To update their expertise and knowledge on the latest issues and trends on radiation safety, three personnel of the X-ray Inspection Project of the Bureau of Customs, namely, Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan, Field Officer Pedro Irineo D. Gutierrez, and POM X-ray Inspector John Mar Morales, have attended recently an international seminar on radiation safety in Langkawi, Malaysia, last July 12-14, 2011.
Entitled “6th International Symposium on Radiation Safety and Detection Technology”, the international gathering was aimed to address the latest issues and concerns among radiation safety experts, professionals, and practitioners on wide array of topics such as radiation transport and shielding, radiation dosimetry, radiation detection and sensor technology, environmental radiation measurement and assessment, radiological risk management, radiation protection philosophy, and radiation education and training.
According to Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan, “the topics and issues raised during the seminar were very timely considering the awareness, doubts, and skepticisms of the world on the hazardous effects of radiation as what happened to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident in Japan. The sharing of information among radiation safety experts and practitioners certainly gave us fresh and relevant knowledge on how we can still improve our radiation safety procedures in our own X-ray facilities and in handling of cargo found to contain regulated radioactive substance during our X-ray scanning operation. And we are indeed very grateful to the BOC Commissioner Angelito A. Alvarez and the XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang for making radiation safety as one of their primary concerns in our X-ray facilities’ operational matters”.
It may be recalled that the Bureau of Customs has acquired thirty container X-ray machines from China as part of its modernization program in the conduct of examination of cargo. These machines were deployed in the major ports of entry in the country and all of them were duly licensed by the Department of Health (DOH) to be used and operated by the BOC after they had passed the stringent requirements and tests conducted by the DOH personnel as part of its regulatory function in the use of linear accelerator-sourced of radiation.
The BOC delegates to the Sixth International Symposium on Radiation Safety and Detection Technology held in Langkawi, Malaysia on July 12-14, 2011, pose for a picture of posterity in front of Awana Porto Malai Hotel. Left to right: POM X-ray Inspector John Mar Morales, POM Field Officer Pedro Irineo D. Gutierrez, and XIP Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan.
