February 28, 2018. Thirty-two national representatives from the P 60 participating countries gathered for a technical meeting and a training in Addis Ababa last week. The meeting, convened by the sub-contractor in charge of the implementation of P 60, introduced the project’s team, the objectives and the scope defined by the terms of reference, the planned tasks and schedule of activities. Representatives from ISTC and EC DEVCO provided overview and details about the regional and thematic context that shapes the specific project’s goals and activities.

Representatives from ISTC and EC DEVCO provided overview and details about the regional and thematic context that shapes the specific project’s goals and activities.

The national experts from the participating countries talked about their needs, expectations, and priorities related to the project themes and scope. They depicted the status of activities in their respective countries, as well as the specific focus and expectations from services and products from the project.

Throughout the exchange of views, the meeting’s participants touched on the existing legislative frameworks, inventory and regulatory control of RN material and the national EPR plans (emergency plans and contingency plans) for RN incidents. The cross-border cooperation and exercises, as well as capacity building needs, were further elaborated.

A three-day training workshop followed the technical kick-off meeting.  A team of international experts led the workshop, themed “Cradle to grave” control of the radiological material. They introduced the IAEA Code of Conduct and other IAEA standards and guidance, as well as the EU directives and best practices in the EU on control of radioactive sources. The experts presented the key elements of the national policies and strategies, and the legislative and regulatory frameworks and structures for radioactive sources including safety and security provisions. The workshop covered as well all aspects related to import, export, repatriation and safe transportation of sources. The participating countries highlighted their national arrangements and experience with control of radioactive sources and elaborated on the national and regional challenges related with radioactive sources.  

Project 60 “Support to the CBRN Centre of Excellence of Eastern and Central Africa in Nuclear Security”, implemented by ISTC, was officially launched in February 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya. The technical meeting and training workshop in Addis Ababa was convened by the project’s sub-contractor, an international consortium between ENCO (a Vienna-based engineering and management consultancy with expertise in the field of nuclear safety, nuclear operation and technical support), STUK (The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority tasked with nuclear safety and radiation monitoring in Finland), and SCK-SEN (the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre).