A regional training course on Radiation Protection in the Oil and Gas Industry took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 19-23 October 2014. Altogether, 16 participants from 11 Member States in the Asia and the Pacific region attended the course. The participants were from the following Member States: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates.

The training course, supported by funds provided by the European Union (EU), was held within the framework of the IAEA's regional technical cooperation (TC) project RAS/9/064, 'Strengthening the Transfer of Experience Related to Occupational Radiation Protection in the Nuclear Industry and Other Applications Involving Ionizing Radiation'.

The course was aimed at individuals in developing countries with responsibilities in the area of regulating radiological aspects of the oil and gas industry and those individuals with operational radiation protection responsibilities in the oil and gas industries.

Through a series of lectures, information exchange among participants, practical training activities and technical visits, the participants have attained an increased knowledge on the issues relevant to the radiation protection and the management of radioactive waste in the oil and gas industry. A major outcome of this training course was the enhancement of the participants' awareness about the protection and safety requirements of the International Basic Safety Standards (BSS) in occupational exposures with particular focus on naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). In addition, this training provided guidance to the participants on the application of a graded system of regulatory control over NORM in the oil and gas industry, as well as practical knowledge and experiences on radiation protection at installations - onshore and offshore operations - in order to help them to be able to initiate appropriate national training programmes.

RAS/9/064 is one of the five safety-related TC projects among other IAEA technical cooperation activities supported by the EU through the Nuclear Safety Co-operation Instrument (NSCI) as part of a larger EU initiative to enhance nuclear safety around the world.

? ?

Project RAS/9/064 is carried out with funding by the European Union and the IAEA.