The second offering of a postgraduate program in radiation protection is getting underway at the University of Zambia (UNZA) after UNZA and the Radiation Protection Authority of Zambia signed contractual documents on February 1, 2024, for financial and technical support from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The second cohort is expected to include Zambian students as well as students from neighboring countries in the region. The first group comprised entirely of Zambian nationals completed the program in December 2023.
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Participants from 17 African countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) joined the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) at the Second USNRC Africa Regional Capacity Building Meeting to discuss their progress in building regulatory oversight programs and their current challenges and priorities. Held in Lusaka, Zambia, from January 29-31, 2024, the USNRC received feedback from partners, engaged new countries, and began planning collaborative activities for the next 18-24 months.The meeting was hosted by the Zambia Radiation Protection Authority (RPA) and included 47...
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered training on licensing and inspection of an 18 MeV cyclotron and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical production practices to Ghana’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) in Accra, Ghana. This weeklong training from December 4-8, 2023 included both formal in-class presentations, and an on-site visit to/inspection of an NRA-authorized cyclotron and PET radiopharmaceutical production facility under construction in Accra. Thirteen regulatory staff from the NRA attended...
On October 19, 2023, the US NRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership Program (RSRP) met with the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (ANRA) to discuss accomplishments and challenges since the last bilateral meeting in October 2022. The goal was to identify current needs and areas for further collaboration under the RSRP. Meeting attendees included: ANRA Acting Chairman Kh. Khachikyan, Deputy Chairman V. Grigoryan, and senior ANRA staff members; Director of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center (NRSC) A. Amirjanyan, and senior NRSC staff; Emily Larson, US NRC OIP Desk...
On August 5-6, 2023, AdSTM attended the CBRN SSA 20th Anniversary Event in Khajund, Tajikistan. The event reflected on the Agency’s accomplishments and discussed on-going activities of re-cultivation of the Uranium legacy sites. On August 7, AdSTM visited the Regional Training Center and the newly constructed Forensic Laboratory operated by the CBRN. The visit was followed by the bi-lateral discussion of on-going RSRP activities (regulatory development and radiation source inventory update) and the discussion of the new activities to further regulatory development, support for the outreach to...
On July 27-28, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) held a meeting with the Paraguay Radiation Protection National Regulatory Authority (ARRN). The meeting was held in Asuncion, Paraguay and was conducted by Catherine Iwanowski of the NRC’s Office of International Programs, and Mario Rodriguez and Mark Shaffer from NRC’s contractor, Advanced Systems Technology and Management, Inc. (AdSTM). The meeting consisted of bilateral discussions with ARRN managers and staff as well as an ARRN Board Member from the Ministry of Defense....
On July 24-25, 2023, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) held a meeting with the National Regulatory Authority in Radiation Protection of Uruguay (ARNR). The meeting was held in Montevideo, Uruguay and was conducted by Catherine Iwanowski and Veronica Rodriguez of the NRC’s Office of International Programs, and Mario Rodriguez and Mark Shaffer from NRC’s contractor, Advanced Systems Technology and Management, Inc. (AdSTM).The meeting consisted of bilateral discussions with ARNR managers and staff as well as a site visit to an...
The US NRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered a workshop to Seven (7) staff members from National Commission of Energy (CNE) and two (2) industrial gauge licensee authorized users on the licensing and inspection of Industrial Nuclear Gauge practices. The workshop included three formal in-class sessions and two days of on-site inspections. The in-class sessions focused on industrial 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 a...
During the week of May 15, 2023, the USNRC Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered virtual training for inspectors, license reviewers, managers and other staff of Ghana’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority. The training consisted of ten (10) modules encompassing fundamentals for well logging with sealed sources, radiation safety for sealed and unsealed tracer sources, hazards from Naturally Occurring and Technologically Enhanced Radioactive Materials (NORM and TENORM), licensing requirements, performance-based inspection, security, and well logging events. Thirty-one (31)...
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...