Regulatory Infrastructure for Radiation Safety and the Security of Radioactive Sources in Sudan, Present Status, Achievements and Future Challenges

Regulation of the use of ionizing radiation started formally in 1971 when an act has been issued by which the ministry of health was entitled to establish a Radiation Protection Technical Committee (RPTC) as a regulatory body. However, this act didn't come into effect because of the lack of regulations needed to execute the regulatory functions stated in that law. In 1972 the Sudan Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC) act was issued by which the commission was designated as a promoter for the use of nuclear technology. This law was later replaced by the 1996 act by which the Sudan Atomic Energy Corporation (SAEC) was established within the ministry of higher education and latter within the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The board of the corporation established a technical committee (Radiation Protection Technical Committee (RPTC)) to carry out the regulatory functions assigned to the board by the act. The 1996 act didn't repeal the 1971 act; as a result, the two conflicting and overlapping acts are still valid. In 2003 the 1996 act was cancelled and to be replaced by an Order of Establishment within a general law for corporations in the Sudan. In spite of all these mess in providing a proper legislative framework, the RPTC (MOST) managed to secure a fair control of the use of radiation in different applications within the country. In this report, the current status of regulating the use of ionizing radiation as well as major challenges is described