I will only speak to the use of some detection equipment, not to whether you need it or not.
I will also not attempt to define the types of radiation you need to be monitoring or maybe being exposed to.
You should be an informed consumer of the data that these devices can give you. Simply using them without that knowledge is a stress magnet without end.
Make sure whatever path you choose that you use devices with a verifiable calibration ($). Meaning you are buying from a professional company that provides
NIST (USA) or Japanese/EU equivalent (apologies to nationalists with a cert grudge to bear;-) certifications that the device is calibrated with a known source of energy. (I don't have time to explain this fully, please look it up for your location). This ensures that you are getting real data that you can then use to make decisions.
To keep track of how much ionizing radiation one has been/is being exposed to I recommend using the following devices:
Use a Film Badge Dosimeter or a TLD (crystal dosimeter) Badge. You wear the badge (the size of a postage stamp on a pin) for a period of time (usually 30-90 days) then send it in and the company tells you how much radiation the badge (and whatever was near it) was exposed to.
Pluses: Cheap, accurate, pin them on a child's clothing, ease of use. No batteries. No dials/screens to misread/misunderstand and stress out about. It can provide the data points necessary to make medical decisions. Buy one for each person in your house, and one for the house itself. You can then correlate the people dosages vs the house dosage and make comparisons (provided they are all used for the exact same amount of time).
Minuses: It only tells you AFTER the exposure. Each type of badge has a max amount of radiation it can measure. Meaning if it is exposed to an amount over the limit.....it only tells you that you went over.....not by how much.
The following item is battery powered, susceptible to misinterpretation for a given situation, and require regular calibration/re-certification (yearly).
"Chirpers": These are belt clip battery powered ionizing radiation detectors. One can use them to detect ionizing radiation of certain types and energy levels, and audibly chirp when a set threshold of radiation measured.
Pluses: Instant warning of overexposure.
Minuses: Expense. No "history" of the amount it has been exposed to, only a simple "spot" reading. Very easy to let down ones guard and "believe" you are safe because it is not chirping. Not an actual substitute for knowing the levels of ionizing radiation one is being exposed to. Most models only measure a limited range of ionizing radiation. The devices can become "saturated' and unable to accurately respond in some situations.
Geiger counters are a complex topic. If you don't have the time/background to take a deep dive into the topic and understand their strengths and weaknesses (inverse square, particle contamination etc), then you might want to find someone who can teach you the basics.
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I will only speak to the use of some detection equipment, not to whether you need it or not.
;-) certifications that the device is calibrated with a known source of
I will also not attempt to define the types of radiation you need to be monitoring or maybe being exposed to.
You should be an informed consumer of the data that these devices can give you. Simply using them without that knowledge is a stress magnet without end.
Make sure whatever path you choose that you use devices with a verifiable calibration ($). Meaning you are buying from a professional company that provides
NIST (USA) or Japanese/EU equivalent (apologies to nationalists with a cert grudge to bear
energy. (I don't have time to explain this fully, please look it up for your location). This ensures that you are getting real data that you can then use to make decisions.
To keep track of how much ionizing radiation one has been/is being exposed to I recommend using the following devices:
Use a Film Badge Dosimeter or a TLD (crystal dosimeter) Badge. You wear the badge (the size of a postage stamp on a pin) for a period of time (usually 30-90
days) then send it in and the company tells you how much radiation the badge (and whatever was near it) was exposed to.
Pluses: Cheap, accurate, pin them on a child's clothing, ease of use. No batteries. No dials/screens to misread/misunderstand and stress out about. It can provide
the data points necessary to make medical decisions. Buy one for each person in your house, and one for the house itself. You can then correlate the people
dosages vs the house dosage and make comparisons (provided they are all used for the exact same amount of time).
Minuses: It only tells you AFTER the exposure. Each type of badge has a max amount of radiation it can measure. Meaning if it is exposed to an amount over the
limit.....it only tells you that you went over.....not by how much.
The following item is battery powered, susceptible to misinterpretation for a given situation, and require regular calibration/re-certification (yearly).
"Chirpers": These are belt clip battery powered ionizing radiation detectors. One can use them to detect ionizing radiation of certain types and energy levels, and
audibly chirp when a set threshold of radiation measured.
Pluses: Instant warning of overexposure.
Minuses: Expense. No "history" of the amount it has been exposed to, only a simple "spot" reading. Very easy to let down ones guard and "believe" you are safe because it is
not chirping. Not an actual substitute for knowing the levels of ionizing radiation one is being exposed to. Most models only measure a limited range of
ionizing radiation. The devices can become "saturated' and unable to accurately respond in some situations.
Geiger counters are a complex topic. If you don't have the time/background to take a deep dive into the topic and understand their strengths and weaknesses
(inverse square, particle contamination etc), then you might want to find someone who can teach you the basics.
Best wishes to you and yours from me and mine.