Analysis of the decay process of the radiation dose rate using open data on the Internet

Abstract

We report on an example of teaching material for analyzing the decay process of the radiation dose rate without using actual radioactive materials. Radiation dose rate data related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident has been obtained from monitoring posts across Japan and is publicly available on the Internet. Changes in radiation dose rates over 10 years can be analyzed using the least squares method on theoretical curves using Microsoft Excel. We explore the educational potential of this open data as a tool for instructors who teach physics experiments as part of introductory education in university science and engineering departments. This teaching material using open data is a much less time-consuming and inexpensive way to learn about the decay process of the radiation dose rate while ensuring safety. The analysis results could provide students with a wide range of topics for discussion that include the connection between data and real-world problems, and between environmental and energy issues.