The overall local background radiation level monthly average has dropped gradually from 43% above average in January 2012 to near normal, 3% above in June. This is good news. There have been six significant radioactive cloud detections in that period locally. Even though the June monthly average dropped to near normal, two email alert advisories were issued in July to those on the club email alert list. For the full information on these events, go to the club monitoring site. You can easily be added to the email alert list by clicking on email registration link at the top of the page.
The club monitoring site is set up very scientifically. The local background radiation levels are recorded every 60 seconds. After 24 hours it is downloaded onto a computer and then turned into a chart. It a significant event has occurred that chart is posted on the club web site. The data in the daily chart is used to calculate the day average, which is also posted to the club web site. At the end of the month, a monthly average is then calculated and posted as a chart to the club web site.
There are also lots of tools provided at the club monitoring site.
http://sccc.org.au/archives/2630
All this effort provides a very detailed long term view of what is happening to local radiation levels. Also we have contact with other people in Australia and New Zealand, who have been using Geiger Counters for 4 years or longer, who provide details of any significant detections they record. This is also posted on the club web site as soon as these reports arrive.
All the local detections so far have happened when there have been tropical winds coming down the east coast of Australia, from the north or north east, off the Pacific Ocean. Detections have occurred during rain events, when it has been fine, during solar storms and when there have been no solar storm. So far detecting has consistently occurred when the wind has been coming from the tropics and from the north or north east off the Pacific Ocean, to our location.
When there is 5 times normal background detection or more, an email alert is sent to those on the club alert list. At these levels it is wise to stay out of the rain. This is particularly important for children. The monitoring is indoors, so if there is a detection of 5x or above, it means it is probably hotter outside.
At our location on the Sunshine Coast, our detections have been low compared to other detections around Australia and New Zealand. My advice to locals at present is to avoid northern pacific sea food, plus eat local grown food and restrict travel to Australia.
Do your own research and get up to speed on what is happening. This disaster is not over yet, and it is important to keep monitoring it. Club members are fortunate that they have a very detailed informative monitoring station that they can refer to for up to date information on local and southern hemisphere conditions. Our risk level here is still relatively low compared to a lot of other locations in the northern hemisphere, if you take the above suggested precautions.
These two free guides are now available for club members to use as a resource. They show you how to use a computer to record and test for radiation in the environment. Years ago it would have cost tens of thousands of dollars to set up this sort of environmental testing. Now using your personal computer, it can be done relatively cheaply. If you intend to travel overseas, or have friends in the path of the fallout from Fukushima, these two guides can be valuable resource. A lot of people in the northern hemisphere have made use of these guides. Why? Because the multiple damaged reactors and exposed fuel pools are still releasing large amounts of radiation every hour.
Link to Geiger Counter Use guide,
Link to DIY food testing lab set up guide,
Next month I will provide food testing results.
Disclaimer: This is an amateur volunteer run service. Human error can provide incorrect information, and equipment malfunction can produce false readings. Do not rely on, or take action upon information presented on this web site, without further research. Views expressed in the pages or images on the SCCC Inc., site maybe the personal opinions of the relevant writers, and are not necessarily representative of those of SCCC Inc.
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