A Geiger counter for your kitchen?

Monday, April 6, 2015

Concern over potentially radioactive vegetables has inspired four students in Sweden to mock up a kitchen appliance with a built-in Geiger counter, Modern Farmer reports.

Radioactive contamination – like the sort from the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan – can have a lasting impact on consumer trust. According to GlobalMeatNews, a 2014 study found that 20 per cent of consumers in Japan were hesitant to buy food from the Fukushima region. This is despite studies proving that radiation levels are within safety standards, the Japan Times reports.

These lingering concerns prompted four students at the Umea Institute of Design in Sweden to design the Food Radiation Scanner, a radiation-measuring kitchen appliance. In an overview of the project, design student Kevin Gaunt wrote that though the current model doesn't work yet, the students "wanted to make sure that our design is technologically feasible to build within the next five years." BF