Environment Agency Extends Radiological Monitoring Contract
ESG, the UK’s leading provider of testing, inspection and compliance services, has won a two-year extension to its contract with the Environment Agency to provide independent monitoring of radioactivity in the environment.
The contract includes: on-site radiation monitoring, radiological sampling and comprehensive radiochemical analysis of environmental samples taken from sites across England and Wales. The sites include locations in the vicinity of nuclear power stations, research laboratories, defence installations and landfill sites. ESG has been providing radiological services to the Environment Agency since 2002, and this is the latest extension to their partnership.
ESG’s contract for the Environment Agency provides reassurance monitoring and analysis to complement the routine monitoring and sampling carried out by the nuclear facilities operators. The results are incorporated into the Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE) report. This is published annually into the public domain and reports radiological levels in food and the environment which is used to assess the dose received by members of the public in the vicinity of nuclear licensed sites and industrial and landfill sites.
Speaking about the contract extension, Roger Benzing, Head of Nuclear Chemistry, Energy & Waste Services, ESG, explained:
“The radiological monitoring carried out by ESG provides assurance that environmental radioactivity remains within the regulatory limits and through the RIFE report gives reassurance to the public. This is important for a number of reasons. Not only does it help the nuclear industry demonstrate that it is doing all it can to minimise the radiological risk to the public, it also plays a key role in maintaining a safe environment and protecting the health and wellbeing of the public.”