University lab to monitor radiation level opens
The first of its kind facility in UAE will give accurate measurements of radiation doses
The UAE’s first laboratory for measuring radiation levels was inaugurated on Sunday at Khalifa University, with the facility marking another positive step towards ensuring the safe use and handling of radioactive materials in the country.
The opening of the new facility — Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory ( SSDL) — is a joint partnership involving the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation ( FANR) and Khalifa University. Before the opening of the lab, companies that handled radioactive instruments and materials would have to send them abroad for measurements.
“The inauguration of the SSDL represents another step taken to ensure radiation protection of the public, workers and the environment. SSDL is one of the cornerstones at FANR in building the radiation protection infrastructure in the UAE,” said Christer Viktorsson, FANR director general. “The lab has received the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA). The agency carried out several visits to the lab, with the facility passing all IAEA safety tests,” he said.
Viktorsson said the lab would be opened to several different industries, with the prime users set to come from the medical industry with their frequent use of radiography.
“The medical industry will definitely be one of the main users, they will be able bring in their machines to check whether they are using the right doses of radiation. This is very important for the patients, too much radiation is not good for them, and if there is too little radiation the imagery [ from the X- rays] will not be good.