely, but long-term exposure at this level might be of concern for cumulative effects.
  • 100 mSv: This dose could lead to a small but noticeable increase in cancer risk over a lifetime. It’s equivalent to about 10 years of natural background radiation. There are no immediate health effects, but monitoring and possibly avoiding further exposure would be advisable.
  • 250 mSv: At this exposure level, there’s a more significant increase in the risk of developing cancer over one’s lifetime. Acute symptoms are still not common, but there could be some mild effects like skin reddening if the exposure was localized. Long-term health surveillance would be recommended.
  • 500 mSv: Here, the risk of cancer becomes more pronounced, roughly doubling the natural risk. Acute symptoms might include nausea, fatigue, and skin burns if exposure was over a short period. Medical follow-up is essential to monitor for both immediate and long-term health effects.
  • 1000 mSv: This level significantly increases the risk of radiation sickness with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. There’s a high risk of developing radiation-related illnesses, including cancers. Immediate medical attention is crucial, as this dose can lead to the acute radiation syndrome (ARS), particularly if exposure is rapid.
  • 2000 mSv: At this dose, radiation sickness becomes severe with symptoms like diarrhea, hair loss, and a serious drop in blood cell counts, leading to potential infections, hemorrhaging, and death if not treated. The risk of future cancers is very high, and survival depends heavily on medical intervention.
  • 4000 mSv: This is an extremely dangerous level where the survival rate decreases significantly. Symptoms of acute radiation syndrome would be severe, including gastrointestinal damage, leading to potentially fatal outcomes in a short time frame without immediate and intensive medical care. The cancer risk is extraordinarily high for survivors, with life-threatening health conditions almost certain.

These descriptions are for a one-time exposure. Chronic exposure at lower levels can also lead to health issues but with different manifestations and risks. It’s important for individuals exposed to such levels to seek medical advice and potentially undergo long-term health monitoring.

The probability of death from radiation exposure increases with the dose but also depends on factors like the rate of exposure (acute vs. chronic) and the medical care received. Here are approximations based on acute (short-term) exposure scenarios:

  • 50 mSv: The risk of death from this exposure is negligible. There’s no immediate threat to life; long-term cancer risks are increased but not directly lethal.
  • 100 mSv: Similarly, there’s no significant immediate mortality risk from this dose. Long-term, there’s an increased cancer risk, but mortality directly from the radiation exposure is extremely low.
  • 250 mSv: Acute mortality is still quite low, but there’s a slight risk of death due to complications if the exposure was intense and led to initial symptoms. The risk of death from cancer later in life is elevated.
  • 500 mSv: With this dose, acute radiation syndrome (ARS) might start to show, but death is not common unless there are other complicating factors like inadequate medical care. However, the chance of death from cancer over one’s lifetime increases significantly.
  • 1000 mSv: There’s a noticeable risk of death within weeks due to ARS, especially if medical treatment is not immediately available. Without treatment, mortality might be around 5-10%. With treatment, this can be reduced, but the long-term cancer risk remains high.
  • 2000 mSv: Without medical intervention, mortality from ARS can be as high as 30-50%. With aggressive medical treatment, this can be lowered, but there’s still a substantial risk of death within weeks to months. Long-term, almost all survivors will have a dramatically increased cancer risk.
  • 4000 mSv: This dose is extremely dangerous, with mortality rates from ARS potentially reaching 80-90% without medical treatment. Even with the best medical care, survival rates drop significantly, and those who do survive face a near-certain risk of developing fatal cancers or other severe health issues in the future.

These probabilities are rough estimates based on historical data from radiation accidents and nuclear incidents. They assume acute exposure and do not account for individual health differences or the quality of medical intervention, which can greatly influence outcomes. Chronic exposure would present different risks and outcomes. Individual outcomes can vary widely.

NukAlert uses R (Roentgens) instead of mSv. It puts the crisis point at 100 R which is approximately 1000 mSv.

To convert millisieverts (mSv) to roentgens (R), we need to use the conversion factor for gamma radiation. One roentgen of gamma radiation is approximately equivalent to 9.3 millisieverts (mSv) in terms of absorbed dose in air for soft tissue (assuming 1 R ≈ 0.0093 Sv). Here are the conversions:

  • 50 mSv ≈ 50 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 5.38 R
  • 100 mSv ≈ 100 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 10.75 R
  • 250 mSv ≈ 250 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 26.88 R
  • 500 mSv ≈ 500 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 53.76 R
  • 1000 mSv ≈ 1000 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 107.53 R
  • 2000 mSv ≈ 2000 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 215.05 R
  • 4000 mSv ≈ 4000 mSv / 9.3 mSv/R ≈ 430.11 R

Please note that these conversions are approximate because the exact conversion factor can vary slightly depending on the specific energy of the gamma radiation and the material in which the radiation is absorbed. However, for general purposes and in the context of emergency radiation detection, these conversions provide a practical estimate.

matt