Speakers
Description
Gap analysis from two (2) of recent cases involving Iridium-192 industrial radiography sources that were stolen during transit after completion of work and on transportation back to the main office from field work had shown that there is a strong need to enhance regulatory control and compliance efforts from authorised user on security of radioactive sources during transportation. The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB), as national regulatory body has taken steps to improve security plan requirements that emphasis on the need to strengthen transport security for mobile radioactive sources in Malaysia. The regulatory improvement also focusses at enhancing synergy between transport safety and security within regulatory process and control. Among the important effort made was exploring better mechanism in tracking the movement of high mobility radioactive sources in Malaysia including the potential use of tracking technology. AELB took the important steps in consulting the authorised users and manufacturing industries to seek better understanding on cost effective solution within the available local technology in strengthening transport security implementation for mobile radioactive sources. Through our observation, it is obvious that the enhancement of transport security, will not be successful through depending only to the improvement of regulatory requirements. Such effort requires active and equal role and participation of all relevant competent authorities that has legal jurisdiction in managing and responding towards matter related to radioactive sources in transport, the authorized users and the manufacturing industry that are producing radioactive sources used in industrial radiography activities. the coordinated approach of competent authorities and relevant stakeholder will set for collective move in addressing issues and challenges involving technology availability, cost effectiveness, compliance with relevant international standard including quality control that will influence the successful and sustainable implementation in securing mobile radioactive sources. Acknowledging the limitation of genuine technology advancement for both radioactive source equipment manufacturing and the tracking capability in Malaysia, AELB works with the International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) and other international cooperation partner to explore suitable and economical solutions before conditions specifically on tracking mechanism availability are made to the industry, in order to improve transport security control holistically. In this approach, the involvement of local industry is deemed to be highly necessary and important in ensuring compliance and control can be initiated directly from the core of the issues; the radioactive source itself.
State | Malaysia |
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Gender | Male |