The Neighborhood Environmental Watch Network - NEWNET
NEWNET is a community based system of radiation monitors in several states of the US.  Developed over several years by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, NEWNET stations measure gamma (high energy x ray) radiation in the air, along with basic meteorological conditions.  The stations have several interesting technical features:
  • Solar powered for remote locations
  • Satellite communications for high reliability
  • Commercial sensor modules for all measurements
  • Internet access to the data on a daily basis
However, the most important feature is non-technical.  NEWNET is intended to form a transparency link to the communities around various US Department of Energy sites. As such, it depends upon local participation in siting, maintaining and understanding the data that is received.  Local citizens are trained to perform basic maintenance functions and to act as contact points for citizens who might have concerns about radiation in their environment.

The NEWNET home pages discuss all aspects of the system and allow access to detailed data.  Tutorial information about radiation is also included to make the data useful to the community.  Specific data is accessed from the home page by following the path: "Access NEWNET Data", and then selecting an individual station location from the listing, or by clicking on the map at the top to select an area of interest. 
 
Typical data are shown in the graph at right. Over a week the temperature (green) goes through daily variations and the barometric pressure varies slightly. The gamma radiation, which is around 11 microrem per hour, is normal for the altitude of the station (1600 m). Small increases in the radiation are seen when the barometric pressure goes down, pumping natural radon decay products out of the ground.

Radiation in the air  |  Operational safety   |   Transportation safety  |   Safety of spent fuel