A REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP ON RADIOLOGICAL SECURITY

In 2004, Australia, through the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) created the Regional Security of Radioactive Sources (RSRS) project and partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to form the Southeast Asian Regional Radiological Security Partnership (RRSP). The intent of the RRSP/RSRS partnership is to cooperate with regional neighbors in Southeast Asia to improve the security of their radioactive sources. This Southeast Asian Partnership supports GTRI and IAEA objectives to improve the security of high risk radioactive sources by raising awareness of the need, and developing national programs, to: protect and control such materials; improve the security of such materials and recover and condition the materials no longer in use. To date, agreed upon joint activities have included assistance with the improvement of regulatory infrastructure for the control of radioactive sources, training on the physical protection of radioactive sources, training and assistance with the search, location, identification and securing of orphan radioactive sources and overall assistance with implementing the IAEA Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources. Since the inception of the partnership, ten Southeast Asian nations have participated in a range of activities from receiving general training on the security of radioactive sources to receiving specialized equipment and training to locate orphan or abandoned radioactive sources. By having a shared vision and objectives for radioactive source security in the Southeast Asian region, ANSTO and GTRI have been able to develop a successful partnership which has effectively utilized the technical, financial and political resources of each contributing partner. An example of how this partnership works is the cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency, Indonesia (BAPETEN) to develop Indonesia’s source security regulations. This cooperation has led to development and adoption of a Government Regulation and Chairman Decree for radioactive source security, one of the first in Southeast Asia, development of implementing forms and procedures, and development of professional development materials for the use of BAPETEN in training its staff on implementation.