We investigate the environmental impacts of major nuclear accidents, such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. Our focus is both on major (¹³¹I, ^134,137Cs, etc.) and minor contaminants, i.e. those that have been released to a smaller extent and/or are difficult to measure (e.g., ³H, ⁹⁰Sr, ¹⁰⁷Pd, ¹³⁵Cs, Pu, etc.). Our focus is not only on overcoming analytical challenges, but also on understanding the nature of an accident. We are targeting relevant questions such as food safety as well as preparedness for future nuclear accidents.

Our group collaborates with global and European atmospheric monitoring networks and contributes to the understanding of major (such as the Fukushima plume in 2011 or the releases of ¹⁰⁶Ru in 2017) and minor nuclear releases (e.g., sporadic releases of ¹³¹I from medical applications, wildfires inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone etc.). Our focus is on the forensic elucidation of the source and the circumstances of a release.

Understanding the nature and origin of a contamination as well as the circumstances of its release requires a forensic approach. The focus of our work is not necessarily on radiation protection but rather on a holistic understanding of the very nature of a radionuclide in the environment. We develop methods and concepts that will allow a contamination to “tell its story.”

We are interested in historical questions that require a forensic approach. From the undiscovered discovery of the neutron by Carl Auer von Welsbach to nuclear materials with historical relevance that disappeared (almost) without a trace… we will study materials and archives to clarify what needs clarification.

We develop analytical methods for the determination of ultra-trace amounts of radionuclides by radioanalytical methods as well as mass spectrometry. The TRIGA Center Atominstitut operates Austria’s last nuclear research reactor that can be used for neutron activation analysis of stable elements and long-lived radionuclides.