VP Binay and PNRI Director Dela Rosa Attend Nuclear Security Summit 2014
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Philippine officials to the Nuclear Security Summit pose with Vice President of the Philippines Hon. Jejomar Binay (3rd from right); (L to R) Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Mr. Edgardo Lacson, Ms. Gina Ledda, PNRI Nuclear Safeguards and Security Section head Ms. Julietta Seguis, Ms. Mila Lacson, Ambassador to the Netherlands Mr. Jaime Victor Ledda, and PNRI Director Dr. Alumanda Dela Rosa. (Photo courtesy of the Office of the Vice President)
Representing President Benigno Aquino III in the international stage, Vice President Jejomar Binay was joined by PNRI Director Alumanda Dela Rosa and Nuclear Safeguards and Security Section head Julieta Seguis at the 3rd Nuclear Security Summit at the Hague, Netherlands, on March 24-25, 2014. In his address to the Summit, the Vice President emphasized the need for nuclear security in the Philippines.
VP Binay reported on the Philippines' progress in improving our nuclear security infrastructure at all ports of entry and on-site facilities, legal framework, and emergency response, as well as in developing a nuclear security culture for all stakeholders responsible for radioactive and nuclear materials. He thanked the International Atomic Energy Agency for its continued support in maintaining the country's nuclear safety and security.
Philippines Serves as Pilot Country for the IWAVE Project
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Capitalizing on the unique advantage of nuclear technology, the Philippines joins the world in providing better access to clean and safe drinking water as it takes a pioneering role in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Water Availability Enhancement Project, or IWAVE.
The Philippines is the first Member State of the IAEA to participate in the project, followed by Oman and Costa Rica. IWAVE aims to build capacity in these Member States and assist them in gathering and using scientific information to fully assess the availability and quality of water resources, contributing to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people worldwide without access to clean drinking water by 2015.
The Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) implements the I-WAVE project in collaboration with the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB) and other water-based agencies.
In 2011, PNRI, NWRB and MGB, with contributions from other water agencies, began developing a Philippine Hydrological Gap Plan which agrees to fill the technology, expertise, infrastructure and investments needed. The report entitled “Investment Needs for Resource Assessment Capability in the Philippines to Improve the Planning and Management of Water Infrastructure” was completed in August 2012 and published the following month.
Read more: Philippines Serves as Pilot Country for the IWAVE Project
PNRI Hosts I-WAVE National Workshop on Isotope Data Interpretation
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Taking another step in supporting water agencies to provide our country with better access to water resources, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute hosted the National Workshop on Isotope Data Interpretation under the International Atomic Energy Agency – Water Availability Enhancement (I-WAVE) Project from February 17 to March 7, 2014.
Renowned experts in the field of isotope hydrology served as resource persons for the training workshop. Among them are Dr. Bhishm Kumar, Dr. Matsumoto Takuya, and Dr. Luis Araguas of the IAEA Isotope Hydrology Section; Prof. Jeffrey McDonnell, University of Aberdeen, School Geosciences, Aberdeen, UK; Prof. Neil Sturchio, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA, and Prof. Ian Clark, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada. They provided lectures on the principles of isotope techniques application related to groundwater assessment and groundwater dynamics and facilitated hands-on training on the use of software for groundwater dating. Moreover, through their expert guidance, they engaged the participants in the processing of past and present isotope, chemical and hydrogeological data and in the interpretation of these data to come up with conceptual models of the recharge in their respective study areas.
Read more: PNRI Hosts I-WAVE National Workshop on Isotope Data Interpretation
