Not just weapons: nuclear science for development

By: Marilyn Smith

Over the past decade, the UN’s nuclear energy regulator has helped over 90 developing countries reap the benefits of safe radiation-based technology, reportsMarilyn Smith。

随着伊朗核对峙的紧张局势加剧，基于辐射技术的风险正涌入头条新闻和公共议程。在竞争的中心，一个联合国机构负责规范现代科学最具争议性最大的进步之一。

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is best known as the world’s nuclear watchdog; an intergovernmental body that argues against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and sets international standards for the safety and security of radiation sources.

但其任务还包括确保获得公平的核技术。这些已经在整个社会中发挥着重要作用，在健康，营养，农业和环境管理等各种领域。beplay下载官网西西软件beplay足球体育的微博

IAEA坚定地“专业”核，重点是风险管理。在过去的十年中，其技术合作部（TC）帮助90多个发展中国家建立了管理基于辐射技术风险的必要支持机制。

"Radiation-based technologies allow us to gather information and develop solutions that simply can’t be done any other way," says IAEA’s deputy director-general, and head of the TC, Ana María Cetto. "We build capacity in the neediest countries, but safety and security are always a prerequisite for technology transfer."

In the mid-1990s, the TC identified five ‘thematic safety areas’ (seetable below）每个成员国都必须满足以确保人们和环境受到潜在暴露于辐射的影响。beplay足球体育的微博该列表展示了每件设备背后的广泛安全基础设施。这也反映了TC策略的转变。

"In the early days, we functioned in response mode, assessing each country’s capacity to operate the requested equipment," says Cetto. "Now a member state must prove it can manage all aspects of safety and security before it can submit a request."

Without exception, building the safety infrastructure is a major undertaking. On average, it takes six years to form a regulatory framework and infrastructure; training staff and setting up a radiotherapy clinic can take an extra five.

Increasingly, the TC aims to help member states achieve development goals through the use of nuclear technologies. Improving human health is fundamental to social and economic development, but other nuclear technologies are also making vital contributions to development.

"Radiation-based technologies have already proven to be valuable tools for sustainable development in developing countries," says Mohamed Hassan, executive director of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). "They have been particularly useful in efforts to ensure water quality and improve food safety."

Bridging the clinical gap

The IAEA also works closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) on a wide range of human health issues. Nuclear techniques can be used to diagnose and treat diseases, and offer unique ways to assess the efficacy of drugs, and detect particularly harmful organisms.

Ionising radiation can be used, for instance, to accelerate the process of identifying drug-resistant strains of parasites such those that cause tuberculosis and malaria.

Cancer is also a growing concern in developing nations. As life expectancy rises, so does the incidence of cancer and the WHO estimates that by 2015 half of the 15 million new cases each year will be in developing countries.

根据世卫组织的说法，所有癌症患者中至少有一半可以从放射疗法中受益。但是，许多被认为是西方“可管理”的癌症仍然是发展中国家的死刑。问题在于获得设施和专业知识。

A cancer patient receiving radiation treatment at Kandy General Hospital, Sri Lanka

In most industrialised countries, there is one radiotherapy machine for every 250,000 people. In Ethiopia, there is one for 60 million, while in some other countries in Africa and in Asia the treatment is simply not available.

Developing countries have only a quarter of the radiotherapy facilities needed to deal with the anticipated 2015 cancer caseload. A similar crisis looms in the supply of specialised health professionals.

The TC hopes to rectify this by training medical personnel to international standards, thus protecting patients from exposure to medical radiation and helping to ensure that scarce resources are used efficiently.

促进食物和农业beplay下载官网西西软件

与健康的本质上是农业生产，食品可用性和食品的营养价值。核技术可以为一个国家的粮食质量和自给自足做出重大贡献，以及其在出口市场中竞争的能力。

Irradiating seeds with x-rays or gamma rays accelerates the natural genetic mutation processes that can lead to more desirable characteristics, such as higher yields, increased protein content, or better drought-tolerance. Over the past 30 years, irradiation has been used to develop more than 1,800 crop varieties worldwide, adding billions of dollars to farmers’ incomes each year.

越南研究人员有 使用的核技术 to develop new rice varieties

By ‘labelling’ plants with radioactive forms of nitrogen and phosphorous scientists can measure nutrient uptake, measure nutrient turnover in soil, or assess fertiliser quality.

Other nuclear technologies can be used measure nutrient levels in foods or the body’s ability to absorb nutrients — a boon for addressing ‘hidden hunger’. The problem, common across the developing world, is not a lack of food but of the variety of foods needed to supply essential micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

Iron deficiency, for example, is responsible for anaemia and impaired mental development in 40 to 60 per cent of children in developing nations.

