Recently, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) have jointly reached an agreement towards streamlining the accreditation process of radiological measuring and testing laboratories for calibration and testing purposes. Hence, in line with its mandate, AERB would continue to regulate these laboratories from the radiological safety view point in accordance with the Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004. Like-wise, NABL shall provide laboratory accreditation services for testing and calibration radiological laboratories by maintaining quality management system in testing and calibration activities. In order to apprise the concern stakeholders, AERB arranged special meet for calibration and testing radiological Laboratories on March 26, 2019 at its headquarter in Mumbai. The programme was attended by about 65 delegates from various private calibration and testing laboratories, experts from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) & Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT).  

Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB welcomed the delegates while Shri D. K. Shukla, Executive Director, AERB inaugurated the meet.

Shri D. K. Shukla, Executive Director AERB giving the inaugural speech

Dr. Avijit Das, Director NABL delivered special remarks on the occasion and following three lectures were delivered during the meet:

Sr. No.	Topic
1.	Role of AERB in Accreditation Process of Radiological Laboratories
2.	NABL Specific Criteria for Accreditation of Calibration and Testing Radiological Laboratories
3.	Technical Requirement for Calibration and Testing Radiological Laboratories– BARC perspective

Dr. Avijit Das, Director NABL giving special remarks on the occasion

Panel discussion was followed after the lectures. The panel discussion was chaired by Shri D. K. Shukla, Executive Director, AERB and members of the panel were Dr. Avijit Das, Director, NABL; Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB; Dr. M.S. Kulkarni, Head, HPD, BARC and Dr. P.K. Dash Sharma, Head, RSD, AERB.  The panel discussed three factors, namely technical, radiological safety and quality policy which are required to establish calibration & testing radiological laboratory. BARC has been providing technical support and radiological safety has been addressed in AERB’s licensing programme for such laboratories. However, laboratory also need to establish quality policy to exhibit the competency of the laboratory by ensuring confidence in their results for testing and measurements in harmony with NABL/international requirements. Participants from calibration & radiological laboratories initiated technical discussion and clarified important issues from the experts.

Participants expressed that the meet was informative, beneficial and appreciated AERB-NABL coordination. 

Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB; Dr. M.S. Kulkarni, Head, HPD, BARC;  Shri D. K. Shukla, Executive Director, AERB; Dr. Avijit Das, Director, NABL and Dr. P.K. Dash Sharma, Head, RSD, AERB during the panel discussion.

Participants of the meet

AERB officials participated as Faculty members in a Workshop on ‘Developing Safety Culture in Radiology’ organised by TMC (Tata Memorial Centre) at TMC, Mumbai on 24/02/2019. The workshop was attended by about 60 radiology technologist students from various institutes in Mumbai. AERB official delivered lecture on ‘Radiation Safety in Radiology’. Group discussion session was arranged during the workshop in which various radiological safety aspects such as safety in various modalities of radiology, patient dose optimisation techniques, good practices in radiology, proper usages of TLD badges, etc. were discussed with the students. AERB leaflets on ‘Proper usages of TLD badges’ & ‘Radiation Safety in Fluoroscopy’ were distributed to participants.

As part of its ongoing radiation safety awareness programs for all its stakeholders, AERB officials participated as faculty in Radiation Safety training programme organised by Department of Health & Family Welfare (Government of Punjab) at PHSC Mohali (Punjab) on February 21-22, 2019 for the Medical Radiographers, Orthopedicians and Dentists. The training programme was attended by about 70 Medical Radiographers on February 21, 2019 and about 120 Orthopedicians & Dentists on February 22, 2019. AERB officials delivered lectures on ‘Radiation Safety and Regulatory Requirements in use of Medical X-ray Equipment’, ‘Radiation Safety in use of X-ray Equipment in Orthopedics’ and ‘Familiarisation with eLORA system’. AERB leaflets on ‘Proper usages of TLD badges’ & ‘Licensing Requirements for Medical X-ray Equipment’ were also distributed to participants.

NAARRI (National Association for Application of Radio isotopes and Radiation in Industry) and S. P. B. Patel Engineering College, Mehsana organised 'National Seminar on Application of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technology in Agriculture Healthcare and Industries' during February 15-16, 2019 at Mehsana, Gujrat. The seminar was attended by students and faculty members from science and technology institutes, agriculture universities, medical and para-medicals.

