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In 1986 I lived in east of Belarus, downwind from Chernobyl. A radiometer is absolutely of practical use. You don't have to protect anyone if the radiation is background level.

If you feel that radiometer here would be an unjustified expense perhaps that indicates you aren't really taking this threat seriously yourself.

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Again, what do you do if you see high radiation levels? You just pack up and leave on the spot? Where to? How do you know that the place you're moving to isn't also affected by the same levels of radiations? Communication by the powers that be is the key element here, this shouldn't be put on us, civilians.

Yes, I was also a kid back in April 1986 living in a country bordering present-day Ukraine (in Romania), and as destiny had it a close childhood friend of mine died of leukemia in the spring of 1990 and I know directly of at least another kid that died of the same cause in the late '80s.

If we are talking about DU dust cloud, maybe you could avoid going out for a while and doing intense physical activities. Also, avoiding freshly picked vegetables and resorting to packaged food for a while may help reduce exposure. AFAIK, most harm goes by inhaling the dust or eating it with contaminated food.

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