The second regional RSRP meeting of Latin American countries (Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) was conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay from November 14-16. The event was hosted by the Uruguay National Regulatory Authority in Radiation Protection (ARNR) of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM).
Participants discussed recent accomplishments (since the last meeting in Panama), identified current regulatory challenges, and expressed interest in continuing cooperation in the RSRP. A special presentation was made by ANRS of Georgia on improvements to the Advanced Regulatory Information System (ARIS). The presentation also introduced NUCMAT – a software tool for nuclear material accounting and control. Dr. Eloy Gibbs presented the current status of the Radiation Protection Master Level program at UDELAS University in Panama. AdSTM presented information on recommendations for the radiotherapy LINACs inspections. INGEFISIC (Chile) discussed challenges for licensing new technologies (modern Radiotherapy Techniques, PET-CT, Cyclotrons, and Industrial Radiography) and presented a short course on “Design and Evaluation of Industrial Gammagraphy Facilities”.
The US NRC, supported by AdSTM, conducted bi-lateral meetings with each participating country and developed an action plans for the next 12-18 months.