Detecting radiation without leaving your vehicle
Published: 01 July, 2008
Maryland company Laurus Systems has launched a new affordable radiation monitor that is permanently installed in an appliance to help reduce the risk of exposure.
The EVA-1, explains Laurus Systems MD Laura Lynch, was invented to answer a specific need from fire departments. “When you are arriving at a scene you want to know if there is a radiation presence. If the detector is on the appliance it means the appliance can act as a radiation shield.”
An external radiation sensor detects above-normal radiation and the internal audio and visual alarm alerts responders, allowing command units immediate situational awareness for directing emergency response protocol.
The externally mounted sensor and the interior indicator/alarm can be hard-wired in any emergency response vehicle and it is designed to be easily and permanently installed in the vehicle. The EVA-1 remains operational whenever the vehicle is running and there is little or no training required prior to use.
Laura added that the instrument should last as long as the vehicle (“as long as it does not fall off the truck!”), adding, “The response has been very good and we have sold some in the US and Japan.”
The EVA-1 was tested for two years by Boston Fire Department, who played an instrumental role in its development.
One of Laurus System’s most popular radiation instruments for fire brigades is the RAD-60 personal alarm dosimeter, used for everyday radiation monitoring. “Brigades use them as a matter of course because radiation is used regularly in manufacturing processes, and laboratories don’t have to register the fact they are using radioactive materials.
“Dosimeters are much more sophisticated now. The RAD-60 has been designed to measure any radiation exposure at an incident and store that information in its memory, so a record exists for personnel. If ten years down the line a firefighter contracts some disease, the employer has a record that shows whether there is a possibility that it was from exposure at an incident.”
Laurus Systems has been supplying radiation detection systems to the nuclear industry, military and homeland security for over ten years.
