From November 6-10, 2017, RSRP attended the kick-off meeting for the IAEA Radiation Sources Regulatory Infrastructure Development Project (RIDP) for select countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The objective of the project is assist member states in strengthening regulatory infrastructure. The meeting which took place in in Montevideo, Uruguay, reviewed the status of the countries' regulatory programs, discussed gaps and identified RIDP assistance activities for improvement. These activities generally fall into training activities and equipment purchase.

From September 25-29, 2017, Rick Muñoz of AdSTM participated in a RSRP Mission to Uruguay’s Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines (MIEM), to provide technical support and training for the evaluation of the operational license application. The operational license authorized the use of a GE PET-Trace Model-800, 16 MeV unshielded cyclotron. The cyclotron was dedicated for F-18, C-11 Ga-68 and N-13 production for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies on human medical diagnosis and small animal research.

RSRP conducted a one-week workshop on Design and Shielding Calculations for Medical Radiological Facilities from September 15-19, 2017 for the Nuclear and Radiological National Regulatory Authority (ARRN) in Asuncion, Paraguay. As part of the ongoing collaboration with the ARRN, this activity provided new ARRN regulatory staff with technical skills important for shielding evaluation during inspections and licensing. X-Ray Diagnostic and Therapeutic modalities were discussed in detail for the purposes of shielding calculations and design optimization.

RSRP visited the Regulatory Authority from August 21-25 to discuss the 2017-18 support activities and specifically a plan to improve a national registry of the radiation sources in Ecuador. AdSTM experts installed ARIS ver. 2.5 software and conducted in-depth training. Regulatory staff performed a number of exercises that demonstrates functionality and integrated operation of the ARIS system. Participants shared experience with collecting inventory information and development of national registries in other RSRP countries.

From August 9 to 11, 2017, the RSRP program visited the Senegalese Authority for Radioprotection and Nuclear Security (ARSN) to discuss progress on the current development of the sources & generators inventory project and to assess the opportunities for future cooperation. Similar to other countries in different regions, Senegal is putting significant efforts on the regulatory challenges that accompany the introduction of new technologies to the country, particularly the use of linear accelerators for Radiation Therapy.

RSRP provided installation and training on the Advanced Regulatory Information System (ARIS 2.5) for the Radiation and Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARRN) from August 16-18. The primary objectives were to update existing ARIS 2.2 software to ARIS 2.5, train ARRN staff in use of four modules of software (Licensee, RASOD, Authorization, Inspection) and introduction to the new user rights system. Training sessions were conducted for each module, and some exercises were conducted demonstrating the integration  among  all ARIS modules.

RSRP attended the kick-off meeting for the IAEA Radiation Sources Regulatory Infrastructure Development Project (RIDP) for select countries of Africa during July 17-21, 2017. Sergey Katsenelenbogen of AdSTM supported the IAEA event by participating in the development of the RIDP Action Plan and by sharing bi-lateral RSRP experience in development of regulatory infrastructure. US NRC has an established relationship with the Radiation Protection Board of Kenya (host country to RIDP event).

Peter Kelm of AdSTM visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to discuss RSRP activities during the week of July 3-7, 2017. The regulatory system was re-organized during recent years, and it is complex.

Meetings took place with representatives of the three organizations responsible for Nuclear and Radiation Safety: