The US NRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered a workshop to five (5) regulatory staff from Panama’s Ministerio De Salud (MINSA), Department of Radiological Health on licensing and inspection of Nuclear Gauge practices. The workshop included three formal in-class sessions and two days of on-site inspections. The in-class sessions focused on nuclear gauge safety and security, with focus on the licensing process and inspection protocols. The on-site inspections focused on the inspection process and inspection protocols at both fixed and portable nuclear gauges. The...
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On March 13 – 17, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered a virtual training for Uruguay on how the NRC instructs its inspectors to prepare for and conduct regulatory inspections focusing on the concept of Risk-Informed Performance Based Inspections. To complete this workshop, an NRC contractor traveled to Uruguay to observe regulatory inspections and provide comments and suggestions. The National Regulatory Authority in Radiation Protection of Uruguay (ARNR) organized and conducted regulatory inspections and applied the...
On March 10, 2023, the Panamanian Regulatory Authority (RA) in Radiation Protection, at the Ministry of Health, met with the RSRP representatives to follow up on current collaborative activities and discuss potential new projects. Several interesting topics towards strengthening the routine work of the RA were discussed. Several activities are currently under coordination, specifically related to capacity building and the national register of sources of ionizing radiation.
With the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission support, the 2020-2022 Master Program in Radiation Protection at UDELAS graduated four new professionals in Radiation Protection. The graduation ceremony was held on March 10, 2023. This Spanish language course was designed by the collaboration between the Ministry of Health (MINSA) and UDELAS, with support from the Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP). This program has theoretical courses and a practical training where the students apply the new acquired knowledge in Radiation Protection. In attendance were the graduates and family...
On February 23, 2023, for the first time the NRC visited the Republic of Senegal Authority for Radioprotection and Nuclear Security (ARSN) in Dakar, Senegal. The ARSN is a long-term partner of the NRC’s International Assistance Program and the Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP), which has previously been on the ground in Senegal. This trip was an important opportunity for NRC staff to meet in person with ARSN regulatory staff and demonstrate their support for ARSN. Discussions during the visit included a review of past projects, the current priorities, and interests of ARSN...
On February 21 and 22, 2023, the NRC made its first ever in-person visit to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, when the NRC’s International Assistance Program and Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) went to Nouakchott to meet with the National Radiation Protection Authority, Nuclear Safety and Security (ARSN), a long-term partner of the Assistance Program. NRC contractors involved in RSRP have made several visits, but this trip was an important opportunity for NRC staff to show direct support for ARSN and have face-to-face meetings with regulatory staff. In addition to reviewing...
From February 6-8, 2023, the NRC’s Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) and International Regulatory Development Partnership (IRDP) participated in the 14th Meeting of The Arab Network of Nuclear Regulators (ANNuR) in Hammamet, Tunisia. The NRC delivered two presentations describing past and present collaboration with ANNuR and the details of the NRC-funded Master’s Program in Radiation Protection. The meeting helped to strengthen the ongoing collaboration between the NRC and ANNuR as an organization, and it provided opportunities for the NRC to discuss bilateral engagements with...
From December 20 – 21, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered a virtual workshop on “Design and Shielding Calculation for Linear Accelerators” for the regulatory authorities of Paraguay and Dominican Republic. The workshop consisted of two 4-hour sessions, which provided an overview of basic concepts such as workload, occupancy and use factors, half and tenth value layers (which are important considerations in designing shielding), primary and secondary barriers, neutron dose, and the application of the time average and instant...
On October 20-21, 2022, the US NRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited Georgia and met with the Agency of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Republic of Georgia (ANRS) to discuss ANRS’s regulatory activities and identify areas for future collaboration under the RSRP. Attendees at the meeting included ANRS Chairman Vasil Gedevanishivili and representatives from AdSTM (contractor). The meeting discussed in detail current status and plans for promulgating the Law of Georgia on Nuclear and Radiation Safety. The meeting discussed completed in 2022 and on-going regulatory...
On October 17-18, 2022, the US NRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership Program (RSRP) visited Armenia and met with the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (ANRA) to discuss accomplishments since the last meeting and to identify areas for further collaboration under the RSRP. Meeting attendees included: ANRA Acting Chairman Khachatur Khachikyan, Deputy Chairman Vahe Grigoryan and senior ANRA staff members; Armen Amirjanyan, the Director of ANRA’s technical support organization, the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center (NRSC); and the AdSTM (contractor) representatives. ANRA presented ongoing...