An IAEA Advisory Mission to Mozambique, conducted as part of a project to support African states in regulatory infrastructure development, found that the country has a strong foundation for radiation safety legislation.
The team of IAEA and other experts also recommended that the country should set up an authorization system for licences, finalize its national register of sealed radioactive sources, establish a systematic regulatory inspection programme and develop a national strategy for education and training. These and other improvement suggestions were included in an action plan submitted to authorities.
The 31 January to 2 February mission formed part of the IAEA’s Regulatory Infrastructure Development Project for Africa. The team reviewed Mozambique’s laws, regulations and regulatory processes related to radiation safety. They also studied how radiation-related facilities and activities are authorized, reviewed, assessed and inspected.
The team worked with the National Atomic Energy Agency of Mozambique and interviewed senior politicians, facility staff and reviewed documents.
The evaluation was based on the IAEA safety standards, in particular Governmental, Legal and Regulatory Framework for Safety (GSR Part 1) and Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources (GSR Part 3). The team also used the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, a non-legally binding international instrument recognized and supported by Mozambique.
Ahmad Al Khatibeh, Advisor in the IAEA’s Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety Division and head of the mission, said the IAEA would support Mozambique in the implementation of the team’s recommendations.
“This mission and the subsequent support is one of the ways in which the IAEA - through the Regulatory Infrastructure Development Project - helps states create a stronger regulatory infrastructure,” he said.
The project involves 14 countries at various stages of regulatory infrastructure development. Mozambique is the second country to receive an advisory mission of this kind in 2018, after Swaziland, which is about to start establishing a governmental, legal and regulatory framework for radiation safety.
