Collection

Radioactive incident monitoring

This series brings together all documents relating to radiological and nuclear incident monitoring.

Following the Chernobyl accident in 1986, the UK government developed a National Response Plan to ensure that any future similar emergency could be effectively managed. Under the plan the UK has a multi departmental and agency response approach. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is the lead government department for domestic and overseas nuclear response.

The RREMS (Radiological Response and Emergency Management System) application is a key response capability within our national response and over the years has developed – both as a multi response tool and as a platform for the effective coordination of emergency response for radiological events.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero manages RREMS on behalf of all government departments and agencies who would be involved in a radiological / nuclear incident. RREMS replaced RIMNET as the primary system in 2022, and RIMNET has subsequently been decommissioned.

RREMS has a network of fixed gamma dose rate monitoring sites across the UK, along with an additional mobile monitor network:

  • the monitors automatically measure, analyse, and inform on background radiation levels 24 hours a day
  • all measurement and reference data are stored in RREMS
  • the system also provides an incident document management capability and a mapping capability, including the display of plume models

We publish a quarterly statistical summary of UK radiation measurement data.

Documents

Published 3 October 2013
Last updated 9 February 2023 + show all updates
  1. RIMNET has been replaced by the Radiological Response and Emergency Management System (RREMS).

  2. First published.