KUWAIT: Head of the Radiation Nature Department at the Ministry of Health, Dr Mishari Al-Nuaimi, has stressed the importance of fruitful technical cooperation between the Ministry and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), especially on ways to contain and safely dispose of radioactive medical waste. This came in a statement by Dr Al-Nuaimi to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on the occasion of a visit by a delegation from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense headed by Director of the Department of Defense against Weapons of Mass Destruction Brigadier General Hamed Al-Shammari to the central warehouse for radioactive waste affiliated with the Ministry of Health.

Al-Nuaimi explained that the visit aims to learn about the experiences gained from the technical cooperation project between the Ministry and the IAEA and enhance joint cooperation and exchange of expertise in this regard. He pointed out that the Ministry of Health has witnessed a significant expansion in facilities over the past decade and an increase in the use of radioactive materials to diagnose and treat diseases, especially cancer, which led to an increase in the quantities of radioactive waste and the remains of unused and expired radioactive medicines.

Dr Mishari Al-Naam explains how the devices used work.

He stressed that this waste poses a danger to humans and the environment unless it is contained, stored, and disposed of in a safe manner, adding that the Ministry, realizing the importance of this waste, took the initiative to develop systems and legislation to manage it in line with the National Waste Management Strategy in Kuwait and the Environmental Protection Laws (24/2014) in accordance with the highest international standards and best practices to protect workers and the public from radiation hazards.

He pointed out the Ministry’s keenness to develop the infrastructure dedicated to managing radioactive waste, including allocating a central warehouse for medical radioactive waste designed according to approved technical and technological standards to ensure the safety of radioactive materials. He pointed out that the (Defense) delegation was briefed during the visit on the mechanism of managing radioactive waste, starting from sorting and transportation to storage, where the waste is stored until 10 times its half-life has passed, after which it is disposed of by returning it to the country of origin or sending it to the competent authorities for treatment or recycling. — KUNA