Storing radiation detection equipment closer to the event location
Typically, loans of such equipment require time-intensive and costly shipping arrangements. Depending on the destination and customs clearance requirements of the host country it could take up to weeks or months for countries to process radiation detection equipment and for frontline officers to deploy it in the field. Shipment of the equipment back to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, where it is maintained and stored, adds costs and time; and may preclude quick re-deployment to other destinations. Stationing and maintaining the equipment closer to the location of events speeds up this deployment process, saving time and resources.
“We hope the equipment will be used effectively to enhance the nuclear security in Malaysia and, more broadly, in the region,” said Atsushi Kuwabara of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna.
Since 2004, the IAEA has provided assistance, upon request, to integrate nuclear security systems and measures into the overall security plans for nearly 60 major sport, political and religious events. Of those, more than 10 have taken place in the Asia and Pacific region and additional events are planned in the near future, some of which have been postponed from 2020 due to COVID-19. In addition to assisting countries with developing necessary organizational structures and coordination mechanisms, the IAEA has lent equipment to bolster countries’ capabilities to detect any nuclear or other radioactive material out of regulatory control that may be used with malicious purposes.
