AWE routinely monitors the environment within and around the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites.
Samples are taken of air, water (rivers, streams, groundwater & rain), sediment, soil, vegetation, milk and fish. These are then analysed for the radionuclides and other substances used and discharged in the course of AWE’s operations.
The results are reported quarterly to the Environment Agency and to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and published on this website. You can view AWE's environmental monitoring reports, and other related documents, in our Publications section.
Each report contains numeric data, but in summary they consistently conclude:
- Traces of AWE’s discharges are just detectable within and close to the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites.
- Away from the sites, only background activity is detectable (mostly natural radioactivity).
- Even where there is evidence of AWE’s discharges, the levels of additional radioactivity are very low, far below anything likely to lead to harm.
- The impact of AWE’s discharges on the environment and public around the Aldermaston and Burghfield sites is negligible.
This conclusion is further reinforced by the results of independent monitoring, such as the annual RIFE (Radioactivity in Food and the Environment) Report, published jointly by the FSA, EA, Environment & Heritage Sevice and Scottish Environment Protection Agency. A copy of the most recent report can be found on the Environment Agency’s website.