Traces of radioactivity in northern Europe, no radiometric anomalies have been highlighted by the RESORAD Network

On 27 June, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) invited member countries to report on the possible presence of Ruthenium and Cesium radioisotopes in the atmospheric particulate sampled in recent weeks. A request followed the detection of Ru-103, Cs-134 and Cs-137 carried out by the CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-BanTreaty Organization) station, which operates in Sweden.

Already in the previous days, reports were sent from some European laboratories with highlly sensitive equipments (through the ARPA Lombardia Regional Protection Center), following which ISIN immediately informed the National Surveillance Network of environmental radioactivity (RESORAD Network), made up of the laboratories of the ARPA / APPA and of the experimental zooprophylactic institutes and coordinated by ISIN itself, so that particular attention was paid to the measurements of atmospheric particulate both of the samples collected in the reference period and in subsequent analysis.

The detections referred to in European reports have shown the presence of these radioisotopes at the trace level. It is therefore confirmed that the very low values ​​of the measurements are not relevant from the point of view of radiation protection and do not represent any danger to health.

At the moment, no radiometric anomalies have been highlighted in Italy, neither by the laboratories of the RESORAD network nor, least of all, by the automatic networks of ISIN and the ARPA/APPA ready alarm monitoring.

ISIN continues to monitor the situation, also through the information that the IAEA itself is collecting and making available to all member countries.