In Chile, radioisotope techniques were used in 1999 to evaluate a government programme to provide 1.3 million pre-schoolers with food and milk fortified with iron and zinc. Within a year, the incidence of anaemia had dropped from 30 per cent to five per cent.

In nutritional studies such as this, foods containing natural radioactive forms of chemical elements can be tracked through the body using a technique called infrared spectroscopy to see whether nutrients are being absorbed.

这样的核能技术re, in fact, the only reliable tools available to determine the absorption, retention or utilisation of nutrients by the human body. Assessing the ‘bio-availability’ of a food’s nutrients – that is, how easily absorbed they are by the body – is a useful way to find out why an individual lacks nutrients, and how to rectify the deficiency through food fortification programmes.

Pest control

粮食卫生是核技术产生重大影响的另一个领域。多年来，比利时，法国和美国等国家一直在使用类似于对医疗设备进行消毒的技术来照射原始或部分烹饪的食品。

A quick pass through an enclosed chamber — where food is exposed to ionising radiation — eliminates harmful bacteria and pests without altering the chemical or physical properties of the produce. This technique reduces spoilage, making foods easier to store and transport.

Globalisation offers more opportunities for developing countries to participate in food commodities markets. But to do so, they must first meet strict international standards to limit microbial contamination and insect infestation. Food irradiation is opening up opportunities in countries such as Thailand to export local produce and prepared foods.

Over 50 countries use irradiation techniques for one or more food products. It is particularly effective at fighting fruit fly infestations in fresh fruit, many of which are grown in developing regions, and is now being used to ensure the safety of spices and dried vegetable seasonings.

畜牧业也从broa中受益der application of nuclear technologies.

In Zanzibar, gamma radiation has been used to sterilise male tsetse flies, which transmit a parasite that causes sleeping sickness in people and can also kill cattle.

公布的一项十年计划,雄性苍蝇— which can mate but produce no young — has been cited as a major contributor to the Zanzibar’s strong economic growth.

顺畅

Beyond its remit in healthcare and agriculture, nuclear technology plays an increasingly important role in one of today’s key sectors — managing water supplies.

Seven Latin American nations — Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay — are, for instance, analysing the distribution of radioactive forms of hydrogen in the eleven aquifers they are collaboratively managing.

Scientists collecting water samples in Costa-Rica

The analysis can uncover vital information about how rivers, lakes and underground aquifers are refreshed through rainfall. It can also show the types and sources of any pollutants. This information can then be used to predict the limits of water resources and develop sustainable water management plans.

The TC is helping IAEA member states train water experts and set up laboratories for such analysis. Currently, it assists more than 80 water projects in the developing world.

Keeping it safe

核委员会、政府和援助机构across the developing world give credit to the TC for its significant contribution to development goals. But there is still a lot to do.

穆罕默德·哈桑（Mohamed Hassan）说：“为了使这些核技术在整个发展中国家中占有一席之地，必须解决两个其他因素。”

The first is the need for more capacity building programs in nuclear science, so the least developed countries can acquire a skilled labour force "capable of dealing with the application of nuclear science and technology to real life problems".

Second, Hassan says that "educational programmes must be expanded to help provide the public with the information that they need to have informed opinions about the benefits and risks associated with these technologies."

From the TC perspective, capacity building must cover the entire range of individuals involved in using nuclear technologies: research scientists, medical personnel, industry leaders, legislators, customs officials, and waste managers, to name a few.

Advances in particular countries and regions may be slow, but Ana María Cetto is pleased with overall progress.

"We set out to build national infrastructures for the safe application of proven technologies," she says. "In fact, the TC initiative spawned what one might call a radiation protection ‘super-structure’. The developing world is better positioned to realise the benefits of radiation-based technologies, and better prepared to manage nuclear safety and security."

In the current climate of concern over nuclear risks, the TC’s efforts to expand the application of radiation-based technologies are a timely reminder for the West. The benefits of proven technologies are undeniable. With safety structures now in place, so is the right to access.

辐射保护的主题安全区域

Legislative framework and regulatory infrastructure Draft radiation protection laws and regulations. 建立独立的监管机构；授权其管理通知和注册/授权，进行检查和执行立法。 Create an inventory of all radiation sources and facilities.

Occupational exposure control 通过个人和工作场所监测和剂量评估来保护工人的健康和安全。

Medical exposure control 通过放射学，核医学或放射治疗控制接受诊断和/或治疗的患者的暴露。

Public and environmental exposure control Ensure safety of all sources and material, including radioactive waste, to protect human health and avoid contamination of air, soil and water.

Emergency preparedness and response capabilities Train personnel, develop technical capabilities and allocate resources to mitigate the impact of radiological emergencies.

Read more about Technology Transfer in SciDev.Net’s Technology Transfer quick guide.