IAEA enhances cooperation with Russian radiation safety authorities

The International Atomic Energy Agency has signed agreements with two Russian regulatory authorities to cooperate in enhancing the country's national radiation safety standards and the implementation of international safety standards. The agency signed a similar agreement with Rosatom last year.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has signed agreements with two Russian regulatory authorities to cooperate in enhancing the country's national radiation safety standards and the implementation of international safety standards. The agency signed a similar agreement with Rosatom last year.

The IAEA's Lentijo and FMBA's Uyba at the signing (Image: FMBA)

The IAEA announced yesterday that it signed 'practical arrangements' with Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor) and the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) on 18 July in Moscow. The agreements were signed by Juan Carlos Lentijo, IAEA deputy director general and head of its department of nuclear safety and security; Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova and FMBA head Vladimir Uyba.

The IAEA said the signing of the practical arrangements "will commence a process whereby concrete actions to achieve higher standards of radiation safety across all levels in the nuclear field will be implemented".

In particular, the IAEA and Rospotrebnadzor will develop cooperation in the field of medical radiation exposure; radiation exposure of the public and workers from natural radiation sources (including radon); and in the control of radionuclide concentrations in food and drinking water. Meanwhile, the IAEA and FMBA will cooperate in the application of safety standards for controlling exposures to workers and the public of naturally-occurring radioactive materials; studying the incidence of cancer among the population of the East Urals; remediation of nuclear legacy sites; and an assessment of the intake of radioactive gas-aerosol mixtures.

Lentijo said, "These agreements establish a cooperation framework to strengthen coordination for the application of radiation safety and monitoring programs in Russia."

Miroslav Pinak, head of the IAEA's radiation safety and monitoring section, said: "With the signing of the latest practical arrangement, the IAEA has completed procedural formalities to establish cooperation with the prime radiation regulatory authorities of Russia."

In a statement, Rospotrebnadzor said, "Implementation of the practical arrangements will encourage exchange of existing considerable Russian knowledge and best practices in the specified areas with the IAEA member states and the development of international safety standards involving our country, as well as the development of joint science projects."

The IAEA noted the two new agreements complement those it signed in September 2015 with Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom in the area of occupational radiation safety.

The so-called practical arrangements constitute a bilateral agreement to extend cooperation in radiation safety to include all projects conducted by the two parties. The IAEA put forward the initiative to sign the arrangements with all Russian organizations currently collaborating with the agency in radiation safety. Rosatom was the first Russian company to sign them.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News