Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network at a central computer based in a DEFRA building in central London. For security reasons, a backup computer is also in operation at a secret location in the UK. The network was set up in 1988 as a response to the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. As well as being of use in an emergency, the stations also serve to record historical data on radiation levels. Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network The Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET) is a network of 91 monitoring stations, used by the Government of the United Kingdom, which records and analyses the level of radioactivity across the
Effects of the Chernobyl disaster most soils because it binds to the clay minerals. Tests (c. 1997) showed that caesium-137 levels in trees of the area were continuing to rise. It is unknown if this is still the case. There is some evidence that contamination is migrating into underground aquifers and closed bodies of water such as lakes and ponds (2001, Germenchuk). The main source of elimination is predicted to be natural decay of caesium-137 to stable barium-137, since runoff by rain and groundwater has been demonstrated to be negligible. An increased incidence of thyroid cancer was observed for about 4 years after the accident