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| Summary of the 3rd FNCA Coordinators Meeting
March 6-8, 2002, Tokyo, Japan
1. The major conclusions are the following:
| (1) |
The on-going projects including 3 new projects were reviewed and a future work plan was approved.
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| (2) |
It was confirmed that the FNCA projects have gained specific focus with significant shifts in project management from a meeting-oriented approach to a problem-solving one.
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| (3) |
In order to strengthen the partnership and commitment of participating countries, the role of the leading country of the project has been clarified and the duration of the project has been agreed to be 3 to 5 years as Attachment 5 of Annex-2 (Record of the 3rd CM) stated.
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| (4) |
The strategic plan of the PI project discussed and formulated as the attachment 4 of Annex-2 to be submitted to the 3rd FNCA Meeting for its endorsement. The proposal of the Joint Survey on "Radiation" for high school students was approved.
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| (5) |
The strategic plan of Human Resource Development (HRD) was agreed as shown in the attachment 4 of Annex-2 to be submitted to the 3rd FNCA Meeting for its endorsement. The Survey of basic data on HRD in each FNCA country was approved.
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| (6) |
Four project proposals were reviewed as described later.
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| (7) |
The theme of the 3rd FNCA Meeting "Atoms for the Next Generation" was proposed by Korea being supported.
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2. Major Progress of FNCA Projects
| (1) |
The project on "Radiotherapy of Uterine Cervix Cancer" has achieved remarkable progress in 210 clinical tests of advanced protocol in participating countries during the past 5 years. The survival rate for phase III-B patients at 5 years after treatment using the said protocol is 54% and the local control rate of tumors is 82%, which is a remarkable improvement. The guidebook on the treatment protocol has been published in 2002 for therapists. At the RCA/IAEA Training Workshop on Radiation Oncology held in Japan, this protocol was used. This is an example of the synergy between the FNCA and the RCA.
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| (2) |
The project on "Mutation Breeding" has started a new specific research program to develop new varieties of drought-resistant sorghum and soybean in 2002, and will also start the development of insect-resistant orchid in 2003. The mutant stock repository for rice has been in operation in Thailand and the Philippines since 2001.
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| (3) |
According to the agreement at the 3rd CM, the project on "Public Information (PI) for Nuclear Energy" has carried out the Joint Survey on "Radiation" to 1,100 high school students in each of the eight participating countries. The results are currently being analyzed to be used for better strategy of PI and high school education. A strategic plan of the FNCA project on PI was agreed upon at the 3rd CM as shown in Attachment 4 of the Annex-2 to be submitted to the 3rd FNCA Meeting for its endorsement.
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| (4) |
For the project on "Nuclear Safety Culture for Research Reactor" safety management of research reactor in FNCA countries have been improved in reference to the IAEA Safety Convention of NPP. At the last project workshop in 2001 "the peer review of safety culture for research reactor" was agreed upon and the first review will be carried out in Vietnam, at the research reactor of Dalat Nuclear Research Institute in conjunction with the project workshop in January 2003.
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| (5) |
As for the project on "Human Resource Development (HRD)", the 3rd CM revised the draft overall strategic plan of HRD prepared by the FNCA Coordinator of Japan as attachment 4 of Annex-2 to be submitted at the 3rd FNCA Meeting for its endorsement. The survey of basic data on HRD namely, currently available human resources and the demand to meet national program are being carried out in FNCA participating countries, which is useful to formulate a national strategy for HRD and the strategy for FNCA's HRD project. The FNCA Coordinator of Japan was requested to prepare a draft paper on "Strategy of HRD" to be submitted to the FNCA Meeting after review by and agreement of the FNCA countries. Due to the change in the schedule of the survey of basic data, the draft paper has not yet been prepared.
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| (6) |
Environmental protection is a long standing serious issue in FNCA countries. The project on "Nuclear Activation Analysis (NAA) Application for Monitoring Airborne Particles" is developing "Ko- method", which greatly improves the efficiency of NAA to be affordable in measurement of large numbers of environmental samples. The Chinese expert has played an important role for the improvement of the Ko-method. The sampling of airborne particles is being conducted using filters provided by Japan.
