Chernobyl's radioactive legacy still haunts Germany's wild mushrooms decades later

**Region. In 1986, the most severe nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl. Radioactive substances, carried by air currents, also reached Germany. Invisible traces of these substances can still be found in nature here today - for example, mushrooms from the forest can still contain radioactive caesium-137, which originated from the reactor accident, but also from above-ground nuclear tests in the 20th century. However, this should not be a cause for concern for mushroom pickers, as explained by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection in a press release.**

'If you consume mushrooms you've collected yourself in usual amounts, it's harmless from a radiation protection point of view everywhere in Germany,' says Inge Paulini, president of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Those who collect mushrooms can still find specimens in some southern German regions that contain more than 600 becquerels of caesium-137 per kilogram of fresh mass - above the limit for mushrooms in trade. 'Because all main foodstuffs are virtually uncontaminated, it only slightly increases your own radiation dose if you occasionally eat mushrooms with higher caesium-137 values,' explains the agency chief. What matters is not the individual mushroom, but the total amount of caesium-137 you consume.

Mushroom report aims for transparency

Even almost 40 years after the Chernobyl reactor accident, it's important to create transparency and provide those interested with a basis for making a conscious, informed decision, emphasizes Paulini. 'That's why we offer everyone who wants to make up their own mind and find out more the mushroom report from the BfS.' The BfS mushroom report shows which wild-growing mushroom species contain hardly any caesium and which can have higher caesium-137 values. For this purpose, the BfS determines the caesium-137 content of wild-growing edible mushrooms from selected locations every year. Depending on the mushroom species and the caesium-137 contamination of the soil at the collection site, there are clear differences.

These mushroom species are particularly contaminated

In the past three years (2022 to 2024), experts from the BfS found the most caesium-137 in common field mushrooms, in brown common field mushrooms, and in ivory funnel caps. In some cases, the measured values were above 2,000 becquerels per kilogram of fresh mass. The BfS found values above 1,000 becquerels of caesium-137 per kilogram in trumpet-shaped paddy straw mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms, in velvet foot mushrooms, in dark-bladdered black trumpets, and in pale blue oyster mushrooms. On the other hand, for example, the rough-stalked giant champignon, the dark-fibered champignon, the field mushroom, the Judas' ear, the giant pore, and the city champignon consistently contained less than 5 becquerels of caesium-137 per kilogram of fresh mass. The measured values of other mushroom species can be found in the current edition of the mushroom report, which is available **online**.