IAEA Training Workshop, 6-10 November 2017, Ljubljana, Slovenia / 20.01.2018

IAEA Training Workshop on Intercomparison Feedback of Neutron Activation Analysis Proficiency Tests Performed in 2017, 6-10 November 2017, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Ref. No: T3-TR-1700340.

The main objectives of this workshop were to critically analyse the one round of proficiency testing using neutron activation analysis (NAA) which was performed in the third quarter of 2017, under the coordination of the IAEA, to identify major problems encountered and to discuss potential solutions for improvement. Special emphasis was given to quality assurance and quality control in the multi-elemental analysis of different samples.
The workshop was attended by 22 participants representing 21 countries from all-around world. The meeting started with opening remarks and welcome by Dr. R. Jaćimović on behalf of Prof. M. Horvat, head of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI); the hosting organization of this workshop. Dr. N. Pessoa Barradas, consultant to the IAEA and acting technical officer for this workshop, welcomed the participants and highlighted the main objectives of the workshop. Ms. Laura Kristančič Dešman representing the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration, Office of International Cooperation gave an overview of the Slovenian nuclear infrastructure and related safety organization; Dr. Tinkara Bučar, representing the Radiation protection Group of the JSI outlined the safety requirements at the reactor infrastructure centre to the participants and Dr. Jaćimović concluded the opening session with an presentation of the organization and activities of the JSI.
Dr. Jaćimović and Dr. J. Antoine from Jamaica were designated as chair and rapporteur for the meeting. Dr Peter Bode from the Netherlands acted as an IAEA international expert, designated to review the results of participation in the WEPAL ISE 2017.3 (four soil samples) and IPE 2017.3 (four plant samples) programmes against the performance criteria defined by the IAEA and prepare a detailed analysis report.
The discussions of the feedback workshop were followed-up by a presentation of the new IAEA E-learning tool on Neutron Activation Analysis by Dr. S. Landsberger of the USA and Dr. P. Bode.