COGER is the Co-ordinating Group on Environmental Radioactivity formed originally by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) in the United Kingdom.

The Group was first formed in 1976 as an internal NERC group with a view to coordinating expertise and research activities in the general area of environmental radioactivity. In 1981, the decision to open up COGER to outside scientists was made in order to provide a wider dialogue amongst the environmental radioactivity research community and thus the first Open meeting was held. NERC funded the activities of COGER until March 2003. COGER's activities are now being sponsored by different organisations.

COGER's principle role is to bring together specialists from the nuclear and related industries, academics from Universities and NERC institutes, nuclear industry regulators and interested parties including non-government organisations (NGOs) whose interests are in the broad area of environmental radioactivity (from both natural and anthropogenic sources) and is highly multi-disciplinary in nature with scientists from botany, zoology, chemistry, soil science, ecology, geochemistry, geology and oceanography to name but a few disciplines.

COGER’s Terms of Reference are:

• To ensure effective coordination of information exchange between research groups involved in basic scientific research and those involved in programmes of directed research in the field of environmental radioactivity
  
  
• To organise an annual Open Meeting involving all those concerned with research on environmental radioactivity
  
  
• To ensure effective coordination of basic research and applied research for environmental radiological impact assessment
  
  
• To provide advice and support in general to those carrying out environmental radioactivity research
  
  
• To advise on the adequacy of research on radioactivity in the environment and in particular to highlight any deficiencies/gaps in the research programmes
  
  
• To provide links between COGER and the activities of other groups with responsibility for matters related to environmental radioactivity

These aims are addressed through the organisation of an annual Open meeting involving all those concerned with research on environmental radioactivity, the provision of electronic services such as this website and an email discussion list, maintenance of a database of interested researchers (mainly from the UK) and facilitation of direct communication between interested parties.

The annual Open meeting is usually held over three days in April with oral and poster presentations by those engaged in active research. The meeting includes the COGER lecture which is given by an invited prominent scientist from the field of environmental radioactivity. Full details of past and present conferences can be obtained from the Annual Meetings section. The annual Open meeting is effectively the only regular forum in the UK where scientists working on environmental radioactivity issues can meet to give papers and interact informally. Particular emphasis is placed on providing research students with the opportunity to present their results in a friendly open atmosphere.