All private and state institutions in Mauritius that are using radiation materials will have to inscribe the name of their institutions in a register in the future.
Marcel Olitte, Responsible Officer for the Radiation Protection Authority, indicated here that in this context, the Ministry of Renewable Energy is promulgating the Radiation Protection (Registration of Radiation Sources and Facilities) Regulations 2009.
He added that the aim of the regulations will be to compel all the owners of equipments that emit ionizing rays and all institutions and department that use radiation sources to register these sources within 30 days from the date the equipments are being used or the institutions are operational.
Olitte declared that once the registration has become effective, a Registration certificate will be issued.
Also Olitte stated that the sectors that are most concerned are the health sectors which are using various apparatus including X-Ray, radioscopy, radiotherapy machines and scanners.
He averred that in the industrial sector, the majority of apparatus that emit radiation are to be found in the welding industry.
And Olitte said that these rays are beneficial to human beings when they are used judiciously, but can be dangerous in the long term and can even cause death in case users are exposed to them for a long time.
Source African Press Agency
