On 6 September 2021 ISTC started jointly with   AFCONE and FNRBA the Training Course on the   Implementation of the International Atomic Energy   Agency Regulations for the Safe Transport of   Radioactive Material. The Course constitutes a   major activity in the framework of the EU Project   MC 5.01 15B Support to the Southern African   States in Nuclear Safety and Safeguards and will   be held as a virtual on-line event from the 6^th to the   16^th of September 2021.

The purpose of the course is to enrich the knowledge and understanding of the participants, on the implementation of the IAEA Transport Regulations, and to provide guidance on the carrying out of transport-related inspections. The program for the first day was dedicated to the transport regulations and regulatory terminology. Over the next two weeks, participants will study the core concepts of requirements for transport marking, labeling, and placarding, as well as regulatory control of the security of radioactive sources during the transport.

The lecturers of the course are key experts in this field: Paul Hinrichsen, RSA National Nuclear Regulator, Coordinator, FNRBA Thematic Working Group Five: Upgrading Safety in the Transport of Radioactive Material; Ms. Christel Fasten, a former official of the German Federal Radiation Protection Office; and, Zineb El Faicali, Head of Division Regulation and Authorization at the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security, FNRBA Thematic Working Group Leader.

The 37 participants in the online course come from 18 African countries, SADC and FNRBA Member States. Almost a third of them are women. The course is primarily aimed at persons working at regulatory authorities, who may have the functions and responsibility of regulating the transport of radioactive material or of inspecting such transport. The Project Management plans to offer before the end of the year the same course for employees of transport companies and other stakeholders.