Opening Remarks
Mr Pil-Soo Hahn
Director
Division of Radiation, Waste & Transport Safety
Technical Meeting
Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography
M Building - Board Room A
Monday, 23June2014
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna.
This morning I ampleased to address theTechnical Meeting on Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography.
One of the most common industrial uses of sealed sources containing large amounts of radioactive material is industrial radiography, which uses gamma radiation to inspect different materials, including concrete and a wide variety of welds such as those in gas and water pipelines, storage tanks, structural members and other critical components.
Industrial radiography work poses a small radiation risk if it is performed using appropriate equipment and in accordance with required procedures. However, it should be recognized that certain aspects of industrial radiography may increase the probability of accidents. Gamma radiography sources that are used at temporary work sites are at an increased risk of loss because they are mobile and proper control is mostly dependent on the actions of a person (the radiographer) and not on engineered control systems as would be the case in a dedicated facility. Furthermore, industrial radiography work is often performed under difficult working conditions, such as in confined spaces or extreme cold or heat, which may contribute to compromises in adherence to safe operating procedures. Pressure placed on radiographers to meet production deadlines may also be a contributing factor to compromises to safety. Adding complexity to this situation, industrial radiography is sometimes performed by itinerant workers employed by multi-national companies that conduct radiography in multiple countries on a short-term basis, sometimes without informing the relevant regulatory body responsible for safety.
The radiation hazards posed by industrial radiography have been recognized by the international community and various activities have been conducted over the years to reduce the number of accidents such as the establishement of an ISO standard for equipment, the development of IAEA documents on safe practices and lessons learned from accidents, and the ISIMIR project that examined occupational exposures and radiation protection.
In spite of such efforts, the practice of industrial radiography regularly results in a large number of radiation overexposures, some of which produce adverse health effects such as radiation burns and, in a few cases, death among occupationally exposed individuals and members of the public. Contamination of people and the environment has also resulted from accidents involving corroded or damaged sources.
The IAEA has a statutory obligation to establish standards of safety and to provide for their application. In this context, we have organized this meeting with the intention of taking a fresh look at the causes of industrial radiography accidents and what can be done to prevent such accidents.
I am pleased to welcome anobserver from theOrganization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. Representatives from several companies that perform radiography operations and manufacturers of radiography equipment including Applus RDT Group, Oceaneering, Cegelec, Source Production and Equipment Company, GammaTec NDT Supplies, UJP PRAHA, QSA Global, and Gilligan Engineering Serviceswere alsoinvited to participate in this meeting as observers. I welcome them and their participation in this meeting.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Government of the United States for their very generous extra-budgetary contribution. Thanks to their support, many experts were able to participate in this meeting.
Mr John Kinneman will be our chairman for this meeting. For those of you who do not know Mr. Kinneman, hehas over 40 years of radiation and nuclear safety experience in the public and private sectors. Mr. Kinneman recently retired from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission where he spent the majority of his professional career in a series of increasingly responsible staff and management positions dealing with the safety and security of radioactive materials. Prior to working with the NRC, he was the quality control supervisor at the E.R. Squibb facility producing large amounts of high activity radiopharmaceuticals. He has also participated in IAEA activities includingleading the Integrated Regulatory Review Mission in Vietnam.
For our meeting,thescientific secretary isMr.Eric Reber, a radiation safety specialist from the Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety. Mr. Mark Smith, who has many years ofradiation safety experience in the public and private sectors and has contributed to the drafting of several IAEA publications, will serve as rapporteur.
This will conclude my opening remarks. Thank you very much for your attention and your participation.
Now the floor is yours,Mr.Chair.
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