Cuba applies experiences in the control of ionizing radiation sources

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 19 (ACN) The Nuclear Safety Division (DSN) continues to implement, regulate and control the safe use of ionizing radiation sources in medical practice, industry, research and other activities for peaceful purposes.

DSN director, Eng. Rosbell Bosch Robaina, told ACN that in this way they are following to the letter the steps of its predecessor, the National Center for Nuclear Safety (CNSN), the guardian of the safety and protection of workers whose jobs involve radioactive sources and substances and that of the population in general and the entity in charge of controlling our nuclear materials in order to guarantee that Cuba complies with international agreements related to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

. Likewise, CNSN promoted a culture of safety, not only in activities related to ionizing radiation, but also in multiple fields of industry where it provided its services and used its expertise in safety and accident prevention.

This and other related entities, all under the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, make their knowledge about biosafety available to every scientific institution across Cuba to help them cope with the effects of COVID-19. One of them is the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine, where Cuba develops its vaccine candidates.

They also carried out inspections in hospitals and isolation centers and cooperated with the Ministry of Public Health in the extension of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for the detection of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).