Radiation Newtwork: West Coast #s just jumped 4-5 points...then all dropped back to previous numbers

[Snoutport]

Very strange. I've been looking at Radiation Network for a while. The detectors on the west coast of norther cali have said 29 all morning. The one in Washington state has been at 36. I just checked it, hit refresh, and the numbers shot up to 34 and 40...stayed there for a moment then the website froze up for a second and then the numbers turned back to 29 and 36.

That is NOT a good sign.... who is changing numbers?

http://www.radiationnetwork.com/

[arcane1]

1. Could they be random fluctuations in the background?

:shrug:

[tabatha]

2. My question, too.

[Snoutport]

4. I don't know...now one went up again

[CreekDog]

32. do you realize how slight the changes you are worried about are?

:hi:

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Yes

[pinto]

3. From the website -

"Welcome to RadiationNetwork.com, home of the National Radiation Map, depicting environmental radiation levels across the USA, updated in real time every minute."

:shrug:

[k2qb3]

5. 4 or 5 microseivert? could be solar flare, almost anything. nt

[FBaggins]

13. It isn't even microsievert.

It's Counts Per Minute. A much much lower measure. This is below 1Bq.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. A truck drivimg by with medical nucleotides

an X-Ray machine, a solar flare... these are very normal background

[CreekDog]

33. it's not microseiverts, it's Geiger counter "clicks"

wayyyyy different and way less significant.

[Kadie]

6. The numbers bounce around a lot.

I was watching it several days ago when someone posted the link. It did the same thing then.

[Aerows]

7. Fluctuation from wind currents?

I wouldn't say they are changing numbers, though it probably isn't outside the realm of possibility.

That's my only attempt at speculation, and I could be wrong. It's not being alarmist to pay attention, it's being a realist in this situation.

[CabalPowered]

8. All normal

They always fluctuate. It's interesting to watch but without actually plotting the data and finding the rolling averages... pretty much meaningless. These are meant to be more like canaries in the coal mine. If you see it jump to 100 and stays there for 30 mins, that would be worth reporting.

[Snoutport]

9. ah, i'm gonna hide the thread then. people are worked up enough.

[ms.smiler]

10. Snoutport, I have a knowledgeable friend who told me to expect

such fluctuations. There is no exact, constant level in the atmosphere. Expect the numbers to change frequently. I've been watching this for several days and have noticed that the one counter in Colorado usually has the highest reading and my friend explained that it is likely due to altitude.

I wish there were additional stations reporting across the U.S.

[Kadie]

11. I was wondering about the Colorado number.

Thanks for the explanation.

For California the numbers were jumping between the low 20's and high 30's several days ago. The Colorado numbers were always much higher.

[Snoutport]

18. yeah, i heard it was no big deal so i hid the thread. didn't want to add to the worry

[CreekDog]

34. you hid the thread? not very well apparently

not even from yourself! :rofl:

if you want "hide" it, ask the mods to delete it or lock it.

[FBaggins]

12. Keep in mind this is CPM.

That kind of fluctuation is guranteed at that level.

Nothing at all to be concerned about.

[arcane1]

16. The east and west coast numbers are comparable too

which makes me feel a little better :)

[NeedleCast]

14. ROFL

So raditation numbers are not going up, thus someone must be changing the numbers?

Alarmism never fails. If the numbers support alarmism, great! If the number don't support alarmism, they must be artificually manipulated. Sounds reasonable.

[Snoutport]

19. no, they went up then right back down...it looked weird is all. i hid the thread

as soon as someone said it was normal. I didn't want to add to the neurosis.

[Hannah Bell]

15. i've been watching them for days. they change every time the readings are updated.

they go up or down depending on what the latest reading is.

the people monitoring are "changing the readings". no one is trying to fool you.

the west coast readings have always been in the range of 17-37 so long as i've been checking. they still are.

[hlthe2b]

17. Hello?... This is truly meaningless miniscule background fluctuation.

Denver has background readings that vary from 29-78 on some days. We live in the shadow of the former nuclear weapons plant, Rocky Flats and the Minutement nuclear missile silos up and down the front range. Our levels available from that site, while still very low, are nearly always higher than either the data available from the West Coast or East Coast areas near nuclear reactors.

This is NOT unusual background fluctuation. These are not levels of any concern. They are minimal levels that fluctuate with changing wind patterns.

Please folks, get some perspective.

[Snoutport]

20. yeah, i hid the thread as soon as someone said it was normal. it was the quick up and down

that was discerning. I'd had it on for awhile with no change so it was just weird it finally moved but then immediately changed back.

[Cal Carpenter]

29. Hiding the thread just means that *you* won't see it in the forum listing

It doesn't hide it from anyone else. If you really want to shut it down you can alert on it and ask the mods to lock it.

[MelissaB]

25. That explains what I just posted below then. Thanks!

[Sirveri]

21. Could be anything, including a temperature inversion, street paving, solar flare, etc..

I was on the boat when we were painting it, radiation levels shot up to 2mR/hr. I've seen temperature inversions, where a layer of cold air trapped hot air in a valley and leads to an accumulation of natural radioactive particles. Go take a geiger to an old street, and then compare it to one that was freshly paved, you'll get a significant difference.

The general rule of thumb is this. You get a baseline CPM reading, if you detect 100CPM above that reading, then you are witnessing a radiological event. But even then that doesn't mean the numbers are bad enough to require any protection.

This is why I tell people not to buy their own geiger counters. If you don't know how to read it or the science behind it all it will do is freak you out.

[MelissaB]

22. Interesting map. The numbers continue to go up it Denver.

Right now it's up to 73. The guide says the "average" is 5-60.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Denver is a few miles up

it has less air to capture solar radiation...

[hlthe2b]

30. Exactly one mile at the state capitol. 5280 feet

Thus our local magazine:



;)

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Counts do fluctuate

and by the way those are well within normal levels

[TNLib]

28. A spike in radiation maybe

then returning back to normal. They said that they might be a small amount of increase but nothing major maybe that was it.


:shrug:

[jimlup]

31. Counts error as the square root of the number of counts so your observed fluctuations

are well within the measurement uncertainty.

If you were seriously looking at the radiation you should be looking at specific energy levels from the expected radio-nuclides. I'd look for Cs-132 myself. I think it is a beta decay.

My guess is that at an atmospheric detector would show a substantial signal above background when the air mass hits but still nothing to worry about as far as a health threat.

[yawnmaster]

35. Don't worry about short term, small jumps. Search "shot noise"...

Here is a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_noise

As was mentioned in another response, generally expect fluctuation at *around* the square root of the average signal.

The arrival (in time) of the photons at the detector can't be predicted.

[cottonseed]

36. Free Masons. CIA. Skull and Bones. Google. Rove. Walmart. Mike Vick.

It's one of those.