In the Asia and the Pacific region, radioactive material is more frequently being transported, predominately for medical, agricultural, and industrial purposes. With this growth in transported materials, a corresponding need for compliance with transport safety regulations is increasingly being felt. The IAEA technical cooperation (TC) regional project RAS/9/067 aims to assist Member States and non-Member States in ensuring the safe transport of radioactive material through an effective compliance assurance regime. In April and May 2014, with funding from the European Union (EU), two regional events were organized to support the regional project.
From 28 April to 2 May 2014, a Regional Training Course on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material for the Pacific Islands States was held in Christchurch, New Zealand. The training course was notable in that it was the first time such a course had been specifically intended for small users with limited radiation safety infrastructure.
The course was hosted by New Zealand's Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) in cooperation with the Government of New Zealand. The IAEA Member States that attended were: Fiji, Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand. Non-member States attending were: the Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati. The instructors for the course were drawn from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, and the IAEA.
The course covered several key topics including basic controls for transport of radioactive material, radioactive material transport package types, self-assessment, and the establishment of a regional transport network. Three practical exercises were also held during the course. The information provided during the training course will serve as a good foundation upon which to build a basic programme for safety in many of the Pacific Islands where formal programmes for radiation safety do not yet exist.
