News from 2019

From May 13 through May 17, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership conducted a consultation at the National Regulatory Authority on Radiation Protection Montevideo, Uruguay. Ms. Diana Thompson, MS, CHP, RRPT and Mr. John Madera, MBA, CNMT provided a workshop with information and guidance for the Uruguayan National Regulatory Authority on Radiation Protection with the objective of strengthening their regulation of medical facilities conducting treatments of patients through the use of a Linear Accelerator and High Dose-rate Remote...
On May 13, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited Lusaka, Zambia. Eric Stahl of USNRC and John Kinneman of AdSTM met with senior officials from the Radiation Protection Authority to discuss Zambia’s national inventory of radiation sources, which was completed in 2018 with U.S. government support via the RSRP. In addition, both organizations discussed future collaboration, including various training activities and assistance with the development of Zambia’s nuclear regulatory and guidance documents. As in most countries,...
On May 10, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited Kampala, Uganda. Eric Stahl of USNRC and John Kinneman of AdSTM met with senior officials from the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) of Uganda to discuss the national inventory of radiation sources that was completed in 2018 with support from the RSRP, current activities of the AEC, and ongoing and future nuclear safety engagements. Both organizations discussed future collaboration, including various training activities and assistance with the development of regulatory products.
From May 6 to May 10, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership conducted a consultation at the Paraguayan Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARRN) in Asuncion, Paraguay. Ms. Diana Thompson, MS, CHP, RRPT  and Mr. John Madera, MBA, CNMT provided a workshop with information and guidance for the ARRN with the objective of strengthening their regulation of medical facilities conducting treatments of patients through the use of a Linear Accelerator and High Dose-rate Remote Afterloader brachytherapy devices. The topics covered...
On April 5 and 6, 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR). John Kinneman of AdSTM met with senior officials from the Ministry of Mines and Geology and the National Radiation Protection Agency (ANR) to discuss ongoing nuclear safety engagement. The USNRC and CAR officials agreed on plans for a pilot source inventory project in the Bangui region, which will begin in late April 2019. In addition, the ANR and the USNRC discussed future regulatory development and inspection-related support...
From March 25 to March 29, 2019, a consultation under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s RSRP was conducted at the Radiation Protection Authority in Lusaka, Zambia. Ms. Diana Thompson provided a workshop with information and guidance with the objective of strengthening regulation of medical facilities conducting treatments of patients through the use of a Linear Accelerator and High Dose-rate Remote Afterloader brachytherapy devices. The topics covered included:Regulation of Linear AcceleratorsLicensing and Registration of Linear AcceleratorsInspection of Linear Accelerator...
From March 25 to March 29, 2019, the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited the Bolivian Institute of Science and Nuclear Technology (IBTEN) in La Paz, Bolivia. Mr. Rick Muñoz provided information and guidance to IBTEN with the objective of enhancing their regulation of construction, licensing, and inspection of industrial irradiator facilities. In addition to the information exchange, a technical review of a construction application was conducted to assess the completeness of the application. The consultation resulted in providing...
On March 26, 2019, representatives of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) met with Eng. Mario Gutierrez Simon, the new Minister of the Radiological and Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Paraguay (ARRN). Brett Rini from the NRC Office of International Programs, and Sergey Katsenelenbogen and Paulo Ferruz from Advanced Systems Technology and Management Inc., represented the RSRP team that participated in the meeting. The meeting participants discussed the new organizational structure of ARRN, the purpose and benefits of the RSRP, and the...
From March 18 to March 22, 2019, a consultation under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s RSRP was conducted at the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security Authority in Port Louis, Mauritius. Ms. Diana Thompson provided a workshop with information and guidance with the objective of strengthening regulation of medical facilities conducting treatments of patients through the use of a Linear Accelerator and High Dose-rate Remote Afterloader brachytherapy device. The topics covered included:Regulation of Linear Accelerators and TeletherapyLicensing and Registration of Linear Accelerators and...
From March 3 to 7, 2019 the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Radiation Sources Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) visited Chisinau, Moldova to discuss ongoing and future RSRP collaboration with representatives from the Moldovan National Agency for Regulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities (NARNRA), and it’s Technical Support Organization INOTEH. The parties discussed continuing support for pre-licensing inspections, regulatory development to address the December 2019 IRRS mission findings, user outreach, training in safety aspects of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy. Peter Kelm...