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Show Tiny Pocket Counter Devised for British Atomic-Bomb Defense LONDON, ENGLAND Britain's civil defense corps will soon be issued is-sued a small radiation counter that looks like a fountain pen and is small enough to carry in your pocket. The new counter, called the individual in-dividual dosimeter, comes equipped with a clip for holding it in a breast pocket. The wearer can keep a constant check on whether he is getting too hot with atomic rays for continued health. The total dose to which he is exposed is recorded. The reading is taken by holding the small cylinder up to the light and peering into one end. Against the light, there is visible visi-ble a scale reading of radioactivity. Two other counters will also be issued. One is the portable dose rate meter, about the size of a portable radio receiver, and it also differs in what it tells its operator. While the fountain pen device tells the total dose he ha absorbed, the portable dose rate meter measures the amount of radioactivity the operator op-erator would absorb in one hour in a contaminated area. These portable meters are battery operated, and may be ca-ried slung over the shoulder. A flick of a switch gives the dosage rate reading on a dial. The portable meters are designed for rescue workers after atomic blasts. These workers need to know what areas are still too "hot" for them, and how long they may remain re-main in areas still showing weak atom contamination. The third device, the contamination contamina-tion meter, is for more stationary use. It will be used principally to detect persons contaminated by bomb rays. It is planned to install it in hospitals and cleansing stations. sta-tions. The meter can scan a person who merely walks by it. If that person is contaminated, a meter reading swings upward and a loud-speaker squawks. Contaminated persons thus can be quickly separated from those who are not. The meter then can be used to show which parts of a victim's person are most contaminated. |