On February 19, the RSRP program visited Dominican Republic regulator (at CNE) to discuss new and ongoing RSRP activities and the establishment of the Radiation Protection Program at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña (UNPHU). Participants discussed recently successfully completed country wide inventory project and the national registry of radiation sources. The program is planning to conduct a workshop on shielding design for the industrial facilities and to update the software for the national registry to the latest version of the software.
A one-week workshop on Design and Shielding Calculation in Medical Radiological Facilities was conducted in Guatemala City from February 5-9, 2018. This is a part of the ongoing RSRP collaboration with the Regulatory Authority designed to strengthen Radiation Protection program in Guatemala. Medical imaging and therapeutic modalities were discussed, for the purposes of shielding calculations and design optimization, with special focus on the Radiation Therapy Practice. NCRP145, NCRP147 and NCRP151 served as baseline guidance, recommendations and technical information for the workshop.
From January 29 – February 2, 2018, a one-week workshop was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia on Design and Shielding Calculation in Medical Radiological Facilities. This is a part of the ongoing RSRP collaboration with the Radiation Protection Authority (RPA) designed to strengthen Radiation Protection program Zambia. Discussions included several medical imaging and therapeutic modalities for purposes of shielding calculations and design optimization, with a special focus on the Radiation Therapy Practice.
January 23-25, 2018 - Peter Kelm of AdSTM visited Yerevan, Armenia to meet with Ashot Martirosyan, Chairman of the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ANRA), and with Armen Amirjanyan, the Director of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center (NRSC) and his staff.
From January 22 to January 26, 2018, a consultation under the RSRP was conducted at the Ministry of Health in Panama City, Panama. Dr. Charles Miller, Dr. Mario Rodriguez and Ms. Diana Thompson provided information and guidance to the Panamanian Regulatory Authority (RA) with the objective of strengthening their regulation of medical facilities conducting treatments of patients through the use of a LINAC or HDR brachytherapy. The consultation was a component of the action plan for Panama that is included in the RSRP Master Plan for Latin American partners. The topics covered included:
A new group of Panamanian students successfully completed the 2016-2017 academic program and received Master Degree in Radiation Protection from the Universidad Especializada de las Americas (UDELAS) on January 19, 2018. This program covered theory and practical training where the students apply the newly acquired knowledge in Radiation Protection. The graduation ceremony was attended by senior university authorities, Panamanian Ministry of Health and AdSTM representatives. This Master Degree program has aims to supply Panama with much needed Radiation Protection Officers.
On December 4 and 5, 2017, John Kinneman of AdSTM, Inc. conducted a program assessment at the Radiation, Safety and Nuclear Security Authority (ARSN) of The Republique de Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The assessment included meetings with the Director General, the Deputy Director General, other managers and the technical staff of ARSN, an overview of the National laws and regulatory structure, the history of regulation in the country and discussion of the uses of sources of ionizing radiation in the country.
From November 29 to December 1, 2017, John Kinneman of AdSTM, Inc. conducted an RSRP program assessment at the National Radiation Protection Board, Ministry of Health, Republic of Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya. The assessment included meetings with the Acting Chief Executive Officer, other managers and the technical staff of the Radiation Protection Board, an overview of the National laws and regulatory structure and discussion of the uses of sources of ionizing radiation in the country. There is a clear history of expanding focus on radiation safety in Kenya, based in the Ministry of Health.
On November 27, 2017, John Kinneman of AdSTM, Inc visited the Chadian Agency for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (ATRSN) in N’djamena, Chad to discuss how RSRP can further support the achievement of the plans and objectives of ATRSN. Following a visit by RSRP in February of 2015, ARIS was installed at ATRSN and a national inventory of sources of ionizing radiation was completed. During the current visit, Deputy Director General and the staff of ATRSN discussed their experiences during the inventory process and with the RASOD module of ARIS.
Peter Kelm of AdSTM visited Moldova during November 13-15, 2017 to discuss the ongoing and potential RSRP collaboration projects with representatives of NARNRA, the Moldovan National Agency for Regulation and Radiological Activities
