The first Expert Mission in Seychelles was conducted on 13 and 14 June 2018. The meetings took place in the Department of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM) in Mahe. Representatives of other stakeholders including the regulatory authority, the customs and the police participated in the activities. Nine experts from Seychelles attended (including four female participants). One expert of the Implementing Consortium (ENCO, SCK-CEN, and STUK) was also present at this mission.
The aim of the mission was to collect and assess the information and the status in the areas that are within the scope of the CoE project P 60, with the view of customizing the support to be provided to Seychelles. Where appropriate, the mission also provided the initial recommendations in the areas of interest.
The regulatory authority staff explained that the Act covering their activities is mainly focused on radiation safety. There are no regulations on nuclear security in place as of now, but some regulations and guidelines are currently being drafted by the regulatory authority. Those include the authorizations, inspection and enforcement related with radioactive material. The regulatory authority staff provided explanations regarding the process to draft, approve and adopt regulations in Seychelles. The legal texts that are currently available were shared in order to provide the recommendations for their improvements within the P 60.
Seychelles plans to establish a Committee that will be in charge of coordinating the nuclear security regime. This will assure that each relevant national organization plays its roles and assume responsibilities as required to implement an appropriate nuclear security regime. Close collaboration between the customs, the regulatory authority and the DRDM is in place regarding the import of radioactive sources. Some inspections are conducted at the different facilities and those were explained in detail. Some enforcement measures were also described. The gaps in the current arrangements as well as the needs in terms of number and qualification of personnel, standard operating procedures, detection equipment and related training were discussed.
The regulatory authority is conducting a national inventory of the radioactive sources which is updated annually, taking also into account the checks made during inspections. An IAEA mission is planned in June 2018 to support the installation of the RAIS system. An All-hazards response plan, CBRN response plan and RN security response plan will be developed in the future. A draft Safety response plan already exists.
Seychelles does not have a national storage facility for disused radioactive sources, and those are currently managed by the operators. The procedure for arrangements regarding orphan sources is planned to be prepared.