Final Project Review Meeting on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material

The regional TC project is helping Member States to establish their safety frameworks in a sustainable manner in alignment with Safety Guide TS-G-1.5. It supports the improved harmonization of application of transport standards between the Member States and entities participating in the project, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao P.D.R., Lebanon, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Territories under the Jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, Thailand, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Yemen.

The achievements of the project have been summarized and presented in the meeting, which also included a progress report on country-specific action plans for transport. Furthermore, regional action plans were finalized, and RASIMS TSA-7[1] transport safety profiles for all participating countries were completed.

A roadmap for future regional network activities and an agreed structure for regional transport safety networks were introduced, to sustain the networks developed during the course of the project. Overall, stronger networking, which is key for transport safety and smooth operations across borders, was recognized by the participants as a notable output of the project.

Participants also had the opportunity to practice various emergency response scenarios in a series of exercises. Led by experienced IAEA experts from Germany, India and New Zealand, the participants were able to use real equipment for dose measurement, identification of contamination types, analysis of decision making processes and effective action taking thereafter. The group work  revealed many complementarities and synergies of ideas among the participants, as well as a common desire to work towards safer transport of radioactive material in the international environment.  

RAS/9/067 is one of the five safety-related regional TC projects in the region of Asia and the Pacific supported by the European Union (EU) under the Nuclear Safety Cooperation Instrument, as part of a larger EU initiative to enhance nuclear safety around the world.

[1] RASIMS TSA-7: IAEA Radiation Safety Information Management System: RASIMS is a web-based platform that enables Member States and the IAEA Secretariat to jointly collect, analyse and view information regarding the national infrastructure for radiation and waste safety. TSA-7 refers to Thematic Safety Area 7 for Transport Safety of the IAEA’s RASIMS. http://rasims.iaea.org/Default.aspx