4 ms·

> Possession of personal Geiger counters was restricted by the Soviet government A tangent, but why was this?

by adzm 1y ago

evan_ 1y ago
pretty sure this explains it: > the government plan was to mix the meat from Chernobyl-area cattle with the uncontaminated meat from the rest of the country I wonder if this was posted now as a result of a report of radioactive shrimp being sold at Wal-Mart: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-informatio...
Analemma_ 1y ago
I mean, the post itself kinda answers it.
- AnimalMuppet 1y ago
  Not really. But the answer that one would conclude is "so that private citizens can't find out all the shady things we're doing with radioactive stuff". I presume that was the policy even before Chernobyl. The US did not run an entirely clean nuclear program, but the USSR was worse (perhaps because ordinary people in the US could have Geiger counters, and so the powers that be knew that they were less likely to get away with spilling radio emitters).
  - pinewurst 1y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster
gostsamo 1y ago
there is no problem if nobody knows about it. explain many government decisions both inside and outside the USSR.
y-curious 1y ago
This was news to me too. I did some surface level research and couldn't find any mention of that. That said, my parents are from the former USSR and just because there isn't a law on the books doesn't mean it wasn't de facto banned.
- barbazoo 1y ago
  > just because there isn't a law on the books doesn't mean it wasn't de facto banned Same is true the other way around. Just because someone claims something to have happened, it doesn't mean it actually has. Maybe they were just "impossible" to obtain similar to how a lot of non essential things were hard to obtain in socialist/communist countries at that time.
lb1lf 1y ago
I do not know if this was the rationale, but presumably the powers that be could not see any upside to civilians possessing such equipment - after all, it could be used for purposes like calling the bluff on the official narrative ('During the recent fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, only trace amounts of radioactivity has been detected outside the immediate vicinity...') or espionage ('Hmmm... I wonder why many of the freight cars coming down the track from the alleged paint factory in East Podunkskij are 100x more radioactive than those from other areas?') We are, after all, talking about a system which restricted access to photocopiers.
guga42k 1y ago
It wasn't restricted per se. Just it didn't exist or produced as a civil appliance, so you won't be able to buy it. But civil defense kits usually had the counter, so if you really wanted one you probably could get it. My dad got one right after Chernobyl disaster.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  "restricted by economic circumstance"
cyberax 1y ago
It was not. Moreover, decommissioned Geiger counters from bomb shelters were available. It's more fair to say that Geiger counters were not sold on the open market because they were considered to be specialized equipment. The USSR was strictly controlling radio transmitters and survey equipment but not regular measurement devices.

> Possession of personal Geiger counters was restricted by the Soviet government A tangent, but why was this?

by adzm 1y ago

> Possession of personal Geiger counters was restricted by the Soviet government A tangent, but why was this?

pretty sure this explains it: > the government plan was to mix the meat from Chernobyl-area cattle with the uncontaminated meat from the rest of the country I wonder if this was posted now as a result of a report of radioactive shrimp being sold at Wal-Mart: https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-advises-public-not-eat-sell-or-serve-certain-imported-frozen-shrimp-indonesian-firm https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-informatio...

Analemma_ 1y ago

I mean, the post itself kinda answers it.

AnimalMuppet 1y ago
Not really. But the answer that one would conclude is "so that private citizens can't find out all the shady things we're doing with radioactive stuff". I presume that was the policy even before Chernobyl. The US did not run an entirely clean nuclear program, but the USSR was worse (perhaps because ordinary people in the US could have Geiger counters, and so the powers that be knew that they were less likely to get away with spilling radio emitters).
- pinewurst 1y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_disaster

gostsamo 1y ago

there is no problem if nobody knows about it. explain many government decisions both inside and outside the USSR.

y-curious 1y ago

This was news to me too. I did some surface level research and couldn't find any mention of that. That said, my parents are from the former USSR and just because there isn't a law on the books doesn't mean it wasn't de facto banned.

barbazoo 1y ago
> just because there isn't a law on the books doesn't mean it wasn't de facto banned Same is true the other way around. Just because someone claims something to have happened, it doesn't mean it actually has. Maybe they were just "impossible" to obtain similar to how a lot of non essential things were hard to obtain in socialist/communist countries at that time.

lb1lf 1y ago

I do not know if this was the rationale, but presumably the powers that be could not see any upside to civilians possessing such equipment - after all, it could be used for purposes like calling the bluff on the official narrative ('During the recent fire at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, only trace amounts of radioactivity has been detected outside the immediate vicinity...') or espionage ('Hmmm... I wonder why many of the freight cars coming down the track from the alleged paint factory in East Podunkskij are 100x more radioactive than those from other areas?') We are, after all, talking about a system which restricted access to photocopiers.

guga42k 1y ago

It wasn't restricted per se. Just it didn't exist or produced as a civil appliance, so you won't be able to buy it. But civil defense kits usually had the counter, so if you really wanted one you probably could get it. My dad got one right after Chernobyl disaster.

potato3732842 1y ago
"restricted by economic circumstance"

cyberax 1y ago

It was not. Moreover, decommissioned Geiger counters from bomb shelters were available. It's more fair to say that Geiger counters were not sold on the open market because they were considered to be specialized equipment. The USSR was strictly controlling radio transmitters and survey equipment but not regular measurement devices.