RCA Regional Office participated in the 11^th ASEANTOM Annual Meeting held in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR, from 15 to 16 August, 2024. Invited as a dialogue partner, RCARO delivered a presentation on the progress of the partnership project “Enhancing Emergency Preparedness and Response Capabilities in the ASEAN Region through Building Technical Capacity in Radiation Monitoring and Dose Assessment.”

The partnership with ASEAN Network of Regulatory Bodies on Atomic Energy (ASEANTOM) begun in 2019 with a pilot training course on rapid radiation measurement and individual dose assessment was held that invited experts from the IAEA, Japan, Korea and Thailand, training 31 participants from the region. Partnership project has been implemented throughout two phases and showed notable achievements in providing standardized procedures on EPR, online trainings and hands-on trainings.

RCARO presented that through several surveys and interviews conducted, the needs of ASEAN countries have been identified in specific areas of radiation monitoring techniques that include environmental impact assessment. Follow-up activities/project will focus on further strengthening the expert network established and facilitating the HR/institutional capacity building through customized national and regional activities.