The Eleventh Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy held in Khartoum Khartoum – Abedalgoum Ashmeag The Eleventh Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy held in Khartoum concluded its sessions late Thursday evening, having made recommendations encompassing various areas. In a concluding statement , the convening experts highlighted the need to include nuclear sciences in school curricula as well as the need for Arab cooperation in the various applications of radioactive isotopes and building power and research reactors, with the Arab Atomic Energy Agency [AAEA] supervising activities.
The recommendation also included exchange of expertise among Arab countries in the areas of analysing and extracting uranium from phosphate ores; implementing training programs on the use of satellite imaging in uranium exploration and the formation of the metal in addition to finding opportunities for Arab researchers to take part in international conferences on research reactors, auxiliary technologies and their medical, engineering and educational applications.
Also among the recommendation were the need to impose sophisticated security measures on nuclear establishments and materials, and set up detectors on border points of entry, with the AAEA conducting constant training in the field of nuclear security. The statement also highlighted the “richness” of the Iraqi experience of dismantling and liquidating nuclear establishments, recommending that the experience is documented and studied.
The conference recommendations also veered into the environmental applications of nuclear energy, recommending the use of biological methods such as the sterile insect technique for controlling insect populations. Nuclear methods, the concluding statement said, are among the most accurate methods of measuring soil and plant nutrients.
The recommendations also included better attention to standards of quality in the production of radioactive medication to guarantee effectiveness and safety; working on research to reduce the cost of the production of medication; spreading awareness of serious environmental threats which aid the development of cancers and putting a plan in place to reduce incidence of the disease.
AAEA director, Abdelmeguid Mahgoub, praised the Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, describing it as “an advanced step on the path of implementing the Arab strategy in the field of nuclear energy.” This strategy, Mahgoub said, “had its inception in Khartoum when it was passed at the Arab Summit hosted by Khartoum in 2006.”