Regulatory Control at the Construction Stage of a Radiopharmaceuticals Production Facility with Cyclotron in the Context of Covid-19 Pandemic

Inspections and regulatory processes at the construction stage of a radiopharmaceuticals production facility with cyclotron have certain particularities that distinguish them from the processes related to other stages of the life of a facility. There are a series of considerations that have to be taken into account in order to assure the conditions stipulated during the design phase, concerning radiation protection of workers, the public and the environment. Particularly, the construction of a bunker of great thickness, such as a non-self-shielded cyclotron bunker, requires a set of specific controls by the regulatory body for the purpose of avoiding construction failures that could ultimately affect the safety conditions during the operational phase. Furthermore, since March 2020, the Government of Argentina has stablished restrictions to the circulation due to the sanitary emergency that was declared in view of the new coronavirus COVID-19, which affected the development of on-site regulatory tasks.