Germany

Deutschland

This is undoubtedly one of the best, if not THE best user-friendly public access monitoring system in the world:  

  • –> The ‘Bundesamte für Stralungsschutz’  (≈ “German Radiation Protection Agency”), part of the ‘Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit’  (≈ “State Ministry for Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Reactor Safety”) provides extensive near-real-time radiation measurements from its extensive monitoring system throughout Germany.   With its clear color-coded map, you can get an immediate idea of regional radiation differences (due to soil and/or altitude differences).   The color-coded map shows a legend covering values from 0.06 µSv/hr to 0.6 µSv/hr, with the common normal being below 0.2 µSv/hr, which all makes comparison with my page on ‘Radiation Exposure Effects’ very easy.

–> Click on the map to get the latest measurements, then click on a monitor station for extra details:

  • Radiation Monitors in Germany. Values shown (as Reference) from 3/19/2011.
  • Independent monitor near Munich, in Southern Germany:  in Garching beim Munchen - Stralung messen monitor online, graphing near real time, day, and weekly measurements, in CPM.  Random spikes due to computer crashes, normal measurements between 10 and 20 CPM, corresponding roughly with 0.1µSv – 0.2µSv/hr  For Reference, values in screen-shot image were measured on March 19, 2011 [click in image for current measurements]:

  • Additional Resources may be available at ‘Global‘.

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Jan 2, 2012 Update:  As you will notice when checking the official German network, its display changed (again), which makes comparing maps no longer as simple at first glance.  On the other had, it clarifies that higher radioactivity measurements in some regions can easily be explained by their higher altitude (more cosmic rays).  Here’s how the German network display looked on Jan 2, 2012:

http://odlinfo.bfs.de/ As screen-captured on Jan 2, 2012

Noteworthy: a German study by the BFS, Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz (the German Federal Agency for Radiation Protection, see http://www.bfs.de), found: The risk for children under five years of age to contract leukaemia increases the closer they live to a nuclear power plant.  [SOURCE: the German Study (English Press Release) from December 2007].  See also FRANCE for another similar study done there.