IAEA/RCA Final Progress Review Meeting on Radioisotope Technology for Natural Resource Exploration and Exploitation will be held from 5 to 9 March 2007 in Daejeon, Korea in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea through the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).

RCA projects on industrial applications of radioisotope technology covering radiotracer, sealed source and nucleonic gauge techniques have contributed to promote routine applications of the technology for industrial process, analysis and environmental problem diagnosis. The RCA Project “Radioisotope Technology for Natural Resource Exploration and Exploitation” has contributed to strengthening regional cooperation and capability in the application of radioisotope technology to address industrial problems, and for establishing working partnership with industrial end-users. It is expected that the RCA project on “Raising Productivity in the Coal Minerals and Petrochemical Industries by using Nucleonic Analysis Systems and Radiotracers” to be implemented in 2007-2008 will further improve the capabilities of the RCA Member States in the application of radioisotope technology.

The meeting will review and evaluate the achievements of the project RAS/8/099 and lessons earned in its implementation. Participants will be briefed on the new RCA Project RAS/8/107 which has been designed in consultation with the Project Lead Country Coordinator and the modalities of implementing the project will be discussed and finalized. This shall include 1) the main topics to be covered in the training courses and technical meetings, 2) establishment of national project teams and development of national work plans by the participating Member States, 3) availability of national resources for project implementation, 4) requirements for expert missions, 5) requirements f software and radioisotope generators, 6) contents of the brochures and guidebook to be prepared, 7) cooperation among participating countries, and 8) utilization of Regional Training and Demonstration Centers.

Outputs will be 1) achievement report of the project RAS/8/099 and success stories in applications of radioisotope technology in industry, 2) Details required for proper implementation of the Work Plan of the new RCA Project RAS/8/107, and 3) Meeting Report.

For more information, please contact Mr. Sung-Hee Jung at shjung3@kaeri.re.kr.