08/05/2026
Weakley County EMA received new radiation detection equipment this week!
Weakley County EMA performs quarterly radiation monitoring in several locations around the County. To do this, we rely on a variety of detection equipment from the Tennessee Emergency Management Authority.
The Ludlum 26-3 High-Range Integrated Frisker replaces our decades old CD V-718 Survey Meter. The Ludlum offers significant advantages over our old meter, including one handed operation, more maneuverability, longer battery life, and multiple units of measurement which equal faster, safer, and more accurate readings.
The older units only had the capability to read radiation in milliroentgens per hour (mR/hr) which is primarily used when monitoring an area or evaluating how much of an ambient radiation dose you may be absorbing in a given area, whereas the new detector can also measure in Counts per Minute (cpm) which is better for detecting radiological contamination on a person or object. It allows the user to locate the source of radioactive contamination rather than just checking if there’s ionizing radiation in the area.
The new unit also has a function to display the maximum reading it has sensed during a search, allowing the user to take readings in areas where the display isn’t visible, such as scanning the underside of a vehicle.
Other equipment EMA utilizes for radiation monitoring and operations include several dosimeters (pen like tubes that display the amount of mR/hr a person has been exposed to) and the UltraRadiac personal radiation monitor which is a small unit used to measure real-time radiation dose rates and total accumulated radiation doses in a hazardous environment.
As of this time, Weakley County has never had a radiological emergency. However, at times ambient radiation levels have been measurably higher, such as after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Although minor, measurable effects from nuclear events so far away highlight the need for local monitoring.
