GLOBAL THREAT REDUCTION INITIATIVE: RADIOACTIVE SOURCE SECURITY IN EGYPT

More than 1990 radioactive sealed sources are used in Egypt in different applications such as, blood irradiators, radiotherapy, sterilization, well logging, pipe welding, level gauging, and smoke detectors. These sources, of various radionuclides and radioactivity, are controlled by the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) and its Executive Office of Radiation Protection (EORP). Safety of man and environment from the hazards of these sources was the main concern of many Egyptian laws and regulations while the physical protection of these sources against the illegal actions was absent from the Egyptian culture. Since October, 2004 the MOHP started its cooperation with the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) to secure the high risk radioactive sources. Based on the thresholds established by GTRI, about 35 operated sites in Egypt became the target of the security upgrading plan where the sources used in these sites met the threshold criteria, most of these sites are belonging to the medical field. The 35 sites contain 48 units that can be secured separately. The security upgrading based on three concepts which are; detection, delay and responding. To conduct the appropriate security upgrade, different steps are carried out. These steps include; training courses, site assessment, security tools installation, operating tests, acceptance tests and maintenance.