An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a nuclear security advisory mission in Ecuador. The mission was carried out at the request of the Government of Ecuador.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it had completed a two-week nuclear security advisory mission in Ecuador, a member of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and concluded the country was making an effort to enhance the security of the nuclear material within its borders.
The country has no nuclear power plants, but has signed agreements with Rosatom, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation, meant to pave the way for the potential use of nuclear power in Ecuador. The IAEA mission focused its review on a visit to a steel company that relies on gamma radiation, two hospitals and the National Polytechnic University. The International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) team also visited a company that ships radioactive material and a temporary storage facility in the town of Aloag that manages “disused radioactive sources,” the agency said.
The IPPAS team was lead by Sandia National Laboratories Security Program Manager David Ek and nuclear security experts from Argentina, Bulgaria, the Russian Federation and the IAEA.