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| (7) |
For the project on " Radioactive Waste Management (RWM)" the Task Group for the sub-project on "Management of Spent Radiation Source" had successful visits to relevant facilities and discussion to further improve the management in Indonesia and Korea in 2002. The consolidated report on RWM is about to be published in December 2002.
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| (8) |
New projects on "Tc-99m Generator Production" has started to develop the technology to prepare Tc-99m generator using Mo-99 produced by (n,) reaction using Poly-Zirconium Compound (PZC) adsorbent. There has been remarkable progress in design of production system of the generator based on bench scale cold test in Japan. A larger bench scale semi-automatic plant will be installed in BATAN, Indonesia and tested using radioactive Mo-99 before and during the next FNCA Workshop in early 2003. The PZC has been distributed to participating countries for their experiments.
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| (9) |
The project on "Biofertilizer" approved in 2001 has formulated the plans of the field demonstration in participating countries after 2003. N-15 tracer technique and radiation sterilization will be used for selection of rhyzobia and preparation of the carrier, respectively.
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| (10) |
In the project on "Application of Accelerator" approved last year, the project work plan has been formulated at the 1st Workshop for liquid, solid (powder and thin film) and gaseous targets. At the 2nd Workshop demonstration for liquid system will be conducted by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) in December 2002. Cost analysis will be an important element of study.
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3. New Project Proposals
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"Sustainable Development and Nuclear Energy" is an important issue and was discussed at the 2nd FNCA Meeting followed by two expert meetings participated by China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The meetings fully recognized the important roles of nuclear energy in the reduction of GHG and diversification of energy sources, and formulated a work plan as Annex-3. The 3rd CM recommended that the 3rd FNCA Meeting should approve a project on "Sustainable Development and Nuclear Energy in Asia".
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| (2) |
The project proposal in 2001 on "Asian Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (AINST)" from Indonesia was suggested by the 3rd CM to be further investigated at the Workshop of HRD project. The Workshop was held on October 8-10, 2002 suggested the AINST concept should be further developed to maximize the benefits to FNCA participating countries. A networking scheme of existing nuclear research/training centres and universities should be introduced as pointed out by the strategic plan of the HRD project. The view and suggestions of this SOM and the MM are sought.
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| (3) |
The project on "Marine Environmental Pollution Research and Monitoring Using Nuclear and Nuclear-related Analytical Techniques and FNCA Database" (Annex-4) proposed by Vietnam was briefly discussed at the 3rd CM in 2002. The meeting suggested that the FNCA Coordinator of Japan should consult with the IAEA to avoid duplication. In the consultation it was noted that the measurement of radioactivities in the oceans is being implemented by the RCA Project RAS 8/083 (Annex-5). Therefore, a part of the Vietnam proposal on monitoring radioactivities should be deleted. The remaining part, namely monitoring toxic heavy metals in the oceans may be implemented in combination with ongoing FNCA project on "NAA Application for Monitoring Airborne Particles." because NAA is also useful for the measurement of heavy metals in the oceans. The proposal will be re-submitted by Vietnam after modification taking these points into consideration for discussion at the next CM.
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| (4) |
The project on "Nuclear Instrumentation Maintenance Network" (Annex-6) was proposed by Indonesia just before the 3rd CM and briefly discussed at the CM. Some representatives suggested to avoid overlapping with the RCA project with similar activities. In RCA there is no project on instrument maintenance though RAS/4/017 for maintenance of analytical instrument not including medical instruments was initiated in 1999 (Annex-7) and implemented through Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) and not the RCA.
The malfunction of nuclear instruments in medical and scientific institutions is a long-standing problem due to the lack of proper maintenance. The proposal includes establishment of a maintenance program and action plan, training for trainers and an elaborate detailed plan is needed for assessment by the concerned FNCA countries. Consultation and discussion should accordingly be made by e-mail, and an expert meeting should be organized if necessary. A more refined and detail plan should be submitted to the 4th CM in 2003 for discussion and approval. |
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