Ionizing Radiation safety video by Bionerd23..must watch for health physics

I am a member of the Gamma Spectroscopy yahoo group that is
involved in a number of cutting edge projects, including several DIY gamma spectrography kits for people living near to the fallout zone of the Fukushima Tepco Dai-ichi power plant.
Bio-nerd 23 is a member of this group and has produced a very excellent video series on Nuclear health physics, complete with some excellent video taken around Pripyat and on the beaches in around Brazil. Beaches are famous for Monazic sands (Monazite beach) with radiation amounts equal to those found near Chernobyl and surrounding areas (with exception to of course the Red forest area).

So I will be definitely be using this video in the classroom.:beer::beer:

WARNING: This video does contain strong language for illustrative purposes.

Enjoy. :beer:



~ Monazite btw is an ore that makes up +95% of the worlds supply of rare earths, including Cerium, Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Samarium, Neodyium. Associated with a large amount of the Lanthanides in this ore are significant amounts of Thorium and Uranium along with larger %ages of Zirconium.
In Brazil, the Monazite on the beach featured in this film, (Ce) Monazite contains a much larger amount of Th and as such was the primary commerical source for Th for gas lantern mantles in the late 1800's.

Excellent post, S_L, it won't let me rep you yet though.

I used to be a member of the GCE spectrum of yahoo groups when I had time for such. learned tons there. Tell me, is Geo K0FF still active? Bionerd is great, she's done some really amazing studies on Chernobyl.

Sigurthr said:

Excellent post, S_L, it won't let me rep you yet though.

I used to be a member of the GCE spectrum of yahoo groups when I had time for such. learned tons there. Tell me, is Geo K0FF still active? Bionerd is great, she's done some really amazing studies on Chernobyl.

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Yes, Geo K0FF is still on both his forums, and so is Bionerd.
The group has evolved into a recent (since 2011) Gamma Spectroscopy group
doing experiments with an ARM based oscilloscope




btw, I still have a Geo-Leni/ GEO210 that he built years ago. My next project ( year or so away)
is to get into Gamma Spectrography and do some searching in around Tofino to see if there is any measurable amounts of Cs137 from 2011.

Ah wow, that's progressed well! I remember when the project was first proposed, they were doing an all inclusive type build with a screen and processor inclosed in the HVPSU housing. Certainly makes it a lot easier to outsource the display and processing to an off the shelf unit.

Sigurthr said:

Ah wow, that's progressed well! I remember when the project was first proposed, they were doing an all inclusive type build with a screen and processor inclosed in the HVPSU housing. Certainly makes it a lot easier to outsource the display and processing to an off the shelf unit.

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Yes, and it's even progressed into running an off the shelf isotope identification system.
An offshoot of this project is from a fellow from Austrailia, BEE RESEARCH ebay store the maker of the Gamma spectacular series of drivers for Scint. probes

GS-1100A Scintillation Detector Driver for Spectroscopy.

Really cool stuff here. :beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::yh:

Awesome informative video, thanks for sharing.

I wonder why this hasn't received more views or recognition in Youtube.

ryansoh3 said:

Awesome informative video, thanks for sharing.

I wonder why this hasn't received more views or recognition in Youtube.

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She's got 28,098 views alone/ 258 + comments for this video. Not bad, but definitely deserving of more positive hits and more views.
Really solid explanation on health physics here.

1001 SUNS

Humanitarian side of health physics, (more of a documentary and well filmed) ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH!!

Open home project

Much of this material was stuff we covered in my Hazmat training in 2002 for handling DU (U238) ship counter balances, Metallurgical test sources and other hazardous radioactive material one typically finds at a naval ship yard.
Other material Bionerd covers goes deep into the health physics theory around disasters and even into laws governing radioactive samples.

Thanks for posting. Very informative and easy to follow. :beer:

millirad said:

Thanks for posting. Very informative and easy to follow. :beer:

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Thanks for taking the time and watching the video.
Great stuff isn't it!!


Props to Bionerd23, she's got even got great uranium based detection/extraction videos using Nitric Acid and long wave UV lamps!:beer::beer::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

Uranyl Nitrate fluorescence. Tried this and it was excellent, though only 450mg worth of Uranyl Nitrate was recovered. Oh well better luck next time.

millirad said:

Thanks for posting. Very informative and easy to follow. :beer:

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You need to check out this video regarding Gamma Spectrometry using the
Gamma Spectacular (worlds smallest Gamma Spectrometer using external probes)

These are being used in Japan for Isotope Identification.
Made in Australia!! :drool::drool:

This is by far the most craziest/scariest video on BioNerd23's video channel.
This video shows an area in Pripyat where some EXTREMELY HOT discarded nuclear fuel fragment was buried near the surface of a fire-ant nest.

The Radiation levels here are extremely hazardous. 115mSV/hr for the rather large fragment.
Turned out that the fragment contained Cs137, Am241 and several other isotopes. I'll guess that the sample was mostly Cs137 due the large gamma signature emitted.

Note to self, get a Gamma spectacular and a NaI/Tl probe!!

Something this small emitting this much Radiation can cause contact burns from the localized intense radiation field
not unlike you'd get from a sunburn. The hands can take much more radiation than other parts of the body so what she's doing isn't
immediately dangerous, bit it is none the less extremely risky.




This is an example of an ionizing Radiation burn on the hand.
(The picture in question is of an radiography X-ray burn)
Something like this could happen easily handling a source like the one found above in the video
for any extended length of time.

http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/radiation/Xraytraining/Radiation Burn - Hand.jpg