Draft2:Alternative Technologies Working Group
The Alternative Technologies Working Group, also known as the Ad Hoc Working Group on Alternatives to High-Activity Radioactive Sources, was established by France and the United States in 2015 to provide an open forum for States to share information, ideas, views, and experiences on the use of alternatives to technologies that use highly radioactive sources. In 2018, Germany became the third co-chair of the Working Group.
Thanks to the maturation of alternatives such as X-ray and eBeam technologies, viable alternatives for a range of radioisotopic technologies are now available. Many of these alternatives have proven to be comparable, or in some cases even more effective than, their radioisotopic counterparts. These alternative technologies have been adopted and are in use by many facilities throughout the world.
DOE's Office of Radiological Security (ORS) has been the lead for DOE.
Co-Chairs
- France - Nuclear Safety Authority
- United States - National Nuclear Security Administration
- Germany - Federal Office for Radiation Protection
History
Before 2016, a lot of international programs concerning the security of radioactive sources or alternative technologies were being implemented without coordination. Some national campaigns to replace certain devices, such as CsCl blood irradiators, were underway in countries such as France and Norway. However, coordination of these projects was limited, and the lessons learned were not really shared. We had a gap and an urgent need to strengthen the coordination of our efforts and the sharing of experience.
In 2013 and 2014, NGOs (including the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) and Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS)) organized a series of international meetings to discuss alternative technologies with the goal of building an International Coalition on Alternative Technology. The first meeting of the Working Group of Stakeholder States was held in April 2015 in Vienna, Austria on the margins of the IAEA Radiological Source Security Working Group meeting. Since this first meeting, representatives from 46 countries have attended. Based on their experience, the cofounding members were already considering alternative technologies to strengthen radiological security. The objective of the first meeting was to help to form an international roadmap on alternative technologies to radiological sources.
Meetings
The co-chairs aim to convene an annual meeting of the Working Group in person in Vienna, Austria.
Contact
Related
External links
References
|
|
If this page has been recently modified, it may not reflect the most recent changes. Please purge this page to view the most recent changes. |
