---
title: 'Turning to the people: RDTN.org provides current radiation readings from people in Japan'
date: '2011-03-20T16:58:50-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 386
char_count: 2440
tokens: 502
categories:
  - Oregon
  - Portland
tags:
  - japan
  - radiation
  - rdtn
  - uncorked
---

# Turning to the people: RDTN.org provides current radiation readings from people in Japan

The world has been overwhelmed by the nuclear situation in Japan. [Portland is no different](http://siliconflorist.com/2011/03/17/panic-japan-100-proceeds-todays-panic-sales-earthquake-victims/ "Help Panic help Japan"). But getting accurate information about what’s actually happening has been difficult to say the least. That’s why we’ve been turning to [citizen journalists](http://drnormal.com/2011/03/fukushima/ "The Need for Timely and Accurate Journalism") like [yokosonews.tv](http://yokosonews.com/live/ "yokosonews.tv") to get more insight into the story.

But what about radiation levels? What’s really happening there? Well, [Uncorked Studios](http://www.uncorkedstudios.com/ "Uncorked Studios") here in Portland thought that giving the people of Japan a way to report radiation levels seemed like the best way to answer that question. And 72 hours later, they launched [RDTN.org](http://www.rdtn.org/ "RDTN.org"), a site that allows anyone in Japan to report radiation levels at their location.

> We too have been watching events unfold in Japan. We have created this site in an effort to display the reliable data readings as they become available. While we are careful to evaluate new data sources, we welcome new reliable data from those on the ground in this crisis.

[![](https://i0.wp.com/siliconflorist.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/japanese-radiation.jpg?resize=600%2C435 "Japanese radiation levels reported from people in Japan")](http://rdtn.org)
How? Well, the folks at Mashable provide an explanation.

> The site, RDTN.org, urges its visitors to purchase a radiation detection device, take readings in their area, and then post those readings to the site for all to see. To submit those readings, the site offers a form to enter which equipment was used, when the reading was taken, and the longitude and latitude of the location.

> Then, the purveyors of the site plan to add that data to places on its map, coordinating it with readings from the government. They hope the result will be a more detailed and timely look at radiation levels throughout the country. Says the site, “With conflicting reports of radiation levels in affected areas, we wanted to build a way to report and see data in an unbiased format.”

For more information, visit [RDTN.org](http://www.rdtn.org/ "RDTN.org") or follow @rdtnorg on Twitter.