I've been staggered by the disasters ongoing in Japan. It's set me wondering what I can do to help. I specialize in prototyping and industrial design. After pondering for a while it struck me that there might soon be a need for small, inexpensive, reasonably accurate Geiger counters for people around Fukushima to scan for nuclear debris.

It seems like sourcing a few hundred Geiger tubes, prototyping the electronics, building cases, assembling units, and donating them en masse would be fairly simple with a push from Kickstarter. My question is: "Will it help?"

It's not enough to rush into a disaster with good intentions and hope. I'm trying to measure the feesability, practicality, and impact of this project. Would building and donating hundreds of Geiger counters for the people of Fukushima and the surrounding areas make a significant impact? Is there a need that isn't filled by surplus army electronics? What level of accuracy is necessary for a Geiger counter to be useful for detecting contamination? Even if most people wouldn't be in danger from nuclear radiation, is the comfort that a Geiger counter would provide in assuring their safety worth the resources that would be expended on making them?

Thanks for your time, Hacker News. I'd appreciate any advice you've got.