Research and analysis

Environmental radioactivity surveillance programme: 2014 results

This report (PHE-CRCE-027) presents surveillance data showing concentrations of radionuclides in milk and airborne particulates for 2014.

Documents

PHE-CRCE-027: environmental radioactivity surveillance programme: results for 2014

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email publications@phe.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This report is the latest of a series in which the results of Public Health England’s environmental radioactivity surveillance programme are presented. It contains the measurement data for the year 2014.

Within the main programme, samples of airborne dust and milk are collected routinely from selected locations within the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The activity concentrations of various radionuclides are measured.

In general, the radionuclides detected result from nuclear weapons tested in the atmosphere in the 1950s and 1960s and from the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986, although the programme is able to detect any other sources of significant contamination. The results indicate that concentrations of artificial radionuclides in the general environment remain at the low levels observed in recent years.

In addition to the main programme, samples of airborne dust have been collected in the vicinity of the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in west Cumbria. The results are consistent with those published by the site operator and other government agencies.

Updates to this page

Published 18 July 2016

Sign up for emails or print this page