>How many people live downwind of a nuke power plant and do NOT own a Geiger
>counter?
>
>I'll raise my hand first.... San OH NO is just a bit north west of here. I
>actually DO own a Geiger counter (only because of inheritance from my dad
>who was a survival nut) but have not unpacked it or powered it up in years.
>Next question:
>
>How many people personally know someone who has worked at a nuke plant for
>years, lives downwind, and has his Geiger counter (with alarm function,
>power adapter and backup batteries) attached to the wall of his living room?
>He says he finds the quiet, random clicking comforting. His RV is parked
>just outside and always stocked with gas/food/water, etc...
>
>Me again... He says if the generator bearings ever fry, the turbine and
>generator will come off the hinges... And they are mounted and spin in a
>direction that will cause them to then roll directly into the reactor. He is
>something of a goober and I don't believe everything he tells me, but...

I'm not an ME, CE, or reactor designer, but I bet even if the above 
were true, the reactor wouldn't even notice.

That said, there have been some informal networks of people who 
monitor background radiation readings, sometimes because they don't 
believe the public will be notified in the event of a leak. There are 
others who just do it for the fun of it. I've sold several of my 
detectors to such people, FWIW.

-- 

---
Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com
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