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Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
 Land Area: 65,610 sq km
 Population : 20 million
 Official Language : Sinhala
 Main Religion : Buddhism
 Growth Rate: 1.0%
 Infant Mortality rate : 2%
 Life Expectancy : 74.8 Years
 Literacy Rate : 94%
 Monetary Unit : Sri Lanka Rupee (SL Rs.)
 English is commonly used
 Capital City : Colombo
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Legislation, Regulations, Regulatory Authority
Radiation Protection Training
Authorization and Licensing
Inspection and Enforcement
Information and Quality Management
Safety and Security of Sources
Radiological Protection in Occupational Exposure
Radiological Protection in Medical Exposure
Public and Environmental Radiological Protection
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Atomic Energy Authority Act No. 19 of 1969
It does not fully address the radiation safety principles set out in the
BSS , GSR Part-1 and the Code of Conduct :
Lack of
 Current requirements (> 40 years old)
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Clear identification of functions of AEA
AEA has dual functions to do and does not clearly identify regulatory body and its assigned functions as per GSR part-1
Effective independence of AEA
AEA carries out both regulatory and promotional functions and decisions are taken by the Board for both activities
Legal basis for Regulations in some cases
Adequate enforcement provisions
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Ionizing Radiation Protection Regulations of 1999
Gazetted in July 2000 and superseded regulations made in 1975 .
Mainly compatible with BSS-115.
However, certain inconsistencies:
 Some wording are not rigorous
 Some regulations are not based on provisions of the Act
 Absence of security requirements
Guidance documents have been developed
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Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) Sri Lanka
Established in 1969. Functions under the
Ministry of Technology & Research
Mainly responsible for regulatory activities
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New Atomic Energy Bill
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New Bill was drafted to separate promotiona l and regulatory functions of the AEA
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New Bill was reviewed by the IAEA Legal Division and provided their comments
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Final draft was prepared incorporating the IAEA comments
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The draft bill will be sent to the Cabinet for the approval soon
After Cabinet approval of the New Atomic Energy Act there will be two entities:
Atomic Energy Regulatory Council: for regulatory activities
Atomic Energy Board: for promotional activities
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 Conduct 2 training courses annually
 Conduct about 2 awareness programs annually at the request of users
Trained more than 100 personal annually
 Provide about 3 on the job training annually for undergraduate students
 Conduct Radiation Protection lectures and Practicles for
• MD Radiology,
• MD Radiotherapy and
• MSc. In Medical Physics degrees
• B.Sc. In Radiography/Radiotherapy degrees
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Radiation Facilities
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X-ray facilities
CT Scanning Facilities
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Radiotherapy Facilities
Other Activities
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Import & Export of Radiation Sources
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Transport of Radiation Sources
Waste Management
Construction Facilities
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 Registration and licensing requirements are established in the
Regulations.
 Procedures for authorization and review of applications are established
(practice-specific application forms, assessment checklists...)
 Frequency of renewal is according to BSS
 Technical assessments usually performed by AEA on behalf of users, and no independent review.
 No provisions given in the Act for effective implementation of action against non-compliance & violations ( immediate cease of the unauthorized operation of facilities, Legal actions is a long process)
 Lack of commitments from higher level of administration especially in
Government institutions
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 The Act and Regulations make provisions for inspection
 Inspection programme is established (Checklist, survey equipment, submission of report, follows up, corrective actions… )
 Frequency of inspection is according to the radiation risks associated
(Frequency according to BSS)
 AEA also undertakes inspections in response to abnormal events, and unannounced inspections
 Lack of monitoring instrument required for Inspections
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 Act and Regulations provide provisions for enforcement
However , it is unclear who should take the appropriate action
 Enforcement policy not developed and no formal arrangements with relevant Government agencies
 In situations deemed to threat to health and safety, AEA may revoke, suspend or modify an authorization.
However , it seems that written directions from AEA to cease operation have been ignored (according to RaSSIA report)
 No provision for inspectors to take on-the-spot enforcement actions
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 IAEA Regulatory Authority Information System (RAIS)
Version 3.0 is used (including a National Registry on
Radiation Sources)
 1. Regulations , 2. all the forms and 3. information for the public are available through AEA web site
 There is no quality management system for regulatory activities in place yet
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 Authorization is required from the AEA for both radioactive sources and X-ray machines
 Installed Portal Monitors at the port entries in the harbors to prevent Illicit Trafficking of radioactive sources
 Arrangements exist with
• Sri Lanka Customs
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• Sri Lankan Airlines
Sri Lanka Ports Authority, and
• Import and Export Department to control Import and Export of sources.
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 No Provisions in the current legislation to implement nuclear security.
(Implementing as an initiatives by the regulatory authority)
 Lack of funds for Nuclear Security and has low priority
 Lack of knowledge of the importance of the nuclear security in Heads as well as the radiation workers of Rradiation Facilities
 No Provisions given in the Act for the Physical Protection of Radioactive
Sources
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Only Radiation protection of General Public is addressed not the
Physical Protection of the sources
Needs lots of funds for Physical Protection of sources (at present under US GTRI provides funds)
 Poor participation by key persons for awareness programms (send lower level persons)
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Radiological Protection in Occupational
Exposure (Challenges)
External dosimetry:
 most of key elements of RSG-1.3 considered,
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 well established monitoring program.
AEA has a laboratory with adequate equipment and 98% of the workers are covered.
However , Beta and Neutron dosimetry are not available
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AEA provides service on
 personnel dosimetry,
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 training courses, maintenance and repair of monitoring equipment
Internal dosimetry: No service in place
 Workplace monitoring: taking steps to establish
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Radiological Protection in Medical Exposure
(Challenges, according to RASIMS)
 lack of qualified experts in
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 diagnostic radiology,
Interventional procedures using X-rays, nuclear medicine and
Radiotherapy
No Local facilities to train them
 activities on optimization of patient protection
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 in diagnostic radiology facilities, some activities on patients dose measurements in facilities performing image guided interventional procedures,
In nuclear medicine and radiotherapy facilities
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 There is a national system for monitoring levels of radioactivity in foodstuffs and selected commodities
 The AEA conducts an environmental monitoring program throughout country
(preparing a baseline data maps Ground and Marine)
 Most of the waste is lowlevel waste. Disposed by “delay and decay”
 A central radioactive waste storage facility has been established in the AEA
 Policy & strategy for Radioactive Waste Management has not been established.
However, an action plan is being implemented and interim procedures are applied
 Lack of technical knowhow and adequate funds for conditioning of radioactive sources.
 Difficulty in sending old high level sources to manufacturers as ships do not accept radioactive materials and funding is not available.
 Establishment of a Waste Disposal Facility is planning Technology & Funding is sought
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No provisions given in the Act for Radiological Emergency Response
 No properly established mechanism to identify a task force for implementation
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Recruitment of permanent first respondents team from Police/Army
Recruitment of permanent Medical team
 Activities of an emergency response plan is adopted under the Disaster
Management Act.
 Establishment of Bilateral Agreements with nearby NP countries for support
 Lack of required Monitoring equipment
 Lack of commitments from higher level of administration especially in
Government institutions
 Lack of safety culture
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