14 DAY TRIAL // It really seems that the very serious situation affecting the Fukushima nuclear plant in particular and potentially the whole of Japan (should something go very, very wrong at the aforementioned plant's reactors) has led to a steep increase in the popularity of personal radiation dosimeters, with the guys over at JapanTrendShop making available such a product for the general public.
This is not the first product of this type we've come across today, but unlike the DoseRAE 2 we've talked about earlier, the Geiger Counter FJ-2000 can actually be purchased by just about everyone with a couple of hundred dollars to spare.
According to the manufacturer, the device is capable of detecting radiation in the range of 0.1µSv/H – 999.9µSv/H, which means that you'll be able to know quite soon should something go rather bad and the level of radiation increase (although the level of accuracy, of ±20%, is not exactly reassuring, especially in a field so delicate as the one of radiation).
It's also interesting to mention that this thing is quite compact and easy to carry around, given the fact that it measures just around 55 x 92 x 18cm and weighs roughly 75 grams, while the required power is provided by the two built-in AAA batteries.
Plus, the device will also start an audio alarm whenever the measured radiation goes above the 25µSv/H threshold, practically letting users know that it's time to flee to a safer area.
Unfortunately, pricing for such a product is quite high, since JapanTrandhShop's asking around 609 US dollars for it, but the truth of the matter is that many people are quite likely to purchase such an item in the near future, especially if they happen to be living in Japan and they want to be able to know exactly what the level of radiation is around them, at any given moment.