Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency is conducting a Consultancy Meeting in order to discuss and practice guidelines for the specific roles and responsibilities of occupational radiation protection appraisal services (ORPAS).
The meeting is taking place at TAEC HQ and has attracted 15 delegates from member states such as Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, host country URT and one expert from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The main objective of the ORPAS review and Consultancy Meeting is to determine whether the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) has made adequate arrangements for occupational radiation protection and whether these arrangements are functioning to the extent that the practical provisions for occupational radiation protection are effective and generally optimized based on the Safety Requirements GSR Part 3 and the General Safety Guide GSR-7 of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In an opening remarks, the Acting Director General, the Director for technology and technical services Dr. Remigius Kawala said “ORPAS was established in 2001 to advise Member States, upon request, on ways to strengthen and enhance legislative and regulatory infrastructure for occupational radiation protection; technical services relating to protection and safety, such as services for personal dosimetry, the calibration of monitoring and measuring equipment; and practical implementation of the arrangements for occupational radiation protection”.
Dr. Kawala further commented on the need for the ORPAS programs in Tanzania as of current TAEC has put into practice the occupational radiation protection programs for monitoring occupational workers to more than 1000 centers administering the ionizing radiation services for various areas in medical services, industrial activities, road construction and mining industry. This has benefited 2064 radiation workers in the country. This is an opportunity for URT to be the host this kind of meeting and making a practical exercise on providing relevance and consultative advice to the member states by sharing experiences acquired in the field.
During the five days of the meeting, the participants and delegates will review and assess the ORPAS implementation by doing a practical application in some selected facilities in Tanzania including the Dosimetry and Secondary Standards Dosimetry laboratory at TAEC HQ, Radiology department at NSK Hospital and Tanzania Breweries Limited in Arusha City.