Occupational Radiation Protection in Zimbabwe: Challenges and Opportunities

Zimbabwe has considerable use of radiation technologies across the medical, research, manufacturing, mining and security areas with a potential exposure to over 5000 workers. The use of these technologies is anticipated to increase in line with the projected economic growth in the quest for the national vision: Vision 2030 of "An empowered Upper Middle-Income Society". Regulation for radiation safety and security of sources commenced in 2010 although the enabling legislation, Radiation Protection Act [Chapter 15:15] was enacted in 2004. The law established Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe as the regulatory body. Regulations have been passed which provide for among others, demarcation of areas, employee training and awareness, as well as workplace and personal monitoring. Regulatory body Inspectors conduct regular scheduled inspections to check on compliance with regulatory requirements and licensing conditions. Since commencement of regulation, only the technical services department of the regulatory body has been able to establish dosimetry capabilities monitoring around 2500 radiation workers. Meanwhile, a small number of companies are providing the much-needed technical services for licensees in order to meet regulatory requirements. As such, a gap exists for the entry of TSOs. The main limitations include: - limited awareness on the prevailing opportunities, lack of technical capacity (personnel and training), lack of capital to invest in the required equipment and software that meet regulatory requirements. (author)