RER/9/117 - Upgrading National Capabilities for Controlling Public Exposure

"Regional Training Course on Public and Environmental Exposure Models and Related Radiation Monitoring", 29 October - 2 November, Tirana, Albania

Background

At the invitation of the IAEA, 36 participants from 22 Europe and Central Asia Member States gathered in Tirana, Albania, from 29 October to 2 November to attend the RER/9/117 "Regional Training Course on Public and Environmental Exposure Models and Related Radiation Monitoring". The regional event was organized by the Agency in collaboration with the Government of Albania through the Radiation Protection Office.

Human activities involving the use of radiation and radioactive substances can result in the public and the environment being exposed to radiation. These activities may elevate radiation levels beyond those that occur naturally in the environment from various sources. One must thus consider the possibility of large numbers of individuals being exposed to radioactive material.

The exposure of members of the public should be regulated in accordance with the International Safety Standards and national legislation. To this end, the regional TC project RER/9/117 "Upgrading National Capabilities for Controlling Public Exposure" (2012-2013) was launched with the overall objective of upgrading national and regional capabilities for the control of public and environmental exposure.

The training course consisted of lectures, presentation and practical exercises on four main topics:
The training course involved 36 participants from 22 countries, three international lecturers and the responsible IAEA RER/9/117 Technical Officer.

• IAEA Safety Standards for protection of people and the environment;
• Methods to assess doses to humans;
• Methods to assess doses to flora and fauna;
• Radioactivity monitoring networks setup and compliance with international standards and requirements.

Purpose

The purpose of the training course is was to build technical expertise in the application of public and environmental exposure models, as well as in the performance of related radiation monitoring.

Activities & Outcome

The training course was successful in fulfilling its objectives and resulted in:

• Increased knowledge about IAEA Safety Standards for the radiation protection of the public and the environment
• Increased knowledge about assessment of doses to humans (members of the public), flora and fauna;
• Improved capacity of participants to contribute to their national environmental radioactivity surveillance programmes.