Havana hosts workshop for handling of radioactive materials

 HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 2 (ACN) A group of 24 professionals from 12 Latin American and European countries attended today in Havana the opening ceremony of the Regional Workshop on Physical Safety Inspection of Radioactive Materials Transportation, sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in coordination with Cuban institutions.

Cuba is one of the States Parties to the IAEA and honors the commitments undertaken in its international cooperation, so it joins the efforts to ensure the physical security of radioactive materials, particularly during transportation, said at the opening ceremony Lieutenant Colonel Alexis Silva Comesañas, head of the Department of Hazardous Substances of the Protection Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior.

In his opening speech to the attendees at the Palco Hotel, the director of the event also urged them to exchange, debate, expose their ways of doing things and the practices of their nations; especially because collective intelligence brings the best results.

He expressed his gratitude to the IAEA for its collaboration in the successful holding of the meeting with sessions until next Thursday, also in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
The list of participants included specialists from Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, each of whom presented their experiences in the use of their techniques.

For the International Atomic Energy Agency, based in Vienna, Jinho Chung, its scientific secretary, provided details on the strategy of the instructions, mainly through videos and discussions, with the greatest possible efficiency, on the effective response to risks, threats or vulnerabilities, inspections, operator perspectives and reports, among other core issues.

The Regional Workshop on Physical Safety Inspection of the Transport of Radioactive Materials is the second specialized one to be held in Havana in less than nine months, since in February an international course on Nuclear Physical Safety, organized by the IAEA, was held at the Melia Cohiba Hotel.