Swedish equipment for checking radioactivity cannot be used yet

The equipment for testing radioactivity donated by the Kingdom of Sweden to the National Regulatory Agency for Nuclear and Radioactive Activities, cannot be used yet. Although the equipment was given to the Agency on October 17, it won’t be officially transferred to the Agency until the end of January 2013. Deputy director of the Agency Ionel Balan told Info-Prim Neo that the institution employees were preparing a schedule of controls at different institutions and companies that use radiologic and nuclear equipment. Ionel Balan says that the radioactive situation in the country is under control, but there are some risks. About 300 institutions and companies use radiologic equipment in Moldova, most of them being medical institutions. The donated equipment allows the Agency inspectors to perform quality inspections of Roentgen devices. They can assess the wear of the medical equipment and to prevent the contamination of patients and of the medical staff with radioactive materials from defective Roentgen devices. According to the law, companies and institutions that used radioactive materials must have a device to detect radiation leaks.