Nuclear Events/RadNet Timeline

	= Original radiation monitoring program		= ERAMS established
	= Event with potential for increase in radioactivity		= Enhancement of ERAMS sampling or reporting
	= Event with potential for decrease in radioactivity		= Termination of ERAMS component

Year	Milestone
1945-1955	Approximately 80 above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Great Britain.*

1956	Radiation Alert Network (RAN) is established to provide an early alert for radiation fallout in air and deposition. When incorporated into RadNet in 1973, RAN consisted of 68 sampling stations distributed across the United States.

1957	Windscale (Great Britain) nuclear reactor--a fire results in a limited off-site release of radioactivity (Level 5, based on the International Nuclear Event Scale, or INES).**
1957	Kyshtym (Soviet Union) reprocessing plant--an explosion results in a significant off-site release of radioactivity (INES Level 6).

1956-1958	Approximately 180 above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Great Britain.

1958	Great Britain conducts its last above ground nuclear blast.

1959	Executive Order 10831 and Public Law 86-373 issued, providing the legal basis for additional programs that eventually lead to RadNet. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) is given the responsibility for radioactive fallout and environmental radiation monitoring under these legal mandates.

1960	Pasteurized Milk Network (PMN) is established to monitor for radiation fallout in the food chain of humans. When incorporated into RadNet in 1973, PMN consisted of 63 sampling stations across the nation.
1960	France conducts its first three above ground nuclear blasts. These are the only blasts reported for any country this year.

1961-1962	Approximately 100 above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by the U.S. and Soviet Union.

1963	The U.S. and Soviet Union cease conducting above ground nuclear blasts, prompted in part by the Cuban Missile Crisis and subsequent Limited Test Ban Treaty prohibiting underwater, atmospheric, and outer space nuclear blasts.

1964	Tritium Surveillance System (TSS) is established to monitor precipitation and tritium concentrations in major river systems downstream of selected nuclear facilities. When incorporated into ERAMS in 1973, TSS consisted of 8 monitoring stations.
1964	People's Republic of China conducts its first above ground nuclear blast. This is the only above ground blast reported for any country this year.

1965-1967	Nine above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by France and the People's Republic of China.

1967	TSS expanded to include drinking water and an expanded network of surface water stations. The TSS consisted of 68 drinking waster sampling stations and 39 surface water stations before being incorporated into Radnet.

1968-1970	Three above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by the People's Republic of China.

1970	Radiation monitoring responsibilities transferred from HEW to EPA based on Reorganization Plan No. 3.

1971-1973	Seventeen above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by France and the People's Republic of China.

1973	ERAMS established by consolidation of several existing monitoring networks. RadNet data begins being reported as summary data in quarterly Environmental Radiation Data (ERD) reports.

1974	Seven above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by France and the People's Republic of China.
1974	France conducts its last above ground nuclear blast.

1976-1978	Six above ground nuclear blasts are conducted during this period by the People's Republic of China. (ERAMS Alert Status)

1978	Analysis of potassium (K) in air is terminated.***

1979	Electronic recording of RadNet data begins with the inclusion of individual sample analytical results in the RadNet Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).
	Three Mile Island (U.S.) nuclear power plant--a cooling malfunction causes part of the core to melt in a reactor, resulting in a limited off-site release of radioactivity (INES Level 5). (RadNet Alert Status)
	Analysis of tritium (H-3) in milk is terminated.

1980	One above ground nuclear blast is conducted during this period by the People's Republic of China. (RadNet Alert Status)
	The People's Republic of China conducts its last above ground nuclear blast.
	Saint-Laurent (France) nuclear power plant--a fuel rupture results in a minor off-site release of radioactivity (INES Level 4).

1982	Analysis of uranium (U) and iodine (I) in drinking water is initiated.

1985	Analysis of plutonium (Pu) in milk is terminated.

1986	Chernobyl (Soviet Union) nuclear power plant--a steam explosion and fire causes a major off-site release of radioactivity (INES Level 7). (ERAMS Alert Status)

1987	Analysis of carbon-14 (C-14) in milk is terminated.

1993	ERD reports start being published on the web site of the National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL), Montogomery, Alabama.

1996	Analysis of U and Pu in precipitation is terminated.

1999	Surface water sampling is terminated (to avoid redundancy with state sampling programs around nuclear facilities).
1999	Tokaimura (Japan) nuclear fuel processing facility--a criticality accident results in a minor off-site release of radioactivity (INES Level 4). (ERAMS Alert Status)

2000	Wildfires threaten the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. RadNet provides regional and national data to compare to samples taken in response to the fires. (RadNet Alert Status)
2000	Wildfires scorch 200,000 acres of Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington State. ERAMS provides regional and national data to compare to samples taken in response to the fires. (RadNet Alert Status)

2001	Terrorist attacks on September 11 (U.S.)--airliners flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon. RadNet provides regional and national data to compare to samples taken in response to the attacks. (RadNet Alert Status)

2002	Sample-specific ERAMS data becomes available on the EPA web.

2005	ERAMS becomes RadNet. Name changed to reflect new mission.

*All nuclear blast data obtained from Oklahoma Geological Survey Observatory, Catalog of Nuclear Explosions (last modified July 14, 1998; last accessed April 6, 2002 from http://www.okgeosurvey1.gov/level2/nuke.cat.html).

**All nuclear accident/incident data obtained from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), INES Factsheet (last accessed April 10, 2002 from http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Periodicals/Factsheets/index.shtml).

***The various additions and terminations of nuclide sampling and analysis indicated from this point forward are only a sample of the many changes that have taken place over the 30+ history of RadNet. Refer to the actual data and the User's Guide for more detail regarding these changes.

Nuclear Events/RadNet Timeline

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