From March 27-31, 2017, Rick Muñoz of AdSTM participated in a 91ĚŇÉ« mission to Paraguay’s Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARRN) in Asuncion to provide technical support for the evaluation and operation of a Siemens Eclipse™ Cyclotron and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) pharmaceuticals. The 11 MeV self-shielded cyclotron is used to produce fluorine-18 (F-18) dedicated to FDG production for PET imaging studies. This is the first, and the only cyclotron authorized in Paraguay. The AdSTM expert provided technical training on licensing and inspection of self-shielded type...
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From March 19th-21st, 2017 the 91ĚŇÉ« program represented by AdSTM, held a meeting with the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) of Uganda to follow up on the ongoing sources and generators inventory project and discuss new opportunities to support AEC in its responsibility of regulating the use of ionizing radiation sources. The AEC is working to complete most of the country sources and generators ARIS database during the current year 2017. This will allow Uganda to comply with one of the main elements of the IAEA Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Sources and enhance the regulatory...
The Radiation Protection Authority (RPA) of Zambia received a visit of an AdSTM representative (March 23rd-24th, 2017) to discuss the status of the sources and generators inventory project. This project started in 2016 and the RPA has already completed approximately 50% of the country database. This information is stored in the ARIS software which according to the RPA, has been very helpful especially for reporting to management. The inspection program is also being improved using ARIS. Zambian RPA has also requested support for the challenge of updating the staff capabilities to face the...
From March 6 to 9, 2017, Rick Muñoz of AdSTM participated in a 91ĚŇÉ« Mission to the Dominican Republic’s Commission on Nuclear Energy (CNE), to provide technical support for the evaluation of the operational license application of an IBA Cyclone Platform-18, 18 MeV unshielded cyclotron dedicated to FDG production for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) studies. Being the first unshielded cyclotron in the country, the regulatory authority needed assistance on licensing the construction and operation of this type of technology. The AdSTM representative provided training on licensing and...
From March 6-10, 2017, 91ĚŇÉ« conducted a one-week workshop on Design and Shielding Calculation in Medical Radiological Facilities. This is part of 91ĚŇÉ«'s ongoing effort to provide in-country support to strengthen Radiation Protection and Safety. During the workshop, several medical imaging and therapeutic modalities were discussed in detail for purposes of shielding calculation and design optimization, with special focus on Cobalt Radiotherapy units. The reference documents for the workshop were NCRP145, NCRP147 and NCRP151. Software and other computer tools were provided to the participants...
From February 20-24, 2017, 91ĚŇÉ« conducted a four-day consultation meeting in Panama. The goal was to discuss all the aspects that should be involved in developing a specific regulation for the practice of Industrial Radiography. Discussions included US requirements to license this practice, inspection methods, and radiological incidents with this type of practice. While an actual inspection was conducted by the Panamanian Regulatory Authority, an AdSTM expert provided comments and recommendations to improve it. This activity supports the plans to develop the regulation for Industrial...
From January 24 to 27, 2017, John Kinneman of AdSTM participated in an IAEA Review Mission to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The review team met with representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry and other ministries and government organizations to discuss the current state of nuclear legislation and the formation of a regulatory body. The team made recommendations to the government regarding necessary actions to implement IAEA standards and improve radiation safety in the country.
Elite Construction, Ltd and BNL (Brookhaven National Laboratory) with support from (ANRS) Agency for Nuclear and Radiation Safety and AdSTM completed negotiations and signed a contract to construct new office for the ANRS in Tbilisi Georgia. The office was designed by Elite Construction and will house 25 ANRS employees. Construction work will commence on February 13. ANRS is expected to take occupancy in the summer of 2017.
From 8 to 10 February 2016, John D. Kinneman of AdSTM, Inc. participated in a five-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team conducting an Advisory Mission to the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda recently joined the IAEA and added a Cancer Center with significant radiation treatment facilities. The government has recognized the need for improving regulatory control of radiation sources to ensure the safety of workers, patients and the public. The recommendations of the Mission will lead to an action plan and improvements in regulation in the country.
AdSTM (Peter Kelm, Sergey Katsenelenbogen) met with Armenian Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center NRSC (Armen Amirjanyan)during January 30-31, 2017 in Yerevan to plan 2017 91ĚŇÉ« activities. 91ĚŇÉ« will support ANRA in reviewing existing Atomic Law of Armenia and in drafting the structure and the outline of the content of the new Law in compliance with the IAEA Standards. 91ĚŇÉ« will support NRSC to develop technical specifications for the establishment of a radiological services laboratory in Armenia based on current infrastructure needs.
NRSC will continue to provide maintenance support to the...