The SaveEcoBot continues to gain popularity in the world, especially among radiation protection agencies and institutions. At the end of February 2023, Pavlo Tkachenko, a co-founder of the SaveDnipro NGO and the lead developer of the Saveecobot, was invited to Berlin for a meeting with the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, which uses data from our system. Not only did Pavlo manage to get permission to leave Ukraine and get to Berlin but also to meet with our partners from the Czech National Institute of Radiation Protection and Windy.com. Thus, we are ready to present the report from this important business trip. Pavlo shares his achievements in the first person.
In Two Weeks from A Message to Border Crossing
About a year ago, in the summer of 2022, someone under the nickname Conny wrote to me in one of my messengers (Hi, Conny). She asked me about the radiation level monitoring data in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, which has been missing since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and occupation of Chornobyl by Russia’s military forces. We chatted about this and also discussed errors in the SaveEcoBot’s statistics regarding the number of active observation posts.
At the end of February 2023, Conny sent me a message that the Federal Office for Radiation Protection of Germany (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, hereinafter – BfS) is using radiation level background data in Ukraine with the help of our SaveEcoBot system and that Dr Marco Lechner, the head of the Department “Coordination of emergency response systems” will take part in a FOSSGIS conference with a report on “Development of a special QGIS plugin for assessing the radiological situation during the war in Ukraine.” I was invited to an official meeting at their office in Berlin to discuss cooperation and lay the foundations for studying radiation data in Ukraine. An incredible chance that can’t be wasted! I have prearranged meetings in Berlin, as well as a meeting with our partners from the Czech National Institute for Radiation Protection (SÜRO) in Prague.
Preparation of invitation letters and documents to the Ministry of Environment with a request for assistance in obtaining permission to travel abroad was a long and tiresome process. However, the permits were still obtained, so many thanks to the Ministry of Environment for the prompt preparation of the documents.
Having received all the permits to travel abroad, it’s time to plan the trip in more detail, pack personal belongings, and devices, hand over my flowers to a friend for care (thank you, Yaroslav, for taking care of them), and then get in the car and drive 2,000 km to Berlin. Throughout the trip, I was measuring the radiation background using the Safecast bGeigie Nano device.
The FOSSGIS 2023 Conference for Free and Open-Source Geoinformation Software
I think everyone knows or has used OpenStreetMap – an open project aimed at collecting, preserving and distributing publicly available geospatial data and creating tools for working with the data, which was created by the efforts of a community of volunteers. So, FOSSGIS is a non-profit organisation that develops and supports OpenStreetMap in Germany, as well as the largest annual conference of the same name in Germany dedicated to open geospatial software and open geospatial data.
On the first day of the conference, there was a meeting with Dr Marco Lechner (BfS), during which we spoke for several hours about the current state of radiation level monitoring in Ukraine, how the BfS uses the data from our SaveEcoBot system, which data they have access to from the IAEA IRMIS system, as members of this organisation, and about many other issues regarding radiation data in Germany and Ukraine.
Meeting with the Federal Office for Radiation Protection of Germany
One of the main areas of work of this Ministry is the answer to the question: “Is there a radiation threat now?” The department receives information about any manifestations of natural and artificial radiation from all sources in the country. They also independently collect data from devices located all over Germany. The received information is processed both automatically and manually every few hours according to the appropriate protocols for studying anomalies. In addition, each department employee has a separate phone that makes them available 24/7, and in the event of an emergency, employees will be alerted by an automated system.
The department is equipped with a large number of laboratories and offices for research. There is also a situation centre where the team gathers and works when needed and liaises with the German government.
Besides, during the meeting, we discussed how our civil society organisation and our SaveEcoBot collect data from various sources and further use it. We also discussed the fact that it is not advisable to notify about exceeding the level of the radiation background at one or another monitoring station automatically because there can be many factors, both natural and artificial, and even failures in the hardware or software, which can cause an increase in indicators. Each anomaly in the indicators should be considered by specialists, and only after that can we draw any conclusions and make decisions about notifying the population.
