30 years of European Commission Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring data bank (REMdb) – an open door to boost environmental radioactivity research

Abstract

Abstract. The Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring data bank (REMdb) was created in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident (1986) by the European Commission (EC) – Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC), sited in Ispra (Italy). Since then it has been maintained there with the aim to keep a historical record of the Chernobyl accident and to store the radioactivity monitoring data gathered through the national environmental monitoring programs of the member states (MSs). The legal basis is the Euratom Treaty, Chapter III Health and Safety, Articles 35 and 36, which clarify that MSs shall periodically communicate to the EC information on environmental radioactivity levels. By collecting and validating this information in REMdb, JRC supports the DG for Energy in its responsibilities in returning qualified information to the MSs (competent authorities and general public) on the levels of radioactive contamination of the various compartments of the environment (air, water, soil) on the European Union scale. REMdb accepts data on radionuclide concentrations from EU MSs in both environmental samples and foodstuffs from 1984 onwards. To date, the total number of data records stored in REMdb exceeds 5 million, in this way providing the scientific community with a valuable archive of environmental radioactivity topics in Europe. Records stored in REMdb are publicly accessible until 2011 through an unrestricted repository “REM data bank – Years 1984–2006” https://doi.org/10.2905/jrc-10117-10024 (De Cort et al., 2007) and “REM data bank – Years 2007–2011” https://doi.org/10.2905/de42f259-fafe-4329-9798-9d8fabb98de5 (De Cort et al., 2012). Access to data from 2012 onwards is granted only after explicit request, until the corresponding monitoring report is published. Each data record contains information describing the sampling circumstances (sampling type, begin and end time), measurement conditions (value, nuclide, apparatus, etc.), location and date of sampling, and original data reference. In this paper the scope, features and extension of REMdb are described in detail.

Plutonium aided reconstruction of caesium atmospheric fallout in European topsoils

“…8). The high small-scale variability of 137 Cs inventories in soils that do not fulfil the reference site criteria is evident from the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring (REM) database 50 . In Northern Italy, 137 Cs measurements in 36 soil samples collected within a single grid cell of our map (predicted at 11,568 Bq m −2 ) range from 419 to 17,800 Bq m −2 .…”

Meteorological Factors Controlling 7Be Activity Concentrations in the Atmospheric Surface Layer in Northern Spain

“…Beryllium-7 (7Be), a cosmogenic isotope with a half-life of 53.6 days, is one of the natural radionuclides most widely measured around the world. Once produced, 7 Be attaches to submicron-sized aerosol particles peaking in the accumulation mode [1]. Then, its measurements can be used as a proxy to study and characterize atmospheric processes, such as wet and dry deposition [2], origin of air masses [3], and to validate atmospheric transport modeling systems [4].…”

“…Then, its measurements can be used as a proxy to study and characterize atmospheric processes, such as wet and dry deposition [2], origin of air masses [3], and to validate atmospheric transport modeling systems [4]. Two examples of monitoring and storage 7 Be data are the International Monitoring System (IMS) developed by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) [5] and the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring Database (REMdb) [6], maintained by the European Commission-Joint Research Center [7].…”

“…Due to the nature of its production, as a result of the spallation of nitrogen and oxygen nuclei by components of an atmospheric cascade induced by the galactic cosmic rays [8], 7 Be concentrations increases with height (2/3 of the total amount is produced in the stratosphere) [9]. It has a maximum production at 15 km altitude, where cosmic rays are strongly attenuated by the atmosphere.…”

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This work presents the analysis of weekly 7 Be activity concentrations in the air measured in Bilbao (northern Spain) by collecting aerosols in filters over a ten years period (2009-2018). 7 Be level is in the 0.35-7.3 mBq/m 3 range, with a mean of 3.20 ± 1.12 mBq/m 3 . The trend, cycle, seasonal and monthly variability are evaluated using time series analysis techniques.

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