Preface

In the year following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, I have been fortunate enough to be able to work alongside some incredible people in the open source community, doing extraordinary things. By now I am sure you are all well aware that the tsunami caused severe damage to the Fukushima dai-ichi (number 1) power plant. When the backup generators were swamped by the waves, the reactors began melting down.

Almost overnight, the cost of Geiger counters and Geiger-muller tubes skyrocketed. The price hike was not limited to Japan. A lack of ready supplies of Geiger counters caused a global price shock.

The Japanese government began radiation tests almost as quickly as the news pundits started making comparisons to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.