Kearny Fallout Meter
(KFM)
The
Kearny Fallout Meter (KFM) has everything needed to make and use a radiation
measuring device. Accurately measures dose rates from 30 mR/hr (0.03 R/hr) up
to 43 R/hr. The KFM has undergone rigorous scientific testing in several
laboratories where its accuracy and dependability were confirmed. Including Oak
Ridge National Laboratory where it was developed by Cresson H. Kearny, author
of Nuclear War Survival Skills. Designed to be assembled by a junior high age
student, thousands of KFM's have been built worldwide. This same KFM kit has
been endorsed by and listed as the sole source in the latest NWSS edition. It
also comes with very detailed construction, operating and testing instructions.
Also includes a free (non-working) smoke detector to use as a safe radioactive
testing source along with color indicating silica gel. And, it does not require
a battery. Great science project, too!
From Oakridge
National Labs Nuclear War Survival Skills, Chapter 10 Fallout Radiation Meters...
"A
survivor in a shelter that does not have a dependable meter to measure fallout
radiation or that has one but lacks someone who knows how to use it will face a
prolonged nightmare of uncertainties. Human beings cannot feel, smell, taste,
hear, or see fallout radiation."
"Which
parts of the shelter give the best protection? How large is the radiation dose
being received by each person? When is it safe to leave the shelter for a few
minutes? When can one leave for an hour's walk to get desperately needed water?
As the fallout continues to decay, how long can one safely work each day
outside the shelter? When can the shelter be left for good? Only an accurate,
dependable fallout meter will enable survivors to answer these life-or-death
questions."
"With
a reliable dose rate meter you can quite quickly determine how great the
radiation dangers are in different places, and then promptly act to reduce your
exposure to these unseen, unfelt dangers. For example, if you go outside an
excellent fallout shelter and learn by reading your dose rate meter that you
are being exposed to 30 R/hr, you know that if you stay there for one hour you
will receive a dose of 30 R. But if you go back inside your excellent shelter
after 2 minutes, then while outside you will have received a dose of only 1
R."
As Chapter 10 -
Fallout Radiation Meters also explains...
A
KFM combines the provably practical radiation measuring functions of an
electroscope and of an ionization chamber having a specified volume. No radiation source is needed either to
initially calibrate a KFM or subsequently to check its accuracy. (Calibrations
for accuracy were completed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and are the basis
of the KFM's attached table.)
KFM-Calibration
Testing
KI4U,
Inc., a licensed radiological laboratory, testing the KFM in their Cesium
Calibrator.
A
KFM is more accurate than most civil defense instruments, and its accuracy is
permanently established by the laws of physics applicable to the specified
dimensions and other characteristics of its parts, and to their positioning
relative to each other- provided that it is made and maintained according to
the instructions. Unlike all factory-made radiation measuring civil defense
instruments that are reliable and available today, a KFM is charged
electrostatically. No battery is needed.
Oh,
and yes, it will do radon gas, too! Instructions included. But, it is not
specifically certified by the EPA for this application.
CRESSON H. KEARNY
Civil Defense Consultant, Retired
Endorsement: A
LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FROM CRESSON KEARNY, INVENTOR OF THE KFM Dear reader, At the
time I developed the Kearny Fallout Meter with help from U.S. Department of
Energy scientists and engineers, we did not address the issue of nuclear
terrorism. We were so concerned back then in the 1970's with the danger of
all-out nuclear war that we neglected to instruct users of the KFM of its
advantages in a terrorist attack with few and smaller nuclear weapons. Fear of
life-threatening fallout from massive Soviet attacks carried over to
exaggerated fears of all radiation, including that from terrorists' few
weapons. In Oak Ridge National Laboratory publications to be read by the public
we did not even mention hormesis, for to have done so at that time probably would
have prevented my most influential book, "Nuclear War Survival
Skills," from being purchased and used by government agencies to instruct
civil defense professionals. When Hitler first bombed London the panic the
bombs caused did far more damage than the bombs themselves. After the citizens
of London lost their exaggerated fears of the bombings, life went on much as
normal. And so it would be with a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. One
nuclear bomb exploded in a U.S. city would likely be very small. And though it
could do catastrophic damage in a small area, its relative impact on the
physical infrastructure of the whole United States would be extremely small.
However, because of the irrational, universal fear people have of any
radioactivity, the panic that would ensue from such an attack would do far more
damage than the attack itself. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union we
should have stressed in the KFM instructions that small doses of radioactivity
are hormetic, healthful because they stimulate the immune system. This was
proven in laboratories as far back as the 1920's. With the advent of the A-bomb
almost all the hormetic research stopped. And only in the last decade has it
resumed on a serious scale. In the KFM instructions it was assumed that no
medical help would be available during and after a nuclear war. The doses that
an individual can take under those circumstances without being injured are
lower than what that individual can withstand if he has medical assistance such
as antibiotics, etc. In a nuclear terrorist attack medical aid would still be
available to the majority of American citizens; therefore they could withstand
somewhat larger radiation doses. This would enable them to carry on with the
daily necessities of life in most areas. If we allow irrational fear and panic
to shut down trucking, communications, and vital services, the disaster will be
far greater than it needs to be. Assembling a KFM and learning to use it before
you need it will help you lose irrational fear of radioactivity. You will not
be paralyzed by panic in an emergency. You will know how to conduct yourself in
a manner that may not only save your life but also the lives of many of those
around you as well. I urge you to study the KFM instructions now and make an
instrument. You should realize that under terrorist attack conditions the
radiation doses you can receive without being incapacitated are higher than
under nuclear wartime conditions. So you can go to work, drive your truck or
car, or assist others. Sincerely, Cresson H. Kearny [Signature in his
handwriting] Cresson H. Kearny [February 1999]
Kearny
Fallout Meter (KFM) Instructions
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