Following the anouncement on the radiation sensors we sent to Ukraine to help monitor the Zaporojie area there are some new developments. The sensors arrived and are being installed by SaveEcoBot and their partners. This effort was also documented by the local press, Buletin de Bucuresti and Observator Antena 1.

Locations for the new sensors

The first sensor to go online is 1100012D a “uRADMonitor Model A” rugged device, that will provide real time, automated radiation readings. It is installed at 50km from the nuclear plant. The radiation data can be accessed in real time using this link.

First uRADMonitor Model A sensor goes online at 50km from Zaporojie NPP

More detailed information is available in the sensor dashboard:

Sensor detailed view with radiation readings at top-right

Any war induced incident at the power plant has the potential of releasing radioactive dust, that is a cloud of fine particles containing radioactive elements. This can happen if any critical part of one of the reactors is hit by a military weapon, but also by human error if the power plant’s infrastructure is not properly handled during a crisis, like it happened in 1986 at Chernobyl. The radioactive dust is then carried out by wind and can travel long distances. It is these particles that get in contact with human skin, are inhaled or cover nearby surfaces releasing deadly ionising radiation for a long period of time.

Why is radiation so harmful?

When the dose is high enough, ionising radiation causes two types of harm to humans: direct tissue damage and cancer. Direct tissue damage happens when enough molecules are broken apart that the cells simply can no longer function. This can lead to radiation burns, radiation sickness, organ failure, and even death. Cancer results when the cells receive a small enough amount of damage that they can still live and function, but damage to the genes causes the cells to pursue aggressive and uncontrolled growth.
Any such spread of radioactive material must be avoided as it is very difficult to shield any neighbouring populations from exposure since the contamination is entering the ecosystem paths (atmosphere, soil, water contamination) and cleaning up if extremely difficult.

Update December 2022

A second batch of uRADMonitor Radiation sensors was donated to Ukraine. This time we provided “model A3” sensors, the hardware version 105 that also includes a Geiger Counter.

Model A3 HW 105 with Radiation Sensor
The second batch of sensors for radiation monitoring

A few days later the sensors arrived in Ukraine and are to be installed by SaveEcoBot and their partners.

Update May 2023

City government of Voznesensk announced the installation of one Model A3 radiation sensor.

The unit has already been installed by Saveecobot personnel at the building of the Voznesensk City Council. Also, a specialist of the emergency department was trained to control the measurements of the natural radiation background. Data is now available to everyone on the Saveecobot platform and on the Ukrainian map of the Ministry of Environment – EcoThreat. The data is provided as open data and automatically transmitted to the state authorities of Ukraine, such as dsns, mindovkillâ, diyar, rnsbo.

More info here.

Update June 2023

The level of radiation and air quality is now measured in the Mukachevo community, according to an official announcement of the municipality in Western Ukraine.

This came after a meeting with SaveDnipro representatives that provided two automated environmental monitoring devices, one SaveEcoSensor 3.0 (with support of the European Union, within the EMITTER project) and one Model A3 (donated by uRADMonitor).

“Data from both stations will be available after installing and connecting on the Saveecobot map – on the air quality map and on the radiation background map respectively, on the website of Mukachevo City Council, Zakarpattya OVA, the Eco-Threat website of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine and all international aggregators to which we automatically transfer data. As you can see, we create conditions for maximum dissemination of data for the convenience of receiving information to the public and all interested” declared the Saveecobot representatives.

At this time there are 8 uRADMonitor sensors operational in Ukraine with more to be installed soon.