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Poster Short Abstract

OpenRadiation is a platform aiming at fostering public engagement in radiation measurements in the environment. This provides complementary data for environmental monitoring and is a useful tool for pedagogic purposes.

Poster Abstract

Following the Fukushima accident, public demand grew for accessible ways to measure and share ambient radioactivity data. The OpenRadiation project started in 2013 in this context of a growing demand, especially from people living in the vicinity of French nuclear power plants. The Openradiation platform was officially launched in January 2017, using an open source and open data approach; It is composed of three interacting elements:

• Calibrated detectors, able to detect low-level, environmental gamma rays.

• A smartphone app to drive the detectors and to collect metadata (Date, time, GPS location, altitude)

• A website with an interactive map where all the data are published. This web site is also an exchange platform for users.

The aim of the OpenRadiation project is to empowers the public to measure environmental dose where and when they want. In routine conditions, the project complements existing environmental monitoring data, strengthens radiation background knowledge, triggers alerts if issues arise, and promotes public education through clear, accessible information. During emergencies, it delivers spontaneous, real-time data to support crisis management and public communication and may be useful in supporting the development of a practical radiation protection culture.

Developed through a partnership between scientific organizations and public associations, the platform gathers over 360 users which have contributed more than 1,000,000 measurements, fostering transparency and community engagement in radiation monitoring.