Speaker
Description
There is widespread use of nuclear and radiological materials (radioactive sources and nuclear material) and technologies in the various practices and applications in throughout the world. In Uganda, the risky radioactive materials are widely used in medicine for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, in road construction industry for density and moisture gauging, in industrial radiography, in well logging for oil exploration, and to a lesser extent in agriculture, for research and education. Further, the government of Uganda is considering introduction of nuclear energy in the energy mix and construction of an refinery, and an oil pipe line from the oil rich areas in western Uganda to Tanga port in Tanzania. These activities together with the already mentioned ones will increase the quantities and use of radioactive and nuclear material that are of radiological significance in case of an incident or accident. .
Apart from the above peaceful uses, the current security situation and recent events in Uganda, the East African region and the world indicate that nuclear terrorism is probable as terrorist have in the past attempted to obtain nuclear or radiological materials for malicious purposes that might include fabricating of improvised nuclear devise or a radiological dispersal and/or exposure device and intentional exposure among other malicious acts.
It is thus imperative for Uganda and all states to establish a strong and well-coordinated mechanism for responding to nuclear security events and managing radiological crime scenes for purposes of preventing further intentional exposures to the public, contamination of the environment and crime scene management in case of evidence collection for prosecution purposes. The success in the investigation of a nuclear security event largely depends on the management of the crime scene and appropriate handling of nuclear forensic evidence that requires technical competences of all responders
Response to nuclear security events mainly involves participation of a number of national agencies including Law enforcement, Emergency response organizations, Regulatory bodies and Technical support organizations. Such organizations exist in Uganda and have the relevant legal mandates for participation in the response activities. However, a harmonized and well-coordinated concept of operation for the response activities at both state and regional/local levels is yet to be established.
In relation to identifiable international best practices and IAEA recommendations from NSS22G, the paper will: (1) identify the national competent authorities and their roles for response to nuclear security events and radiological crime scene operations in the country; (2) provide recommendations on how to develop capabilities in relation to management of crime scenes,(3) Identify command, control and coordination arrangements and the roles and responsibilities of on-scene/ operational personnel involved in radiological crime scene activities.
| State | Uganda |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
