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Abstract. After the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged from the public to carry out themselves measurements of the radioactivity in the environment with various devices, among which smartphones, and to share data and experiences through collaborative tools and social networks. Such measurements have two major interests, on the one hand, to enable each individual of the public to assess his own risk regarding the radioactivity and, on the other hand, to provide "real time" data from the field at various locations, especially in the early phase of an emergency situation, which could be very useful for the emergency management.The objective of the OPENRADIATION project is to offer to the public the opportunity to be an actor for measurements of the radioactivity in the environment using connected dosimetric applications on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a system on a sustainable basis in peaceful time and be useful in case of emergency. In "peaceful situation", this project is based on a collaborative approach with the aim to get complementary data to the existing ones, to consolidate the radiation background, to generate alerts in case of problem and to provide education & training and enhanced pedagogical approaches for a clear understanding of measures for the public. In case of emergency situation, data will be available "spontaneously" from the field in "real time" providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public. … The practical objective is i) to develop a website centralising data from various systems/dosimeters, providing dose maps with raw and filtered data and creating dedicated areas for specific initiatives and exchanges of data and ii) to develop a data acquisition protocol and a dosimetric application using a connected dosimeter with a bluetooth connection.This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms' representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public.

After the Fukushima accident, initiatives emerged offering the public the possibility to realise measurements of the radioactivity in the environment with various devices and to share data and experiences through collaborative tools. The objective of the OpenRadiation project is to offer the public the opportunity to perform measurements of the radioactivity using connected dosimeters on smartphones. The challenge is to operate such a system on a sustainable basis in normal situations and in order to be useful in an emergency situation. In normal situations, this project is based on a collaborative approach including pedagogical activities. In case of emergency situation, data from the field will be available in “real time” providing an opportunity for the emergency management and the communication with the public. The practical objectives are to develop i) a website centralising measurements using various dosimeters, providing dose rate maps with raw and filtered data and offering dedicated areas for specific projects and exchanges about data and ii) a dosimetric app using a connected dosimeter. This project is conducted within a partnership between organisms’ representative of the scientific community and associations to create links with the public.

In recent decades efforts have been made to meet societal expectations concerning public access to information and to enable citizens' informed decision-making related to ionising radiation risks. But are people satisfied with the information provided and which factors influence this? This paper investigates lay persons' satisfaction with the information about ionising radiation provided by different communicators in Belgium and France. In particular, it studies the potential influence of risk perception, confidence in authorities, knowledge and education. The study is based on data originating from large scale public opinion surveys (N  =  1002 in Belgium; N  =  966 in France). Results show that the two countries differ as regards satisfaction with the information provided by specific communicators. Confidence in authorities was revealed in both countries as more important for satisfaction with information than risk perception. Contrary to expectations, general knowledge about ionising radiation had limited or no explanatory power. An additional study for the Belgian sample showed that both perceived trustworthiness and technical competence influence satisfaction with information, but their relative importance depends on the communicator.

Before the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, the French Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, IRSN, was little-known to the French public. On the whole, French nuclear safety procedures are complex and the public is largely unaware of them. Moreover, communication was difficult because IRSN had to gain public trust as a result of the negative memory associated with the communication approach taken by the government in 1986 when managing the Chernobyl fallout. This communication approach led to a loss of public trust in official bodies in general. During the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, the importance of communication in such a period was largely emphasized, although France was absolutely not at risk. IRSN operations were adapted in order to explain the risks linked to this disaster to the media, companies, and French citizens. Two hundred IRSN staff members answered queries non-stop for 6 weeks, exploring the new ways of communication and interaction offered by social networks. In the years after the disaster, experts from institutions such as IRSN examined all the post-accident situations where Japanese citizens and expatriates turned to buying Geiger counters, developing new sensors to make measurements and becoming addicted to the internet to find information of all kinds, in an attempt to forge their own opinion about the importance of nuclear risks. This is the reason why IRSN developed a strategy not only to inform people with the basic useful knowledge in such situations but also to try to "empower people" by helping them to measure and share their data. The goal is to multiply the number of people aware of what radioactivity is and its associated risks, capable of measuring the level of radioactivity and interpreting it. This strategy requires communication tools and partners. IRSN is associated with IFFO RME, the French Institute of trainers on Major risks and the environment, a body with close links to the national education ministry.