The Agency's Laboratories Seibersdorf: For a Safer, Cleaner and Sustainable Environment

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The Agency's Laboratories SeibersdorfFor a
Safer, Cleaner and Sustainable Environment

• G. Voigt, DIR-NAAL
• (g.voigt_at_iaea.org)

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Our Mission

• Contribute to the implementation of the Agencys
  programmes in the field of
• Food and agriculture
• Human health
• Physical and chemical sciences
• Environmental management
• Radiation protection
• Safeguards verification

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The Laboratories

• Together with NAML (Monaco Laboratories) the only
  laboratory facility within the IAEA with RD
  activities

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The 4 columns of the Laboratories
Scientific Service
Analytical Service
Training
RD
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Some dataAnnual Budget 15 Mio Premise 18
000 m2Laboratories, workshops and offices 12
000 m2
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Organisation of the Seibersdorf Laboratories

• Directors office and Quality Systems Management
• Safeguard Analytical Laboratory (SAL)
• FAO/IAEA joint Agriculture and Biotechnology
  Laboratory (ABL)
• Physical-Chemical Instrumentation Laboratory
  (PCI)
• General Service and Safety (GESS)

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The Safeguards Analytical LaboratoryProviding
analytical services to SG
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Safeguards The Clean Laboratory
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ANALYT. INSTRUMENTS FOR NUCLEAR ANALYSIS
Uranium titration
Plutonium titration
Automated spent fuel separation unit
Glovebox housing the spent fuel separation robot
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Assuring the right dose to patients
Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory

• IAEA/WHO SSDL Network
• Dosimetry calibrations
• Audits of performance

• Dose Assurance Service
• IAEA/WHO TLD network
• EPR high dose service

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Higher quality and productivity
Radiation in Plant Breeding

• EXAMPLES
• Salt tolerant Basmati Rice in Pakistan
• Higher yield cotton in Pakistan
• Higher yield rice in China
• Disease resistant pears in Japan
• Disease resistant apple in Austria

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PLANT BREEDING
Radiation in Plant Breeding

• Development of Black Sigatoka Disease resistant
  banana mutants

• Salt tolerant varieties of rice through mutation
  breeding

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Banana cultures in Seibersdorf
Banana Cultures in Seibersdorf
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Disease Control
SIT The Sterile Insect Technology
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Sterile Insect Technology

• Rearing of insects
• Sterilizing by radiation
• Release of sterile males to target area
• Population decrease
• SIT is part of Integrated pest
• control and management

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The first transformed Anopheles arabiensis pupa
Sterile Insect Technology
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From Measurements to Impact Assessment
Environment

• Terrestrial Ecosystems
• Natural/semi-natural
• Agricultural
• Aquatic Ecosystems
• Freshwater
• Marine
• Urban/Industrial Ecosystems
• Combination with impact e.g. health effects
• ? Integrated Environmental Approach

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Terrestrial projects in Seibersdorf help

• To enhance the analytical but also theoretical
  (modelling) capacities of MS by
• Understanding the fate of pollutants in the
  terrestrial environment
• Assessing the impact of radiation on nature
• which will allow
• to effectively manage/remediate the environment
  for sustainable development

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Behaviour of radioactive substances after routine
and accidental releases in different
ecosystemsRadioecological assessments of
contaminated sites - (accidents, industrial
operations, war actions and nuclear
tests)Remediation Strategies for sustainable
development of contaminated areasProtection of
the Environment(impact assessment and non-
radioactive pollutants)
Terrestial Radioecology at NAAL - applications
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Make-up powder (rouge) on nylon
Environmental Analysis
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Depleted Uranium Particle
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Reference Materials for Science and Trade

• The IAEA is the major world-wide provider of
  natural matrix reference materials characterized
  for radionuclides.
• More than 90 reference materials are available,
  totalling 25000 units.
• RMs address the needs of MS laboratories for
  four different
• analyte groups
• Radionuclides,
• Organic Contaminants,
• Stable Isotopes and C-14,
• Trace Elements and Methylmercury.

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Reference Materials for Science and Trade

• Preparation, certification and distribution of
  Reference Materials (RMs)
• Organisation of interlaboratory exercises
• Organisation of proficiency tests forgroups
  working on programme specific problems
• Assisting CRPs with their QA/QC procedures by
  providing RMs
• Assisting with training and analytical advice

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Laboratory network ALMERA
International network of Analytical Laboratories
for the Measurement of Environmental
Radioactivity (ALMERA) since 1999. The membership
of ALMERA is always open to new candidates who
must be officially nominated by their government
(presently 126 laboratories from 66 MS).
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Visitors in NAAL
2004 329 (21 missions) 2005 513 (29
missions) 2006 676 (45 missions)
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Fellows in 2006
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Gender Balance
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The Agencys Laboratories Seibersdorf