IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf: Then and Now

On 28 September 1959, the first IAEA Director General, William Sterling Cole, inaugurated the construction project on the first IAEA laboratory in Seibersdorf by pouring the initial load of concrete into the laboratory's foundations. The laboratory officially came into operation in January 1962. Today, the NA laboratories host nearly 100 scientists, technicians, fellows, visitors, interns and students from around the world. Additionally, training courses in all areas of the laboratories' work are held in Seibersdorf each year, with 440 trainees participating in 2013. In the first phase of construction, the total space of the IAEA laboratory building in Seibersdorf was only 1736 m2. The original space only contained one laboratory, which distributed information on radioactive isotope reference sources to IAEA Member State laboratories and their medical facilities. This information was used to calibrate radiation measuring instruments using radioisotopes in the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology. The IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf have since expanded to around 21 000 m2 and now house the Safeguards Analytical Laboratories and eight NA laboratories. The NA laboratories respond to Member States' needs in areas such as food and agriculture, human health, environmental monitoring and the use of nuclear analytical instruments.