Safecast is an international, volunteer-driven non-profit organisation dedicated to producing open, accessible and granular environmental data, with a primary focus on radiation and air quality monitoring through participatory and open-source approaches.
Map
Safecast
General information
Safecast designs and deploys open hardware and software tools that enable citizens and experts to collect, share and access high-quality environmental data. Originating from a post-disaster information gap, Safecast promotes transparency, public trust and evidence-based decision-making through open data and community-driven monitoring.
Safecast was established following the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and nuclear accident, in response to the lack of accurate, trustworthy and publicly available radiation information. Initially focused on radiation monitoring, the initiative later expanded to air quality monitoring, leveraging global volunteer engagement and open-source technologies.
Status
Purpose
Topics For Preparedness
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
Lack of publicly accessible, accurate and trusted environmental data during and after emergencies, limiting public awareness, expert analysis and policy decision-making in high-risk contexts.
Populations exposed to environmental and radiological risks, particularly those with limited access to official information or heightened sensitivity to pollution and radiation.
Safecast operates through a decentralised, volunteer-based governance model, supported by technical experts and global collaborators, emphasising transparency, openness and public participation.
Safecast enhances preparedness by enabling rapid data collection and dissemination during emergencies through pre-deployed tools and trained volunteer networks.
Relies on distributed sensing infrastructure composed of mobile, fixed and solar-powered monitoring devices.
To empower citizens, experts and institutions with reliable environmental data and foster trust, transparency and shared situational awareness.
- Citizen science and crowdsourced data collection
- Open-source hardware and software tools
- Mobile applications and online data platforms
- Social and digital community engagement
Participants contribute directly to data generation and dissemination, influencing public discourse, expert analysis and policy considerations through open data.
Safecast builds long-term capacity through open-source tools, technical education, community participation and global knowledge sharing.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
- Open-source environmental monitoring technologies
- Citizen-led, high-resolution data collection
- Open data published under Creative Commons
- Global volunteer and expert collaboration
English
Safecast (international non-profit organisation)
Extensive experience in post-disaster environmental monitoring, citizen science and risk communication, particularly in radiological contexts.
- Volunteers and citizen scientists
- Technical experts and researchers
- Policy makers
- General public
- Development of open hardware and software tools
- Deployment of monitoring devices
- Crowdsourced data collection
- Open publication and visualisation of data
Combination of volunteer contributions, technical expertise and external partnerships.
Ongoing and iterative, with continuous deployment, monitoring and improvement.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
Open, participatory data collection increases trust, transparency and resilience in crisis contexts.
Ensuring data quality, sustaining volunteer engagement and integrating citizen-generated data into institutional decision-making.
Distributed monitoring and redundancy reduce single-point failures and improve resilience across hazard types.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
Sustainability is ensured through open-source licensing, global volunteer engagement and public-domain data sharing.
Highly scalable and adaptable across regions, hazards and environmental monitoring domains.
Innovative use of mobile, GPS-enabled, solar-powered and low-cost sensors integrated with open data platforms.
Moderate hardware production and deployment costs, reduced through open-source design.
Low operational costs due to volunteer-driven data collection and decentralised infrastructure.
Citizen science and open data are powerful tools for strengthening transparency, preparedness and community resilience during environmental and technological crises.