Radiological Situation Report

If there is a risk of a release of radioactivity into the environment or if such a release has already taken place, the radiological situation must be assessed rapidly in order to provide the basis for authorities’ efforts to protect the population against the effects of the radiological emergency. In the event of a radiological emergency of supra-regional significance, the Federal Radiological Situation Centre meets as a special crisis team under the leadership of the Federal Environment Ministry and makes the necessary assessment of the radiological situation in the form of the Radiological Situation Report.

All federal and state authorities involved in the emergency response can access the Radiological Situation Report produced at the Radiological Situation Centre on ELAN, an internal information platform for public authorities. The report therefore serves as a common basis for consistent and coordinated decision-making regarding measures to protect the population.

What does the Radiological Situation Report contain?

Above all, the following points are crucial when it comes to characterising a radiological situation:

• What exactly might happen where or has already happened?
• Which radioactive substances may be or have already been released in what quantities?
• Which areas may be or have already been contaminated to what extent?
• What radiation exposure may result or has already resulted from this for the affected population?
• What measures to protect the population are reasonable and appropriate given the radiation exposure that is to be expected or has already occurred?

The Radiological Situation Report is a document comprising several pages and sections that provides answers to these questions: it offers an overview of all known and relevant information regarding the current radiological situation and, with the help of calculated predictions and current measurement data, provides an assessment of the radiological situation and its likely future development.

Based on this, the Radiological Situation Report also includes an evaluation of whether measures to protect the population are appropriate and, if they are, what protective measures are recommended from a radiological point of view at what point in time for implementation by the relevant federal and state authorities.

Main emphases according to the situation

The main emphases of the Radiological Situation Report are dependent on the nature of the radiological emergency and its development over time. The document is updated on an ongoing basis according to the situation, such that its scope and contents change over the course of the emergency:

• Before a release of radioactivity, the Radiological Situation Report primarily includes information on what is currently going on and predictions of how the situation may develop. This also includes the possible dispersion of escaping radioactivity, which is calculated using the RODOS decision support system with the help of weather information from the German National Meteorological Service (DWD), among other data.
• During a release of radioactivity, the Radiological Situation Report also contains information on the type and quantity of radioactive material actually released or on the analysis and classification of current environmental radiological measurements from automatic measurement networks, such as the ODL measuring network. It also indicates the areas in which radioactive air masses are located and where they have already moved away again, as the case may be.
• After the end of a release of radioactivity and once radioactive air masses have left an affected area and a sufficient quantity of measurement data is available from the contaminated area, primarily from mobile measurement teams (vehicles/helicopters), the Radiological Situation Report focuses on presenting and evaluating current measurement data in relation to the actual extent of contamination. This includes not only ambient dose rate measurements but also, for example, measurements of water, soil, plants and foodstuffs.

Possible recommendations for measurements to protect the population vary over the course of the emergency: recommendations for the introduction of protective measures are generally implemented before or during a release of radioactivity. During or after a release of radioactivity, the Radiological Situation Report tends instead to offer recommended adjustments to protective measures. At this point, recommendations for the lifting of protective measures are also made if the measures are no longer necessary.

What role does the Radiological Situation Report play in decisions during a radiological emergency?

The Radiological Situation Report is designed as an internal, non-public source of information for radiation protection experts and those responsible for civil protection. Its scope is limited to the consideration and assessment of the radiological situation, providing a complex description of radiological circumstances and using radiological terminology that is not explained.

Decisions on measures to protect the population in a radiological emergency are not predetermined by the Radiological Situation Centre or the Radiological Situation Report. Rather, these decisions are made by the report’s recipients:

• Early measures to protect the population (civil protection measures):
  Decisions on the implementation of early measures to protect the population (civil protection measures) are made by the relevant civil protection authorities of the federal states.

• Behavioural recommendations for the general public (radiation protection precautions):

  The Radiological Situation Centre decides on behavioural recommendations for the population in the emergency phase (radiation protection precautions) and issues the recommendations for these measures directly in the radiological situation picture.
  

• Further decisions on specific measures in various areas:

  Further decisions on specific measures in various areas are taken by the relevant federal authorities in agreement with the relevant Länder authorities and are presented in the annex to the radiological situational picture.

  For example, decisions regarding drinking water fall within the remit of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and those regarding food and feed within that of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), whereas decisions regarding transport are made within the area of responsibility of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and those regarding medications within that of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).

Decisions influenced by other considerations

In addition to the Radiological Situation Report, which serves as a basis for assessing the radiological hazard situation, there are other considerations that influence the decisions made by the civil protection authorities of the federal states and by the federal and state authorities. For example, these considerations include:

• the feasibility of measures, taking into account, for example, the availability of resources such as personnel and equipment and the time until the arrival of radioactive air masses
• adverse consequences of measures, taking into account, for example, the exposure of emergency service personnel to radiation or the risk to, in particular, the vulnerable population due to the evacuation of a hospital,
• cross-border harmonisation of measures with neighbouring countries
• acceptance by the general public/industry
• psychosocial aspects.

It is therefore possible that – for other compelling reasons – the measures recommended in the Radiological Situation Report are not implemented or are adapted to the conditions on the ground.

This would be the case if, for example, an evacuation of the affected population was recommended from a purely radiological perspective but could not be completed in a timely manner prior to the arrival of radioactive air masses: in this case, the decision-makers at the civil protection authorities would need to consider whether it might actually be safer for the affected population and the emergency service personnel involved to shelter in buildings during what was predicted to be a short passage of radioactive air masses rather than finding themselves either outdoors or on a means of transport in the course of an ongoing evacuation. In particular, this may be the case during releases of radioactivity that only last a short time.