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Topics
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Topics
Electromagnetic fields
- What are electromagnetic fields?
- High-frequency fields
- Radiation protection in mobile communication
- Static and low-frequency fields
- Radiation protection relating to the expansion of the national grid
- Radiation protection in electromobility
- The Competence Centre for Electromagnetic Fields
Optical radiation
- What is optical radiation?
- UV radiation
- Visible light
- Infrared radiation
- Application in medicine and wellness
- Application in daily life and technology
Ionising radiation
- What is ionising radiation?
- Radioactivity in the environment
- Where does radioactivity occur in the environment?
- Natural radiation in Germany
- Air, soil and water
- Radon
- Foodstuffs
- What radionuclides can be found in food?
- Natural radioactivity in food
- Radiation exposure via food intake
- Natural radionuclides in brazil nuts
- Radiation exposure of mushrooms and game
- Radiation exposure due to natural radionuclides in drinking water
- Natural radionuclides in mineral waters
- Building materials
- Relics
- Industrial residues (NORM)
- BfS laboratories
- Laboratories for the measurement of radioactive materials
- Coordinating Offices for Environmental Monitoring
- Trace analysis
- Radon calibrating laboratory
- Applications in medicine
- Applications in daily life and in technology
- Radioactive radiation sources in Germany
- Register high-level radioactive radiation sources
- Type approval procedure
- Items claiming to provide beneficial effects of radiation
- Cabin luggage security checks
- Radioactive materials in watches
- Ionisation smoke detectors (ISM)
- Radiation effects
- What are the effects of radiation?
- Effects of selected radioactive materials
- Consequences of a radiation accident
- Cancer and leukaemia
- Hereditary radiation damage
- Individual radiosensitivity
- Epidemiology of radiation-induced diseases
- Ionising radiation: positive effects?
- Radiation protection
- Nuclear accident management
- Service offers
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The BfS
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The BfS
- Working at the BfS
- About us
- Science and research
- Laws and regulations
- Radiation Protection Act
- Ordinance on Protection against the Harmful Effects of Ionising Radiation
- Ordinance on Protection against the Harmful Effects of Non-ionising Radiation in Human Applications (NiSV)
- Frequently applied legal provisions
- Dose coefficients to calculate radiation exposure
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Radionuclide laboratories of the BfS
Laboratories for the Analysis and Measurement of Radionuclides in Various Media
- With highly specialised laboratories, BfS is able to measure radionuclides in almost all media, such as water, soil, air and food.
- Depending on the radionuclide, its content in the medium to be analysed and the kind of the medium, various methods for analysis and measurement are used.
- Half of the radionuclide laboratories are also Coordinating Offices for the monitoring of environmental radioactivity.
BfS laboratories in radiation protection shown in the organisation chart (State of 4 December 2023)
With highly specialised laboratories, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is able to quantify radionuclides in almost all media, such as water, soil, air and food.
Its tasks range from controlling the self-monitoring of radioactive emissions via air and water from nuclear power plants to environmental radioactivity monitoring, as well as trace analysis of radioactive substances in the atmosphere for the monitoring of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Analytical and measurement methods
Depending on
- the specific radionuclide,
- its content in the medium to be analysed and
- the nature of the medium,
various methods for analysis and measurement are used.
Gamma Radiation
Gamma radiation
Gamma-emitting radionuclides are the easiest to measure. Gamma radiation penetrates the sample material and the measuring vessel and is detected by the measuring instrument, mostly special semiconductor detectors (high-purity germanium detectors).
Alpha and Beta Radiation
Alpha and beta radiation
Radionuclides which only emit alpha and beta particles during their decay (alpha and beta emitters) cannot be measured as simple as gamma emitters. Most or even all of the radiation is shielded by the sample material or the walls of the measuring vessel. In this case, the radiochemical processing of the sample is needed before the measurement. In this process, the radionuclides to be measured are separated from the sample material and from other radionuclides interfering within the measurement by means of elaborate methods.
Suitable measurement instruments are
- proportional counters and liquid scintillation counters for alpha and beta emitters as well as
- special semiconductor detectors (silicon detectors) for alpha emitters.
Development of analytical and measurement methods
The radiochemical methods for determining alpha and beta emitters are continually improved at the BfS. Rapid separation and measurement methods are of particular importance here. The objective is to determine the radioactive contamination of food and the environment
- after emergencies during which radionuclides are released into the environment and
- in cases of defence against nuclear hazards
as fast as possible in order to be able to take targeted and effective countermeasures to protect people.
Radionuclide laboratories: Coordinating Offices for environmental radioactivity monitoring
Half of the radionuclide laboratories of BfS are also Coordinating Offices for the monitoring of environmental radioactivity. The Coordinating Offices tasks range from measurement tasks to
- the development and determination of sampling, analysing, measurement and calculation methods as well as
- the performance of comparative measurements and comparative analyses (interlaboratory comparisons, proficiency tests).
Accredited laboratories
A high priority is placed on quality management and quality assurance at the BfS. All laboratories participate regularly in national and international comparative measurements (interlaboratory comparisons and/or proficiency tests) or offer comparative measurements as part of their Coordinating Office function.
The benchmark of the laboratories is a quality standard that complies with the DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard. Many of the laboratories have either already been accredited according to this standard or are working towards accreditation. This proves that the laboratories maintain an efficient quality management system and attests the technical and professional expertise to provide reliable measurement and analysis results.
State of 2024.07.12
