Safecast and SaveDnipro announce the completion of the first phase of its independent realtime radiation monitoring network in Ukraine
Press release here
Safecast began its wartime radiation monitoring initiatives in Ukraine immediately following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February, 2022. Russia’s reckless occupation and militarization of Ukraine’s Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) greatly increased the risk of an international radiological incident and have provoked alarm around the world. Working closely with our Ukrainian partner organization SaveDnipro, we reached out to our volunteer network in Europe and were able to quickly deliver 10 bGeigie Nanos to begin mobile radiation measurements across the country. We were able to obtain the first public radiation measurements in the CEZ soon after the Russians withdrew from the zone at the end of March, 2022. (Read more about the #bgeigies4ukraine project here and here).
Since then we have been working quietly to establish an independent network of fixed, autonomous, realtime radiation monitors in Ukraine. We can now announce that with the installation of our 25th RADNOTE sensor unit in Pokrov, near the ZNPP, the first phase of this network is now operational. The data can be viewed on this SaveEcoBot page.
The work has been very challenging and has required extensive preparation and careful execution. The safety and security of those involved in the project in Ukraine has been foremost on our mind. Our goals are to address vulnerabilities we’ve seen in the official radiation monitoring systems in Ukraine and elsewhere, and to supplement existing capabilities in a transparent way. Among other concerns, Russia has not made any monitoring data available from the Zaporizhzhia NPP or nearby areas it occupies, despite the heightened risk they have created. And as we learned following the Fukushima disaster in 2011, the public needs clear information about these kinds of risks. Official sources are usually unprepared to provide the kind of information the public needs. When we discovered SaveDnipro’s invaluable SaveEcoBot website in February 2022, which displays radiation and other data from every publicly available source in Ukraine, we immediately recognized that they share our outlook and values. We’ve been working together closely ever since
The RADNOTE realtime radiation monitor was developed for precisely this kind of scenario. It is produced for Safecast by Blues Inc, whose support made this project possible. RADNOTE builds on over a decade of Safecast experience designing and using solar-powered, wireless realtime sensors. Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for destruction, leading to widespread blackouts. Because it is solar-powered, RADNOTE is not vulnerable to the power outages that have knocked many official Ukrainian sensors offline. RADNOTE uses cellular wireless data transmission via the Blues Notecard, a revolutionary low-power cellular card designed specifically for IoT data applications. This eliminates any dependency on the wired internet connections typical used for networked sensors. RADNOTE has also proven reliable in the extreme heat and cold of Ukraine. The country’s official sensor systems have sometimes proven vulnerable to the same conditions. Prototype RADNOTES were tested extensively in Ukraine, Japan, the US, and elsewhere in 2022-2023, and we’re confident that the deployed units are robust and ready. Over 100 RADNOTES have been built for use in Ukraine. Our deployment plan focuses on providing data from the areas near the country’s four nuclear power plants and in population centers. When the network is complete, we will have RADNOTES deployed in each of Ukraine’s twenty-four oblasts (administrative regions).
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Logistics have been very challenging. Ukraine’s borders are tightly restricted due to the war, and getting people and equipment in and out of the country requires patience and planning. Lengthy border crossing delays are common. Last September, Safecast Lead Researcher Azby Brown visited Ukraine for prep work and the first face-to-face meetings with the SaveDnipro team after a year and a half of almost daily online communication. We were able to test final production version RADNOTES inside the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and in the Kyiv and Dnipro regions. In May of this year, a Safecast/Blues team of four — Azby, Safecast Lead Engineer Joe Moross, Blues CEO Ray Ozzie, and Blues Radnote Project Manager Neil Ozzie — travelled to Ukraine to oversee the first installations. Our Ukrainian partners at SaveDnipro, particularly founder Pavlo Tkachenko, had done excellent preparation prior to our arrival. Even then we found ourselves needing to quickly shift gears as contacts suddenly became unavailable, weather turned bad, and unexpected delays left us scrambling to make up for lost time. Ultimately we were able to install four RADNOTES in Kyiv on that short trip, as well as two in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, and two in Lviv, thus meeting our initial targets and verifying our installation methods. Although we experienced regular air raid alerts, hunkering down in the hotel’s underground bomb shelter our first night, thankfully there were no missile strikes near us during our visit.
The RADNOTE looks like the larger offspring of the bGeigie Nano in its transparent polycarbonate Pelican case, and it is similarly waterproof and robust. Although our team was present to oversee the first installations in Ukraine, we needed to come up with a flexible, foolproof mounting system that would be easy for first-timers to use. We also wanted to make it tamper-resistant. Based on suggestions from Safecast’s sensor installation expert Joe Moross, we developed a folded aluminum mount that can easily fit on poles of different diameters using steel straps, or can be bolted to a flat surface or a stanchion. The RADNOTE fits snugly and securely inside the aluminum mount, and installation on a typical pole takes only a few minutes. Each device is clearly labeled with a unique QR code for identification, as well as information about the project itself. Drawing on SaveDnipro’s past experience, Pavlo put together superb installation kits with clear instructions that make it easy for volunteers around the country to mount the devices. The process has proven remarkably trouble-free so far, and when installed, the RADNOTES look incredibly cool.
Like all of Safecast’s projects, our Ukraine initiative is people-centered. It takes time and a lot of networking to find volunteers able to install sensors in the places we need them in a country under constant and relentless Russian attack. That’s a task that falls to our partners at SaveDnipro, who have built a very wide and diverse community. In several instances, people in government who understand the value of our project have provided important assistance, even if official recognition has been slow to materialize. Three sensors in Kyiv, for instance, were installed with the help of the Department of Environmental Protection and Adaptation to Climate Change of the Kyiv City Council, who provided locations on public grounds and also cherry pickers so we could easily mount the sensors at an appropriate height. In Lviv, the regional administration also provided sites for sensors through its digital innovation initiative. Officials in Chornobyl also showed interest. We’ve also benefited tremendously from assistance from volunteers in Ukraine who have been there for us from the start. Denis Vishnevskiy at the Chornobyl Ecological Reserve is one, wildlife researcher Andrew Simon of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is another.
From this point forward, we will gradually expand the RADNOTE network as volunteers step up to host them. Quite a few are already ready and waiting, as are the sensors. Manufacturing the aluminum mounts, which is done in Ukraine, takes time and money. So does prepping installation kits and shipping them. Sending team members to Ukraine has been quite costly but will undoubtedly be necessary again from time to time. We’d also like to be able to hire staff to handle some of the tasks that need to be done. We need your support for all of these reasons. Please donate if you can, and pass the word about this groundbreaking initiative. Together we can make the world safer.
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