Last week, I was talking to a friend from another department about a piece of equipment his department planned to purchase. This piece of equipment is used in the event of a radiation-related incident to identify a specific radioactive isotope; it costs about $18,000. It sounded like it was pretty much a done deal that the equipment would be purchased. My first thought: The department would soon have an $18,000 paperweight. My buddy is not the purchaser — someone above his pay grade is — but I still had to ask him about this purchase.

“Why does [the purchaser] think you need this piece of equipment?” I asked.
“So we can identify the isotope and make a more informed decision on whether or not we’re dealing with a terrorist incident,” he replied.
“What difference does the isotope make in how you handle the incident or how you treat any victims?” I inquired.
“None,” he said.
“Exactly,” I replied. “What will make a difference is the dose rate. Spend your $18,000 on five or six sets of survey equipment that can benefit five or six engine companies instead of the one that will carry the analyzer, and show up second, or even third due, into an incident.”

The bottom line: When you make a purchase for your department, make sure you’re buying something your people can use and, most importantly, will provide a real benefit. When your personnel have all the items they need/want, it is then you can start buying the stuff you don’t need as much.