Southeast Asian Regulators Train at PNRI on Licensing and Inspection for Radioactive Materials
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Regulators from Southeast Asian countries participating in a security exercise at DOST-PNRI
Southeast Asian Regulators Train at PNRI on Licensing and Inspection for Radioactive Materials
To better enhance the safety and security of the general public and the environment in their respective countries, nuclear regulators across Southeast Asia trained in the Philippines under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inspection of radioactive materials early in April at the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI).
The week-long Regional Training Course on Licensing and Inspection for Radioactive Material, held from April 9 to 13, 2018 at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center, Quezon City, tackled the vital aspects of a security inspection program for nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities.
IAEA experts conducted the course with 23 participants representing various government agencies in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, along with four participants from PNRI.
During the training course, a new IAEA project for strengthening regulatory capacities in Southeast Asia through improving licensing, inspection and enforcement of security for radioactive materials and associated facilities was introduced.
The PNRI serves as the country’s regulatory body for nuclear and radioactive materials. Under Republic Act 5027 or the Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968, no person can use, own, possess or transport nuclear and radioactive materials without a license from the former Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, which later became the PNRI.
The Philippines became a member state of the IAEA in 1958.
Philippines Hosts IAEA Mission to Inform High-Level Officials on Nuclear Law
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(1st row) Representatives Virgilio Lacson, Alberto Ungab and Erico Aristotle Aumentado (2nd, 3rd and 5th from left) and DOST-PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla (extreme left) with IAEA experts and officials from various government agencies during the opening ceremonies of the National Workshop to Inform High-Level Officials About Nuclear Law at the Xenia Hotel, Clark Freeport, Pampanga on February 27, 2018.
Philippines Hosts IAEA Mission to Inform High-Level Officials on Nuclear Law
To help strengthen its national nuclear legislative and regulatory framework, the Philippines hosted an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Awareness and Legislative Assistance Mission composed of technical experts in legal matters as well as nuclear safety and regulations, and the National Workshop to Inform High-Level Officials About Nuclear Law from February 26 to March 2, 2018 at Clark Freeport in Pampanga.
The mission was conducted through the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) and the Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the IAEA Project RAS0071 on “Providing Legislative Assistance on Establishing and Upgrading the Legal Framework for Safe, Secure and Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy.”
Legislators from the House of Representatives were joined by Science Secretary Fortunato De La Peña along with officials from DOST, DOE and other government agencies during the four-day event.
As the Philippine government goes through the decision process in coming up with a national policy on a nuclear power program, the mission and workshop discussions revolve around the establishment of a comprehensive legislation for the Philippines consistent with international standards on nuclear safety and security.
These intend to cover various aspects of regulating nuclear facilities such as authorization, inspection and enforcement of regulations, safety and physical protection in nuclear installations, spent fuel and radioactive waste management, emergency preparedness and response, transportation of nuclear materials, and civil liability for damages involving nuclear and radioactive materials.
The bill for the Comprehensive Nuclear Regulation Act is currently making progress in both houses of Congress. At the House of Representatives, the bill is sponsored by 30 co-authors in a consolidated substitute bill approved at a joint meeting of the House Committees on Science and Technology and Government Reorganization in November last year.
Meanwhile, a counterpart bill for the Comprehensive Nuclear Regulations Act is currently filed in the Senate by Senator Vicente Sotto III, who was the guest of honor during the IAEA mission.
Upon its enactment into law, the Comprehensive Nuclear Regulation Act will provide for the establishment of an independent nuclear regulatory body, the Philippine Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will succeed the DOST-PNRI in its mandate to regulate the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear and radioactive materials in the country.
IAEA Director General Amano Visits the Philippines Early in 2018
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(Photo above) IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano (middle), Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the IAEA (left) and DOST-PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla (right) during the roundtable discussion (photo below) with members of the academe at tbe Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria on February 9, 2018.
Officials from the IAEA, DOST and DepEd pose for a group photo after the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony for the implementation of an IAEA regional technical cooperation project for nuclear science education on February 8, 2018. IAEA Director General Amano (5th from left), Secretary Fortunato De La Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) (4th from left), Undersecretary Tonisito Umali of the Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd) (5th from right), Ambassador Natividad (3rd from right) and PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla (4th from right).
IAEA Director General Amano Visits the Philippines Early in 2018
Highlighting the country’s strong engagement in Atoms for Peace and Development, Director General Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited the Philippines from February 7 to 10, 2018.
The IAEA top official’s visit started with a high-level meeting on February 8 with Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and other officials from the Department of Energy (DOE), which is currently preparing for the development of nuclear power as a long-term part of the Philippines’ energy mix.
The DOE’s recommendations on a national position on nuclear power, which will be submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte, is based on several energy planning studies with IAEA assistance.
After the meeting with DOE officials, Director General Amano also met with Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato De La Peña and other DOST officials to discuss the current and future engagements with various IAEA technical cooperation projects.
The Director General emphasized the role of the IAEA in spearheading the use of nuclear science and technology to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These projects and technologies include food irradiation to increase the shelf-life of export products, cyclotrons for producing radiopharmaceuticals for early cancer diagnosis and sterile insect technique to control the population of mosquitoes which serve as vectors for various diseases.
