With growing use of radionuclides for medicine and industry and lingering concern over safety and security of radioactive sources, the IAEA has been active in helping countries to improve their ability to control radiation sources. For many years, the IAEA has been providing training to a number of countries to assist in setting up or upgrading regulatory infrastructures for radiation safety and the security of radioactive sources. One such training programme concluded this week in Morocco, where experts from seven French-speaking African countries completed a month-long training course on aspects related to radiation safety regulatory infrastructure.
The goal of the workshop was to train staff from regulatory bodies of the participating countries to provide adequate regulatory control of the use of sources in all types of activities, including medical diagnostic, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, industrial radiography, industrial irradiators and nuclear gauges and well-logging.
"Our aim was to give participants a clear and deep understanding on how to properly establish and implement a regulatory programme," said Hilaire Mansoux, IAEA radiation safety specialist and coordinator of the Rabat training course.
The course is part of a set of standardized material that the IAEA has used in recent years, and covers authorization and inspection on the use of radiation sources. The application of the courseware is geared towards medical and industrial sectors, and its contents have been translated into several IAEA official languages.
The four-week training course began with classroom lectures and exercises followed by one week spent in "on-the-job" training, whereby participants visited different facilities, simulated inspections and drafted inspection reports.
The Regional Workshop on Regulatory Control of Radiation Sources was held in Rabat, Morocco from 2-27 June 2008 and was hosted by the Moroccan Centre National de l´Energie, des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN) and the Centre National de Radioprotection (CNRP).
Countries which participated in the programme were Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d´Ivoire, Gabon, Madagascar and Niger, as follow-up to appraisal or advisory expert missions previously conducted. A set of basic inspection equipment is being provided to each of these States. These activities are funded by the Cycle III Agreement of the European Union Joint Action.
Background
Several steps are needed to help countries to establish a national radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, including promulgation of a legislative and statutory framework for radiation safety, establishment of a regulatory body and processes for authorization and inspection, and development of skilled staff to oversee regulation.