CARRYING OUT A GAP ANALSYS
In most cases, participants in the School come from countries with legal and regulatory frameworks that need to be completed or enhanced. Before starting to elaborate a new or to revise an existing regulation in radiation safety (or in any other area), participants are encouraged to identify gaps or weak points in the regulatory framework in place in the country.
IAEA Member States, and in particular states receiving assistance for safety related matters, are strongly encouraged to fill up and keep updated their national profiles in the IAEA’s Radiation Safety Information Management System (RASIMS2). RASIMS2 is a web-based platform that gives Member States the framework for collecting, uploading, analyzing and viewing information that reflects the status of their national infrastructure for radiation, transport and waste safety . This system also indicates how closely Member States’ infrastructures for radiation safety are aligned with IAEA Safety Standards’ recommendations and requirements.
Participants in the School are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the updated RASIMS profile of their countries. For the radiation safety programme of the School, it is particularly relevant to consult the information in RASIMS regarding Thematic Safety Area (TSA) 1: regulatory infrastructure. Nevertheless, information about all other TSAs will contribute to have a comprehensive view of the status of the safety infrastructure of the country.
The IAEA has also developed a web-based tool to perform a Self-assessment of the Regulatory Infrastructure for Safety (eSARIS), including nuclear and radiation safety. This tool is intended to facilitate the internal review and self-evaluation of the legal, governmental and regulatory framework for safety, including regulatory body processes and performance towards keeping aligned their regulatory activities with the IAEA safety standards.
The software of eSARIS includes several components for conducting self-assessment against the IAEA safety standards. One of the components is the ‘Regulations Comparator Variant’. This component has been developed with the objective to evaluate the provisions of the national regulations for radiation safety against the requirements of the Basic Safety Standards (i.e. GSR Part 3). The output of the self-assessment is the list of gaps and weak points in the national regulations for radiation safety and an action plan for improvement.
Participants in the School are encouraged to carry out a self-assessment using eSARIS Comparator Variant before starting the elaboration of new or revised regulations. The Secretariat can provide technical support on how to use eSARIS for that purpose.