Director General Amano was also one of the distinguished guests on February 8 during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between DOST - Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) and the Department of Education (DepEd) on the implementation of the IAEA technical cooperation project on nuclear science and technology education for secondary schools in the Asia-Pacific region.
The project aims to help increase the interest of students in the Asia - Pacific region regarding science and technology in general, eventually leading to future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
On February 9 Director General Amano met with several heads and representatives of Philippine universities, colleges and members of the academe for a roundtable discussion and open forum. Several officials from IAEA, DOE, DOST and other government agencies were also present during the forum, which was facilitated by DOST-PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla. The academic institutions brought up the possibility of obtaining support from IAEA and DOST-PNRI towards building their capabilities in the study and development of nuclear and radiation applications.
The Director General’s visit to the Philippines was the second leg of his Asian tour early this 2018, which also includes Indonesia and Thailand.
DOST – PNRI Partners with DepEd in IAEA Regional Technical Cooperation Project on Nuclear Science and Technology Education
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Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Education pose for a group photo after the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony: IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano (5th from left), Secretary Fortunato De La Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) (4th from left), Undersecretary Tonisito Umali of the Philippines’ Department of Education (DepEd) (5th from right), Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the IAEA (3rd from right), DOST Undersecretary Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara (3rd from left), IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation Director of the Division of Asia and the Pacific Dr. Najat Mokhtar (2nd from left), DOST-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla (4th from right), DepEd External Partnerships Service Director Dr. Margarita Ballesteros (2nd from right), IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation Division of Asia and the Pacific Section Head and Project Management Officer Dr. Jane Gerardo-Abaya (extreme left) and IAEA Technical Officer Dr. Sunil Sabharwal (extreme right).
DOST – PNRI Partners with DepEd in IAEA Regional Technical Cooperation Project on Nuclear Science and Technology Education
Taking the next great stride in the teaching of nuclear science and technology in secondary schools, the Philippines officially engages in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) education project through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between its science and education departments.
The document, which was signed on February 8, establishes the partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) in implementing the IAEA Regional Technical Cooperation Project RAS0079 on Educating Secondary Students and Science Teachers on Nuclear Science and Technology.
The signatories were DOST Secretary Fortunato De La Peña and DepEd Secretary Dr. Leonor Briones, who each holds important leadership positions in the cabinet, and are indispensable to the national scope of the project’s implementation. DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali was present in Dr. Briones’ behalf during the signing ceremony.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, who visited the Philippines on February 7 to 11, was also one of the witnesses in the signing of the MOU, which served as another milestone in the history of Atoms for Peace and Development in the country.
“The Philippines has been a very active member of the IAEA since 1958, the year that the Agency was established in Vienna,” Director General Amano said. The IAEA has various Technical Cooperation projects which were completed or are currently ongoing in the Philippines, which is now privileged to be the designated host country for the new IAEA education project.
The objective of the IAEA technical cooperation project is to help increase the interest of students in the Asia - Pacific region regarding science and technology in general, eventually leading to future careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It also seeks to provide a more accurate perspective of nuclear concepts among secondary school students and a better understanding of nuclear and radiation applications in their daily lives.
“I am confident that this project will lead to an increase in the number of bright young people who will take up their studies in the nuclear field in the coming years. They will then be well-placed to contribute to the health, well-being and prosperity of their countries” said Director General Amano, as he lauded the potential of students across the Asia-Pacific region to contribute to the regional development.
Also present during the signing ceremony were DepEd External Partnerships Service Director Margarita Ballesteros and DOST-PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla, as well as several officials from IAEA and the Philippine government, and around 30 foreign and local education representatives from 19 countries participating in the concurrent Regional Workshop on Curriculum Development and Launching of Nuclear Science and Technology for Secondary Schools being conducted from February 5 to 9.
The four-year project will facilitate the training of secondary science teachers and students on nuclear S&T throughout the IAEA Member States through scientific visits, hosting of expert missions and the conduct of regional and national seminars and workshops. Educational and learning resource materials on nuclear science will also be developed in various formats.
Along with Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines previously participated as a pilot country in an earlier IAEA outreach project which introduced nuclear S&T in the region’s secondary schools.
The DOST-PNRI showed a strong history of cooperation with several agencies under DepEd from 2015 to 2017, which also reflects the gradual growth of IAEA’s outreach program from a geographic perspective. At the city level, the agency piloted nuclear science education activities with the Schools Division Office Quezon City, before later expanding to the DepEd – National Capital Region, which is in charge of millions of students among the country’s most popular cities.
IAEA experts trained Filipino science teachers on the use of interactive experiments, novel tools and high-tech instruments such as cloud chamber kits and radiation survey meters to reignite the interest of young students in nuclear science.
During the signing ceremonies, science teachers and students who benefitted from the outreach program gave their testimonials as to how nuclear science and technology changed their lives. In particular, two of the students from the pilot high schools have taken up science-related courses in some of the premier universities in the Philippines.
The implementation of the new project in the Philippines makes for a more effective avenue for IAEA’s technical and financial support towards nuclear science education in the Philippines, and will hopefully serve as a model for other Member States in the region.
