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Senior Regulators' Meeting, 2013 , VIC, Vienna, Austria. Establishing and Strengthening the Regulatory Infrastructure in States without Nuclear Power Plants: the Constraint of Limited Resources . Augustin SIMO
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Senior Regulators' Meeting, 2013, VIC, Vienna, Austria. Establishing and Strengthening the Regulatory Infrastructure in States without Nuclear Power Plants: the Constraint of Limited Resources . Augustin SIMO Director GeneralNational Radiation Protection Agency of Cameroonand Chairperson, Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA)
Applications of Radiation Sources Challenges Strategies Progressive Results SCOPE
Applications Involving Radiation Sources in Africa Medical Applications Industrial Applications Research Reactors Operation – 9 Nuclear Power Generation -1 new interests for NPP Industrial radiography Decision-makers need to be patiently sensitized about the need for radiation safety infrastructure which is wrongly perceived as less interesting for the majority of population. Diagnosis Radiology
Specific Challengesfor Regulatory Systems - legislation; - operational regulatory body; - staffing of Regulatory Body; - financing Regulatory Body activities; - physical infrastructure; - sustainability of Regulatory Body. FNRBA is an approach/opportunity to overcome these challenges towards establishing sustainable regulatory infrastructure in Africa.
Implementation of IAEA Model Project on Upgrading Radiation Protection Infrastructure IAEA Model Project on Upgrading Radiation Protection Infrastructureto properly control the radiation sources, was launched in 1996, as well as BSS 115 for Protection against Ionizing Radiation sources in all activities involving radiation exposure with series steps or milestones towards their accomplishment defined as follows: 1. Establishment of a Regulatory Infrastructure 2. Occupational Exposure Control 3. Medical Exposure Control 4. Public and Environmental Exposure Control 5. Emergency Preparedness and Response 6. Education and Training 7. Transport Safety..
Results - Implementation of IAEA Model Project on Upgrading Radiation Protection Infrastructure • Model project main achievements: • Establishment in several countries of appropriate laws and regulations and regulatory authorities empowered to authorize and control practices involving radiation sources; • Promotion of common understanding with regard to the need for sound radiation safety frameworks and strong regulatory authorities
FNRBA STRATEGY Self assessment of regulatory infrastructure in MRBs Electronic communication platform tobuild a network for exchange of knowledge – web based communications and exchange of information Creation of opportunities for face-to-face platforms for exchange of experiences and best practices Establishment of collaborative agreements with regional and international bodies; networking bodies; professional bodies that promote similar objectives
FNRBA – PROGRESS 1/3 FNRBA Website Launched – www.fnrba.org designed by IAEA GNSSN IT experts from Africa associated to the website maintenance
FNRBA – PROGRESS 2/3 Training and Cooperation with KINS Operational Regional Designated Centres for professional training in radiation safety selected through AFRA modalities in few countries used to support sustainability staff training in the region Two workshops implemented in 2012 in collaboration with the Korean Institute of Nuclear Science (KINS). IAEA-KINS-FNRBA WS in Cape Town IAEA-KINS-FNRBA-ANNuR WS at KINS
FNRBA – PROGRESS 3/3 Implementation of Self-Assessment of Regulatory Infrastructure for Safety (SARIS). • FNRBA encourages the implementation of IAEA -SARIS by all members with the view to identify their weaknesses, to design and implement the appropriate action plan for their improvement in order to harmonize the regulatory body activities in Africa and to improve the status of the regulatory infrastructure in the region. Members are encouraged to present their status SARIS report in every plenary.
RASIMS Statusof 2013. The electronic platform, RASIMS, developed by the IAEA, provided the status of the regulatory bodies in Africa as of 2009 and April 2013 in Thematic Safety Areas. TSA1 deals with Establishment of a Regulatory Infrastructure.
TSA 1 Status of FNRBA Member States 2009 - April 2013 April 2013 2009 44% low Progress 22% low Progress 50% Medium Progress 65% Medium Progress 6% High Progress 13% High Progress There is a slight improvement from 2009 and as far as TSA 1 is concerned; the remaining TSAs constitute challenges for the whole region and lot is yet to be done to ameliorate their levels.
PANEL DISCUSSION ON Effective Mechanisms for Supporting a Regulatory Infrastructure
Aims of Support Support Mechanisms National Initiatives Regional and Sub-regional Initiatives Implementation of International Instruments International Review Missions SCOPE
Aims of Support • Support of established regulatory infrastructures activities shall be to: • implement the regulatory function with required competencies to ensure safe use of radiation in all socioeconomic development sectors; • develop graded approach of regulatory activities to match the efforts to reduce risks with the existing nuclear and radiation technologies (legislation and regulations, qualification of staff, specialized training facilities, sustainable human resource development); • participate in the global threat reduction.
National Initiatives Support the self-assessment exercise and the implementation of the derived action plan proposed for improvement 1) IAEA to continuously review the tool and promote its utilisation 2) Government to provide means for improvement of Regulatory infrastructure, including promulgation of new laws and regulations, and adequate financial support 3) National Regulatory Body commitment to implement self-assessment and derived action plan
National Initiatives (Cont.) • Continuous improvement of staff skills • Development and implementation of Regulatory body training strategy and programme. • Support the implementation of these at: • national level using academic training infrastructure and • regional level using cooperation mechanisms: IAEA, Regulatory Bodies Network, etc.
Regional and Sub-regional Initiatives • Support to regional cooperation among Regulatory Bodies • - Sharing good practices, knowledge and expertise • - Networking
Implementation of International Instruments • Support to the development of comprehensive approach to implement in all countries: • - IAEA Code of Conduct and Guidance for import and export of radioactive sources • - Convention on the security of radioactive sources • - Convention against nuclear terrorism
International Review Missions Encourage use of : Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plan (INSSP) and support the implementation of recommendations
Conclusion The process of establishing regulatory bodies for radiation safety in African countries without nuclear power plants encounters numerous challenges focussed on legislation and regulations, qualification of staff, funding, equipment, sustainability, etc. Regional and international cooperation is seen as appropriate mechanism to alleviate the common constraints. FNRBA and IAEA joint assistance and activities in the region need to be supported by the international community to help the continent to improve its radiation safety and security profile in a sustainable manner.