The Environmental Radioactivity Group (URA) runs a network of automatic probes (URAnet aqua) that continuously measure concentrations of gamma emitters in the Aare and Rhine rivers, downstream of nuclear power plants. Discover the installation of a new probe in the infographic below.
The URAnet aqua network
URAnet aqua: automatic measurement of radioactivity in rivers:
The continuous monitoring network for the Aare and Rhine rivers downstream of nuclear power stations
Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011, large quantities of radioactive substances were discharged into the sea. Continuous monitoring of the radioactivity in Swiss rivers, not conducted before, became an important issue. Since 2015, this gap has been filled, and 5 automatic probes operated by the Federal Office of Public Health continuously measure gamma emitter concentrations in the Aare and Rhine rivers downstream of nuclear power plants. The Hagneck probe is currently out of service. The Niederried probe – otherwise redundant – is serving as its temporary replacement. These probes, equipped with a Na-I detector, provide short-term measurement results every ten minutes, as well as results integrated over a one-hour period. The 24-hour mean values are published on the Radenviro platform.
Sensor installation plan
Scheme of installation of an aquatic probe on a pillar fixed in the river bed (A); A mounting fixed to the river bank (B); Lower fixation of the probe (C). The blue connecting cable and the supporting steel rope are led into the water via the mounting. The steel rope is used to position and reinforce the probe.
(image A: D. Wyder, Metas; image C: taf-taucharbeiten ag).
Video of the URAnet aqua probe site in Laufenburg
Maintenance of aquatic probes
The aquatic probes in the URAnet aqua network require various types of maintenance, sometimes requiring replacement after a certain period of service.
Quality control, network testing
The calibration is examined with a cesium-137 source placed around the NaI detector. After checking the probe's connection to the network, the presence of the cesium-137 peak in the spectrum and its position are verified.
Results, network status
The radenviro.ch website shows daily averages for all stations (01:00h - 01:00h).
The status indicates the state of the probe, and a click on "data" displays the station's measurement results.
Station |
Start-up |
Status |
Remarks |
Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aarau |
June 2014 |
available |
data |
|
Basel |
June 2013 |
available |
data |
|
Laufenburg |
January 2015 |
available |
data |
|
Niederried |
June 2014 |
available |
Maintenance 29.01.2024 - 06.02.2024 |
data |
Hagneck |
June 2015 |
faulty |
no data since 29.1.23.; no daily mean since 25.1.23; redundant station (Aare upstream of Lake Biel): Niederried |
data |
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