trigger warning
I've always been amused by geiger counters.
doing a radiac survey you could find yourself in a position of knowing just how screwed you are. And there being very little you can do about it.
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if you live down wind of a nuclear power plant, are worried about a radiac leak or fallout - a counter will tell you how bad it is. but by then it is probably better to wait out the short halflife elements before moving. Keep in mind that in a power plant accident much of the initially released isotopes will be gaseous.
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what do you do with the information? it doesn't tell you what elements or isotopes. Only that there is ionizing radiation about.
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'Prussian blue' is not a commonly used phrase and few people would know how to use it.
KI is better known but only helps against a commonly released element in a power plant accident.
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i know a person -
type - who got himself convinced that his doctor was trying to poison him. His geiger counter showed that his 'no-salt' (recommended for a health condition) was radio-active. I jokingly suggested he check his bananas. I had to spend the next hour talking him down.
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i think it is a very good idea to be aware of a threat - i own a 'cheap' counter and check it about once a year using a can of potasium chloride (salt substitute) from my kitchen. I even own KIO just in case of a power plant accident - possible in my area. but i'm not sure how high up the list of BBB,BB it should be. I have them because i'm a 'Its better to light a single candle than curse at the dark' kind of person. I even have a diode type dosimeter - purchased years later. but, do you have a plan to survey the area daily? if not, how often? What will you do with that information? I'm waiting for someone who lives in Denver to freak out because the normal background radiation is very high (altitude and granite mountains). or someone in South Africa to test it in a cave and find out the alpha count is dangerously high (radon and uranium salts).
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if the intent is to use them in a SHTF because normal monitoring has stopped, you need to know what they are telling you and how to use them. otherwise you might be left with alot of information and a lack on knowledge. its a dangerous combination.
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if you live down wind of a water type N.power plant (US, European, Japanese) and the grid dropped, best to not be there when the safety valves release (hours to days depending). if you live down wind of a carbon-pile type plant (typically Russian make - minutes to hours) just run.
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i think an apt analogy - the most dangerous person with a weapon is someone who doesn't know how to and hasn't the will to use it. the same applies to radiac meters.
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rant over.
