Sampling Programmes for Countrywide Monitoringi in the Russian Federation

Currently in the Russian Federation, there is a ministerial style monitoring system. The State Atomic Energy Corporation "Rosatom" monitors the sources of radioactive emissions from nuclear facilities. The monitoring of the environment (i.e. atmosphere, water sources, soils and plants) is also carried out by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), the monitoring of forest land is carried out by the Federal Agency for Forestry (Rosleskhoz) and the monitoring of farmland is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture. Accordingly, the sampling programmes and techniques reflect the specific missions and tasks assigned to each ministry. Monitoring is implemented at federal, regional and local levels. The monitoring network is organized on the basis of the administrative division of the country. The main, federal level, observation network is a system designed for the study of the environment of the country as a whole or large portions of its regions. Additional networks are designed to address local problems of studying the environmental impact of radiologically hazardous facilities. The types of monitoring include the following: — Planned original (background or initial) monitoring that fixes the contamination levels at the beginning of the monitoring programme; — Planned (periodical or seasonal) monitoring performed in accordance with the monitoring programme; — Unplanned (operational) monitoring carried out in accidental situations; — Survey sampling conducted to identify the affected area.