The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Source Regulatory Partnership (RSRP) delivered a workshop on the Regulatory Oversight of Radioactive Waste in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. There were 34 attendees representing 17 different entities, including the Ministry of Mines, the National Health and Science Research Institute, the Autonomous Port of Pointe-Noire, local environmental protection officials and others from industry. The weeklong workshop from January 13-17, 2025, included presentations and discussions covering regulatory aspects of interim storage of radioactive waste, international standards and best practices, and the NRC regulations and guidance for radioactive waste management. The workshop also included a site visit to an interim storage facility for Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) from the oil and gas industry. After the site visit, the workshop participants made group presentations on their observations and suggested improvements that could be made based on the information presented during the workshop.
The Republic of the Congo is in the final stages of adopting legislation that would create a regulatory body to develop regulations and oversee the licensing, inspection and enforcement of regulations governing the possession and use of radioactive materials.