A three-day IAEA organized workshop, in cooperation with the Italian Government, opened today in Rome to identify ways to remove obstacles that impede the transport of radioactive material - much of it used in critical medical procedures - among countries in the Mediterranean Basin. The meeting, in the APAT Auditorium, Via Curtatone 3, is open to the press.
The meeting is part of the IAEA´s response to reports of increasing numbers of incidents of radioactive material being denied shipment by carriers.
Because production is limited to a few countries, and some of the radioisotopes, such as iodine-123 - used for heart and thyroid imaging - have a half-life of only hours, any interruption to their delivery can threaten the medical care of patients. According to industry statistics 85,000 nuclear medicine procedures are carried out around the world every day.
Transport of radioactive material used by industry and for the production of nuclear power, as well as medicine, is governed by national and international regulations which ensure high standards of safety. Recently there have been an increasing number of denials and delays of shipment around the world.