Mexican "sanitary certificate" -Reply

[Jose Lopez <JLOPEZ@MEDNET.SWMED.EDU>]

Elsa:
I can give you information on the agency that reagulates the use of
sources of radiation in Mexico. It is not the ININ. The ININ is the "Instituto
Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares" or National Institute for Nuclear
Research, which is a government  institute.
The "Regulators" are the Comision Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y
Salvaguardias ( the equivalent of the US NRC). I can give you information
on phone numbers and names to call. BTW  The Head of the commission
Ingeniero J. Raul Ortiz-Magana will be presenting a paper at the National
HPS meeting in San Antonio entitled "The Regulation of the Use of
Radioactive Materials in Mexico". This will be a good time to air any
questions. Ing. Ortiz-Magana's presentation will be part of a special
session dedicated to  and titled "Radiological Protection in Latin America"
and will take place Thursday, July 3, 1997 from 8:30 AM to Noon.
I will be posting more information on this interesting session in Radsafe.

BTW I had not heard about this "Sanitation Certificate". If I look through
my files I may also be able to find a Phone and contact name for the ININ.
Please contact me at
Jlopez@mednet.swmed.edu

Jose Lopez, Ph.D.
Radiation Safety Officer
Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center @ Dallas

(214) 648-3952
FAX (214) 648-3997 

>>> "Nimmo, Elsa (CA35)" <Nimmo_Elsa@Measurex.com> 06/13/97
11:41am >>>
RadSafers,

Is anyone dealing with radiation regulations in Mexico?  I'm baffled and
amazed by a message received today:

[start quote]  "...per march 1st, 1997, a new regulation  has been added
to import requirements in Mexico. This is the "Sanitary Certificate" is
issued by the ININ, which is the Government Regulatory Entity.
> The ININ has to have a sample of all of the radionuclides use in our
> radioactive sources. The characteristics of these samples are;
> 
> 	-A sample of 1 (one) microCurie of radionuclide in a hourglass
> of 5 	 thousands of a liter-
> 
> With this samples the ININ will generate a register file of all our
> products that will be use here and after to grant the Sanitary
> Certificate.
> 
> It seems this new regulation has been causing problems and some
> companies has been claimed for not have to supply these samples, I
> will mail to your attention a document used for such a case, hope it
> will be of some help." [end quote]
> 
> 
The message is from a person in Mexico who is not a health physicist or
a regulator and there may be more to the story than what is presented
here.  Presumably Mexico is generous in granting exceptions.  If this is
a real regulation, I wonder how prepared the agency is to deal with
contamination from samples that are submitted?

In any case, I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who has heard
about this or who knows about regulations in Mexico.

Elsa Nimmo
nimmo_elsa@measurex.com