As a part of continuous outreach efforts towards promoting of radiation safety and disseminating information on AERB’s regulatory requirements to students, faculty members and professionals of ionising radiation technology field, AERB participated in the above mentioned national seminar. Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB delivered lecture on ‘RADIOLOGICAL SAFETY AND REGULATIONS IN APPLICATIONS OF RADIATION SOURCES’. Delegates interacted actively with Dr. A. U. Sonawane to clarify their queries on radiation protection and regulatory requirements of AERB.

 

Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C delivering the lecture during national seminar

Indian Society for Non-Destructive Testing (ISNT) organised the Conference and Exhibition on Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) from 19th Dec to 21st Dec 2018 at Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. The conference was attended by more than 650 NDE professionals including industrial radiography personnel, representatives of contract awarding agencies, students, faculty members, suppliers & manufacturers of industrial radiography devices.

Since, ionising radiation is prominently used for non-destructive evaluation using Industrial Radiography devices and nucleonic control system (i.e. Nucleonic Gauges) for online monitoring and measuring of physical parameters such as level, thickness, density and well logging application, AERB set an exhibition stall at the conference venue for having active interaction with associate delegates to provide information on regulatory requirements for safe use of ionising radiation and radiation protection aspects in the field of Industrial Radiography & Nucleonic Gauges.

Glimpses of AERB exhibition stall set during NDE-2018

In AERB exhibition stall, posters were displayed for explaining radiation protection and regulatory aspects in Industrial Radiography. Leaflets on “Radiation Protection in Open Field Industrial Radiography” and “Responsibilities of Contract Awarding Agency (CAA) in Industrial Radiography” were distributed to the visitors. Visitors interacted with AERB officials on various topics such as: operation of eLORA system, requirements for suppliers, operating safety in open field radiography, training courses for radiography personnel, simplification of regulatory requirements while ensuring safety, etc. The feedback and views of visitors collected for analysis and further improvement in regulatory services of AERB. It was expressed by many participants that exhibition stall of AERB was informative and useful for them.

During the conference, an invited talk on “Regulatory Challenges for Radiation Safety in NDE Applications of Radiation Sources” was delivered by Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB.

Apart from the above, presentations on “Regulatory inspection findings in Industrial Radiography” and “Comparative analysis on various safety standards on classification of nucleonic gauges” were delivered in the conference by AERB officials Shri JVK Sunil Kumar and Shri Rajendra Shete respectively.

AERB had organized first of its kind awareness programme on ‘Security of Radioactive Sources at Radiation Facilities (RFs)’ for those Police officials in Maharashtra under whose jurisdiction the radiation facilities using Catgory-1 radioactive substances are used (i.e. radiotherapy facilities using tele-cobalt equipment, gamma chambers and gamma radiation processing plants). The training was imparted through two training programmes which were organized at Maharashtra Police Academy (MPA), Nashik and Police Training Centre (PTC), Marol, Mumbai during 04-12-2018 and 05-12-2018 respectively.

The objective of the training programme was to make understand / aware the role of law and enforcement agency, i.e. Police authorities, on security of radioactive material and to brief on AERB requirement for endorsement of Security Plan for Category-1 facilities as per AERB Guidelines on Security of Radioactive Sources . During the training, police officers were made aware about the basic applications of radiation for societal benefits, national regulatory framework for radiation safety and security and safety aspects of radioactive sources. The security aspects which needs to be reviewed during the endorsement of security plan was briefed at length during the training.

