Environmental radioactivity has been monitored in Germany since the 1950s. Until 1986, this was carried out by various authorities that did not coordinate with each other. Following the confusion during the Chernobyl reactor disaster in April 1986, measurement activities were pooled in the IMIS (Integrated Measurement and Information System) project, an environmental information system for monitoring radioactivity in Germany. Previously, the measuring equipment was affiliated to the warning offices under the name WADIS ("Warning service information system").