How to control radiation exposure in Germany

If the measured values ​​​​in Germany rise sharply, for example, after an attack on Ukrainian nuclear power plants, then the sensors in this country will emit a warning message within a minute. Before that, sensors in countries closest to Ukraine sounded the alarm. “We are in an ongoing international exchange and we can also view the measurement data from here,” says Florian Gering, BfS’s Head of Radiation Emergency Response. The sensors around the Ukrainian facility in Zaporizhia could still be called there until the night of the fighting “and without any distortions”.

The plant’s reactors are currently said to shut down, at least in part, in a controlled manner. But even if the radioactivity is released, it is unlikely that the radiation will reach Germany: previous measurements over the course of one year have shown that the so-called state of westerly winds, prevalent in western and central Europe, can lead to pollutants. Escape for four-fifths of the time would strike east and thus toward Russia. “This also strongly indicates that the Russians would not risk an attack on the nuclear reactors out of self-protection,” says a German civil protection officer.