Conny and Marco told how their agency has been working for many years to change the paradigm of public distrust of the state and public institutions on radiation level monitoring.
Lecture by Dr Lechner at the FOSSGIS Conference on Radiational Level Data in Ukraine
On the last day of the conference, Dr Marco Lechner delivered a lecture on a special QGIS plugin development for assessing the radiological situation during the war in Ukraine. QGIS is one of the most functional and convenient desktop geographic information systems that are dynamically developing. During Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the BfS faced a particular challenge, as radiation monitoring data in Ukraine is available in different systems and different formats. It concerns the official data from the IAEA IRMIS system and its combination with data from our SaveEcoBot system. The development of QGIS plugins allows daily evaluation of measurement data in Ukraine in a single place in a single format.
There was a huge audience, a lot of listeners, the SaveDnipro logo and our SaveEcoBot system on the screen. Even a piece of my “shitty code” popped up on the screen and it was a little embarrassing at first, but it’s cool!
At this lecture, it was interesting to see fresh data (as of the end of January 2023) from devices near the Zaporizhzhia NPP – data from the IAEA IRMIS system, to which Ukraine or representatives of the Agency transmit data from posts located near the ZNPP. However, the Ukrainians do not have access to this data because “it is impossible to display it so that the Russians do not see it” … although actually, the Russians have access to it through the IRMIS since they are also the IAEA members.
Visit to the Czech National Institute of Radiation Protection
A year ago, when Russian terrorists took over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the passage of their military equipment caused radiation background jumps, our SaveEcoBot system became a very popular source of information about the state of the radiation background in Ukraine for users from all over the world. That’s why we joined forces with the SAFECAST, the Czech National Institute for Radiation Protection (SÜRO) and the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve to provide up-to-date and accurate radiation background monitoring in Chornobyl and other parts of Ukraine. That is why a visit to our SÜRO partners in Prague was one of the goals of the international trip.
There was an introduction to the institute’s specialists, who are engaged in monitoring and data analysis, designing and developing various sensors and measuring devices, conducting field training events, responding to any incidents related to radiation, and much more.
Additionally, we also discussed the results of measurements with mobile radiation background measurement devices Safecast bGeigie Nano. Besides, we planned further cooperation on strengthening independent radiation monitoring in Ukraine.
It was interesting to hear that SÜRO specialists conducted public communication with Czech citizens on issues of radiation protection and safety several years ago. Online consultations on any questions on the topic which could be answered by the institute’s experts were one of the methods used.
Paying a visit to the Windy.com company in Prague
About a year ago, a Windy.com project, an international company that provides interactive weather forecasting services around the world, addressed us with a request for access to radiation monitoring data. We have become partners and provided access to data so that as many people as possible in the world have access to information about the radiation background in Ukraine.
The Windy’s office is located in Prague, so I took the opportunity to meet with our friends and partners after meeting with the Czech National Institute for Radiation Protection. This trip had been also planned in advance.
I told my colleagues about how we in Ukraine spent the first year of a full-scale war, and how daily missile attacks do not stop the struggle of Ukrainians for our freedom and our land that the Russian invaders came to. Also, we talked about how Ukrainian environmental NGOs continue their daily work to protect and preserve the environment.
Conclusions
What are the results of the trip? New contacts with international specialists on radiation safety and protection, with whom you can constantly communicate directly on various issues. We have also received equipment from the Czech institute, which will help develop independent radiation monitoring in Ukraine. We have also received financial assistance from an international company for the institutional activities of our NGO. Besides, there were many more interesting unplanned meetings with scientists, the public, and journalists.
I would like to express my cordial gratitude to the international partners for the invitation, support and help with the trip organisation. Thanks to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine for help with permission to travel abroad. Thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for protecting our country from invaders.