A delegation of the Spanish Safety Nuclear Council (CSN), headed by the commissioner Pilar Lucio is participating in the twenty-fourth meeting of the Steering Committee of HERCA (Heads of the European Radiological Protection Competent Authorities), which is taking place in Rome (Italy). The technical director of Radiological Protection and vice chair of HERCA, Mª Fernanda Sánchez Ojanguren and the deputy director of Operational Radiological Protection, Javier Zarzuela, are also participating in this meeting.

On this occasion, the Italian Inspectorate for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ISIN, for its acronym in Italian) serves as host of the meeting, which this morning began the session by sharing with the attendees the main milestones in the creation of the association, as well as its functions and responsibilities in the field of regulation.

The conference, which will end tomorrow, is moderated by Karla Petrovà, vice president of Radiological Protection of the regulatory body of the Czech Republic, and chairman of HERCA, who has continued reviewing the main activities of representation of the association in the last semester.

Today's session has also allowed a review of the latest activities carried out by the different working groups of HERCA. Among them, it is worth mentioning the inclusion, among the Association's policies, of a consensual vision and a strategy to be followed in the next five years that reinforces the influence of HERCA in the field of Radiological Protection. Likewise, the development by a group of experienced members, including Spanish, of an internal document focused on presenting the necessary competencies of the authorities that need to evaluate and inspect proton therapy units, as well as the proposal of the group of industrial activities, to carry out an internal consultation to gather information on the possibility of incorporating geolocators in radioactive sources with the aim of improving their security.

HERCA is composed of representatives of 56 European authorities competent in Radiological Protection, belonging to 32 European countries. Since its creation in 2007, HERCA contributes to the harmonization of regulatory practices, the identification of common problems and the proposal of practical solutions to such problems, in the field of Radiological Protection.

To carry out this work, working groups have been established that cover a multitude of radiological protection fields such as medical activities, emergencies, training and industrial activities.

Spain is represented in this association through the CSN from the moment of its creation.

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