The Southern England Radiation Monitoring Group (SERMG) originated out of the Hampshire, Dorset and IOW Radiation Monitoring Scheme (HDIOW) that ran from August 1987 through to November 1988. Five quarterly reports were produced during the life of the earlier scheme including a special Annual Report. Most local authorities from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, West Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire support the present scheme. West Wiltshire District Council and the London Borough of Hillingdon also are represented. The SERMG is managed through a Steering Group made up of senior staff from L.A. Environmental Health (or equivalent) departments and the University project co-ordinator and Quality Manager. A report is produced annually and quarterly statements are presented to each Local Authority.
The main objective of the Scheme is to provide background information for the area over a period of time so that any fluctuations in radioactive content of environmental materials deriving from man-made sources can quickly be identified. Within the area covered by the Scheme there are a number of establishments handling or using radioactive materials including the larger hospitals, some universities, UKAEA Winfrith and Harwell, AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield and Nycomed Amersham International. Two naval bases at Portsmouth and Plymouth provide berthing facilities for nuclear submarines; the latter can also carry out maintenance for them. The naval base at Portland closed in 1996 and there is no longer a nuclear submarine berth in the harbour. The proximity of the north French coast with its five nuclear reactors, nuclear reprocessing plant (La Hague) and a nuclear submarine base also highlights the need for continuing monitoring.
The scheme operates in two ways to make an assessment of the local levels of environmental anthropogenic radioactivity. Samples are collected by the participant local authorities and then subjected to detailed radiochemical analysis for a wide range of alpha and gamma emitting isotopes. This approach makes a measurement of individual sample types and provides information on most man-made radioactive elements that exist in that sample. The second approach is undertaken by most authorities and involves a measurement of the general gamma radioactivity of a specific site. This latter method is known as continuous (or instantaneous) gamma monitoring and though very useful, does not provide any information on the isotopes that are emitting the radiation.
The continuation of the SERMG scheme provides an insurance of laboratory, staffing and procedural readiness in the event of a nuclear incident, local or regional. The scheme provides an interface for Local Authority members with central government on radiation matters while maintaining its key role of independent monitoring.
