Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-05-13

~~"~
The gadget DR.. Libby has In
mind could be built into battery
radios to warn their users auto
matically Of the presence Of
dangerous fallouts.
On his own initiative and a
teaspoonful Of public money.
DIR. Libby got Tracerlab. Inc. a
Waltham, (Mass..) company
that specializes In atomic In
struments. to see II its experts
could tie Q cadmium sulphide
crystal into battery radio cir
cults In q way that would pro-
duce a warning signal.
Tracerlab came up with q
crystal unit 1t has christened
the banshee. It has manufac-
tured sample models that pass
all tests, and is now at work on
two dozen prototype production
models ordered by the Atomic
Energy Commission.
Banshee is q very simple CAD
get. It is either plugged into
existing radios or built into
ones with no knobs to turn or
dials to read.
If the radio is on. Banshee Is
on watch.
It uses no current and in no
way interferes with the opera
ton Of the radio until danger
Gus radioactivity is present.
The setting for the level at
which radioactivity is danger
GUS is built in at the factory
and can't be changed.
Louder as Peril Rises
When and II radioactivity
reaches Q danger level, the BAN
shee-euuipped radios loud
speaker begins to put out an
unmistakable sQueal. low in
tone and soft while the danger
level Is Just reached. but higher
in tone and louder as the level
Of radioactivity becomes more
dangerous.
The ordinary citizen who
would use Banshee in the event
Of atomic attack simply moves
his portable radio around to
find a spot where it stops
squealing or, If he can't find
such q place, to a spot where
the squeal is lowest in tone
and softest in intensity.
1t could be built into portable
tube or transistor radios on
public sale, and these Banshee-
equipped radios could be sold
for IS more than the same ra-
do not equipped with Banshee.
Or the Banshee gadget could
be slipped into existing radios.
Last July /. after long study,
the National Academy Of Sci
ence's Advisory Committee on
Civil Defense handed the
OCDMf a report containing
these words:
1.-THE final effectiveness OF
shelters depends upon occu-
pants Of any small shelter hav-
ing q simple, rugged and reli-
able dose-rate meter to meas
ure the fallout dose rate out
side the shelter .. )"
Price Acceptance Seen
A survey by the Johns Hop
kins operatiohal research divi-
sion on how much citizens
would spend out Of their own
pockets for a gadget to detect
fallout showed that many
Americaps--not all. but many
would spend 10 per cent TO
Is per cent more for q portable
battery radio II it incorporated
a radioactivity detector This
WOulQ NC 9E.OV w 81
What OCDM director Leo A.
Hoegh recommends. however,
is q detector so precise-and
therefore very conpleX--that
it would cost SIS to nanufac-
ture. This according to the
supporters of DR.. Libby. would
be too expensive and too diff
cult to operate for the aver
age citizen.
Mr.. HOegh has said he will
back DR.. Libby's fallout warn
ing gadget If it receives the
okay of his OCDM experts. An
inquiry to one of these experts
about the "Banshee" uncovered
a flock Of objections to 1t. But
a check with Tracerlab revealed
that the objections were based
on misinformation, and it was
later conceded by the OCDM
expert that he hadn't examined
the Banshee for 10 months.
The I8-month-old model was
an experimental one and since
has been perfected.
Money for Teams
OCDM has a big program for
training radioactivity monitor
ing teams and supplying them
with the more complex inStru-
ments. A lot Of Federal money
is being spent on equipment
for these post attack proceed
ures'' teams.
No one doubts that they're
needed. But they won't tell the
individual citizen budding in
his home Q single thing about
how much fallout is hitting
him there and at that moment.
DR.. Libby has some conf
dence the OCDM and the
electronic industry will move.
now that q disable gadget has
been perfected. He got the Acc
to contract with Tracerlab for
manufacturing proto types to
make doubly certain the OCDM
and industry can move - if
they're willing to move.
1t Is fair to say DR.. Libby's
confidence that the OCDM and