2021 marked the 35th anniversary of the nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl. We continue to monitor the environment, food and imports in order to monitor the effects of this disaster and protect the Austrian population. This is done in accordance with the legal requirements(Radiation Protection Act 2020) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK).

The reactor disaster in Chernobyl on 26 April 1986 led to the release of large quantities of radioactive substances. Austria was severely affected by the radioactive fallout - due to precipitation in the days following the release - and the after-effects are still measurable. However, only the long-lived caesium-137 with a half-life of around 30 years is still of some significance for radiation exposure in Central Europe. In arable and meadow soils, however, caesium is bound to existing clay components and is therefore no longer available to plants. Caesium-137 therefore no longer plays a role in agricultural products. In forest soil, on the other hand, caesium-137 is available to plants in the humus layer and can therefore be absorbed into the plants via the roots. As a result, wild animals, especially wild boar, ingest caesium-137.

Over the past two decades, we have repeatedly carried out projects on the subject of caesium-137 in forest products:

• 2007 and 2008: Focus study "Survey of the radioactive contamination of venison"
• 2012: Priority project "Wild boar meat in retail"
• 2016: Project on caesium-137 in the environment "Radioecological evaluation of radionuclide contamination in forest ecosystems 30 years after Chernobyl" together with the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences
• 2018: Priority action "Wild game and products: Checking for heavy metals and radioactivity"

Further information on selected projects can be found here or at the bottom of this page under Downloads.

We test almost 1,000 food samples for radioactivity every year. Caesium-137 levels in agricultural products have returned to pre-Chernobyl levels, but wild mushrooms and venison can still contain higher levels of caesium-137. We therefore regularly monitor wild meat and mushrooms for caesium-137. In addition, the import of mushrooms from third countries is also checked for caesium-137.

Of the approximately 360 game meat samples we have measured since 2019, there were only nine samples with activity concentrations above the limit of 600 Bq/kg. These nine samples all came from private individuals (hunters) who had shot animals in the wild. They were therefore not wild game meat that was commercially available. In the wild mushrooms tested, all of the results for chanterelles and porcini mushrooms were well below this limit. Only one sample of bread stubble mushrooms was found to be above 600 Bq/kg. The activity concentration of the sample was approx. 23,000 Bq/kg. This sample came from a project of the province of Carinthia to create a caesium-137 mushroom map.

Radioactivity in domestic wild mushrooms and game meat (Ministry of Social Affairs)