Questions to the radiological protection in the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

In the Physics Department of the Sciences Faculty of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) exist at least 3 sites where radioactive sources and generating equipment s of ionizing radiation are managed: The Modern Physics Laboratory, the Radiological Analysis of Environmental Samples Workshop and the Collisions Workshop; the first of them has two neutron sources, in addition to other emitted sources of gamma and beta radiation. The neutron sources are of Americium 241-Beryllium and other of Californium-252 which have been operated outside of the control of the Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias (CNSNS) that is the regulator organ in Mexico in nuclear matter, because the Operation License No. 183/85, with file number 657 that protected them, lost their validity from August 13, 1987 (25 years behind), what motivated to that the CNSNS assured them. Later to the closing of the Radiological Analysis of Environmental Samples Workshop was believed that a Barium-133 source had been extracted in an illegal way; an investigation realized by the CNSNS determined that the radioactive source was always inside of the detection systems and radiation measurement, for what this source was never lost. In the Collisions Workshop operated an Experimental Accelerator of Particles that the CNSNS prohibited its operation for not having the corresponding license. These examples can be considered as bad practices of radiological protection that should be pointed out to eradicate their promotion and to avoid this way the exposure to the radiation of the occupational exposed personnel and people in general, being also avoided dose of unnecessary radiation. The Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Informacion Publica y Proteccion de Datos (IFAI) in Mexico was a key factor to obtain the information that allowed the realization of this work that was carried out in the Sciences Faculty of the UNAM. (Author)