Jun 7 – 11, 2026
Prague, Czechia
Europe/Prague timezone

Capabilities of citizen measurements in radiation emergency scenarios

Jun 10, 2026, 3:15 PM
15m
Auditorium 115

Auditorium 115

Břehová 7, Prague 1
Oral Presentation Dosimetry in radiological and nuclear emergencies and accidents Dosimetry in radiological and nuclear emergencies and accidents

Speaker

Marie Davídková (National Radiation Protection Institute, Prague, Czech Republic)

Description

Citizen-led radiation measurements play an increasingly important role in environmental monitoring, but they also raise important social and legal questions about how such data can be used by official authorities and institutions. On one hand, measurements provided by the public can enhance transparency, but on the other hand, the data often vary in accuracy, calibration, and methodology. These issues create legal difficulties when authorities consider to use citizen radiation measured data for regulatory decisions, public warnings, or emergency responses.
National authorities must navigate privacy rules, the validity of non-certified instruments, liability for acting on public measurements, and standards for incorporating third-party data into official assessments. Overall, the relationship is a balance between public empowerment and the need for scientifically validated, legally defensible information.
The presentation is devoted to the discussion of the legal framework in case of a radiation emergency and possible implementation of the citizen radiation measurements including the main limitations related to data quality and data quality control.

Acknowledgements:
The CITISTRA project has received funding within the PIANOFORTE partnership from the Euratom program under grant agreement no. 101061037.

Author

Marie Davídková (National Radiation Protection Institute, Prague, Czech Republic)

Co-authors

Jan Helebrant (National Radiation Protection Institute, Prague, Czech Republic) Pavol Ragan (Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Bratislava, Slovakia) Pawel Olko (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Science, Krakow, Poland) Renata Kierepko (Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Science, Krakow, Poland) Zuzana Gonekova (Slovak Medical University in Bratislava, Faculty of Public Health, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Presentation materials

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