Summary: Expert Panel – The Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, a webinar was featured on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, with three expert panelists: Mayra Villatoro, Director of MEM Laboratories in Guatemala, Samuel Tejada,Researcher at the Nuclear Research Institute of Mexico, and Diego Gómez, from the Secondary Dosimetric Calibration Laboratory of Guatemala (LSCD).

The first session began with Mayra Villatoro, who presented the technical laboratories of the Ministry of Education of Guatemala (MEN). These laboratories play a crucial role in the country’s education system. They are designed to improve the quality of education through the implementation of modern technologies and methodologies. The MEN’s technical laboratories contribute to the development of skills relevant to and aligned with the needs of the labor market and the country’s industry.

The session continued with Samuel Tejada, whose main topic was nuclear techniques and bioindicators as a productive relationship. He focused on five nuclear techniques, which use the properties of atomic nuclei for a variety of applications in science, medicine, industry, and other areas, which are: Charged Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscopy, Neutron Activation Analysis, Liquid Scintillation Spectrometer, X-ray Fluorescence, and Gamma Spectrometry. These nuclear techniques are essential in scientific research, medical diagnosis and treatment, industry, and environmental protection.

Samuel also referenced bioindicators of water pollution in his presentation. These are valuable tools for monitoring and assessing the health of aquatic ecosystems, providing crucial information for environmental management and protection.

The session concluded with Diego Gómez, who spoke about the importance of ionizing radiation metrology in health and the role of the laboratory in scientific metrology within the network of secondary laboratories of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization. This network covers Central America and the Caribbean, and serves as the reference laboratory for ionizing energies in the region. Diego explained the services provided by the laboratory and the equipment it possesses for this purpose, such as secondary standards, a radiotherapy irradiator, calibration coefficients for ionization chambers for hospitals, calibrations for radiological protection, and calibration of surface contamination monitoring equipment.

Video recoding is available Youtube: Webinar: Panel de expertos, usos pacíficos de la energía nuclear (youtube.com)

Spanish summary of the webinar

This news artical is provided by CTA. For further query, please contact Ms Martha Liliana Marin Montoya, Innovation Director at Corporación Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología de Antioquia – CTA, with email to mmarin@cta.org.co