RadoNorm Citizen science projects
In the framework of the RadoNorm European project, we have launched 4 pilot citizen science projects in the field of radon. These pilot citizen science projects are being tested in France, Hungary, Ireland and Norway. These pilot initiatives helped to support the creation of a network of citizen science projects in different European countries. For this, RadoNorm opened a call in November 2022 and invited any interested party (e.g. local communities, NGOs, universities, social civil groups, etc) to apply for funding to conduct a citizen science initiative on radon in their community. Nineteen projects were submitted and evaluated based on four crtieria: overall concept, implementation, impact and expertise of the team. Six projects were selected for funding, including OCRA in Italy, AHSRadon Hunt in Poland, RadAR in Portugal, RadonGPS in Slovakia, RadoNorm-SLO in Slovenia and RADOHOW in Spain.
Citizen science initiatives in the field of radon were analysed in Martell, M. et al. (2021) Evaluation of citizen science contributions to radon research. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2021.106685
Aim
The European project RadoNorm aims to support local communities and citizens to launch citizen science projects in the field of radon. Each project has its own objectives.
RadoNorm pilot projects were tested in 2022 in France (to improve an on-line self-diagnostic tool); Hungary (high school students developed a toolkit consisting of various low-cost measurement sensors to measure air quality, including radon); Ireland, (co-creation of a DIY toolkit for remediation) and Norway (citizens defined themselves the aim of the project, the research question and their level of involvement).
How to participate
From September 2023, the European project RadoNorm funds and supports citizen science initiatives related to radon testing or /and radon mitigation in radon prone areas in 6 countries: Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain for a period of six months. You can get in touch with the RadoNorm team who will put you in contact with the citizen science project in your country. More information in the webpage: https://www.radonorm.eu/activities/radonorm-citizen-science/
Needed equipment
In some RadoNorm citizen science pilot initiatives there are radon detectors or air pollutant sensors which serve to measure the level of radon in dwellings, schools or workplaces.