About 50 and 40 police officials attended the programme at Nashik and Marol, Mumbai respectively. The participants consists of Police Inspectors, Assistance Police Inspectors, Head Constables, Police Constables etc. The training material on the subject was prepared in English & Marathi and were handed over to respective training centers for circulation to all participants. The training programmes were conducted by Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DR&AC, AERB and Shri Dinesh M. Rane, Scientific Officer (E), RSD, AERB. All the Police officials who participated in the program were actively involved in discussions and also expressed their views / suggestions on how the role of police official can be made more purposeful in ensuring security of radiation facilities. Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C conducting the training

Indian Orthopaedics Association (IOA) Conference – IOACON-2018 was held from 26th Nov to 1st Dec 2018 at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The conference was attended by more than 4,000 Orthopaedicians from all over the country. X-ray equipment, such as radiography unit and C-arm are prominently used in Orthopedics practice. In order to enhance awareness of Orthopaedicians on radiation protection and regulatory requirements on use of X-ray equipment, a talk on “Radiation Protection and Regulatory Requirements on use of Medical X-ray equipment in Orthopedics” was delivered on 1^st December by AERB official during the conference. AERB officials actively interacted with the Orthopaedicians and distributed pamphlets, providing tips for radiation safety while working with C-arm, to the delegates.

AERB official Shri Anand Pinjarkar delivering the talk.

AERB had set up an exhibition stall during 35^th DAE Safety and Occupational Health Professional Meet which was held at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata from 26^th to 29^th November, 2018. Posters on AERB’s management system including its Mission, Vision, Core Values, Regulatory Framework, Graded Approach, Leadership, etc were displayed in the stall.  Informative leaflets/brochures of AERB were distributed to the visitors.

Glimpses of AERB exhibition stall

The Institute of Engineers (India) organised International Conference on Recent Developments in Clean and Safe Nuclear Power Generation (ICNPG)-2018 at Hyderabad during 3^rd to 5^th October 2018. One of the themes of the conference was Nuclear Safety, Regulatory frame work and International standards.  AERB had set an exhibition stall at the conference venue to interact with the delegates and brief them on regulatory framework and governing policies of AERB.

Honourable Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India inaugurated the exhibition. AERB’s exhibition stall was visited by many Students, Professionals, Scientists, Engineers, Manufacturers and Consultants from the field of front-end & back-end fuel cycle facilities, nuclear power plants and research organisations.

Honourable Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India visited AERB' s exhibition stall.

Participants of ICNPG-2018 interacting with AERB official

The National CME-Sairad was organised by Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust’s Hospital, Shirdi, during September 1-2, 2018. About 400 participants attended the CME. The participant included Medical Practitioners, Radiologists and Interventional Radiologists from various nearby town like Ahmednagar, Pune, Narayangaon, Jalgaon, etc. as well as several X-ray technologists from all over the Maharashtra. Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB delivered invited talk on Radiation Safety Updates in Diagnostic Radiology during the CME. Other major scientific topics for presentation were digital radiography, radiation safety in paediatric radiology and MRI & environmental safety.

Radiographer’s Association of Maharashtra, in association with Maharashtra Paramedical Institute organized National CME –FemiRad for female radiographers with theme on “Female Radiographers Today and Tomorrow” on 19th August 2018 at Mumbai. The CME was attended by about 250 delegates.
Dr. A. U. Sonawane, Head, DRA&C, AERB delivered key note address in the Inaugural Session on historical background of radiography work & current opportunities for female radiographers. He also spoke on myths and facts for safe practice in medical radiography. Smt. Anuradha, DRA&C, AERB and Smt. Rajeshri Pai, RSD, AERB delivered lectures on radiation protection and regulatory aspects in the field of Diagnostic Radiology. AERB’s leaflet on ‘Proper usages of TLD badges’ were distributed to delegates attended the CME. AERB officials received good response from the delegates and interacted with them on radiation safety aspects in medical radiography.

AERB's exhibition stall was set during the multidisciplinary conference on Interventional Oncology, “Synergy India 2017" held during 5th and 6th of Aug. 2017 at Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai. The conference was jointly organized by TMC (Tata Memorial Centre) and ISVIR (Indian Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology) in collaboration with Synergy Miami, USA. The conference was attended by about 300 professionals from the field of Interventional Radiology. AERB received good response from the delegates and interacted with them on regulatory requirements in medical radiology and radiation safety aspects in interventional radiology.

AERB's exhibition stall was set in the annual conference of Indian Society for Vascular and Interventional Radiology (ISVIR) held during 22-25 Feb. 2017 at Kolkata. During the conference, AERB officials delivered lectures on regulatory requirements and radiation safety in interventional radiology. They participated in panel discussion on topic “Radiation Dose Management in Interventional Radiology” and interacted with the delegates on various radiation safety aspects in interventional radiology.