International course on combating nuclear material smuggling

Customs and police officials from seven countries recently met in Malta for an important training course on combating the smuggling of nuclear material. Officials came from Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Spain and Italy. American delegates attended as observers.

The course was jointly organised by the Malta Customs Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The European Commission, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Customs Organisation and Interpol were the official sponsors while the Austrian Research Centre coordinated the course. The chairman of the course was Christian Schmitzer.

The five-day course included lectures and field practice at the Customs Air Cargo Terminal, AFM Lyster Barracks and the Malta Freeport.

Among the topics covered were EC legislation, fundamentals of radiation safety, structures for control of radioactive materials, radiation detection systems, legal use of radioactive materials, frequently smuggled materials, means and routes of illicit movements, information sources, profiling targeting and risk assessments, detection of radioactive materials at borders and response to illicit trafficking.

The course was also addressed by Finance Minister John Dalli and Giorgio Boggio, head of EU delegation in Malta.