From 6 through 16 September ISTC held in conjunction with the AFCONE and FNRBA a two-week Training Course on the Implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material. The Course constituted 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.
The objectives of the course were successfully achieved – 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 positive results were the result of the work of the lecturers who conducted the course and who are leading experts in this field, namely: Paul Hinrichsen, expert at the RSA National Nuclear Regulator, Coordinator, FNRBA Thematic Working Group Five: Upgrading Safety in the Transport of Radioactive Material; 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 34 participants in the online course came from 17 African countries, SADC and FNRBA Member States. Almost a third of them were women. The course was primarily aimed at persons working at regulatory authorities, who have the functions and responsibility of regulating the transport of radioactive material or of inspecting such transport. At the end of the course, the participants were awarded certificates for successfully completing the exit test. Emmanuel Akrobortu from Ghana won acclamations by scoring 100% at the final test, while nine other participants had a score of 95% correct answers. The suggestions in the feedback reports of participants will serve as orientation for the further fine-tuning of the teaching material and methodology, including the proposal to include in the program a table top exercise as a possible form of practical application of the knowledge acquired during the course.
The course has aroused considerable interest among relevant nuclear experts and will be presented at a Side event at the International Conference on the Safe and Secure Transport of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials in Vienna, Austria, in December 2021.
