How DIY radiation sleuths are holding Japan's government accountable
Seven Years Later
Seven years ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant melted down after a devastating earthquake and tsunami. The disaster is ongoing, the area around the Daiichi reactor is still a no-go zone. The citizens of Japan are left wondering, is it safe to return?
- North Korean nuclear tests trigger earthquakes and fears of radiation leaks
- Robots are piling up inside Fukushima's robot graveyard
- 'Radiation clouds' may be a hazard for frequent fliers
Government Data
Immediately after the disaster, the Japanese government collected data about the degree of radiation around the site and the potential risks to the public. The problem was – they didn't release all the data to the public until almost two months after the meltdown. The data on radiation exposure in Tokyo wasn't released until almost 6 months after the disaster. This created a distrust in the government data that persists today.
Safecast – Open Access Radiation Data
Safecast was invented days after the disaster as a citizen science project with the philosophy that data that affects people's lives should be freely and openly available. Azby Brown, the lead researcher for Safecast, distributes pocket Geiger counter to detect all the forms of radiation that threaten Japan. As the data is collected, it is uploaded to the Safecast website where now the coverage is worldwide. Now, Japanese citizens and people around the world can look at the maps generated by Safecast to make educated decisions about their exposure to radiation and what is safe.