The Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) has defended the new law regulating nuclear energy, insisting it will not affect the operation of more than 6,000 dental clinics using X-ray machines, as feared by the Dental Council.
The OAP yesterday said the amended Nuclear Energy for Peace Act, set to go into effect on Feb 1 next year, will not affect dental clinics, except that they will be required to pay an additional licence fee of 1,000 baht per year for X-ray machines.
However, the OAP said operators of the X-ray machines will be required to go through proper examinations to obtain a licence.
The requirement was made after the agency received complaints there was no clear criteria to certify radiation staff as the current Atomic Energy for Peace Act only stipulates that machine owners must report whether their personnel undergo radiation prevention training courses to the agency.
According to the OAP survey, some clinics and agencies have failed to comply with radiation protection measures.
The OAP's comments came after Council president Paisan Kangvonkit submitted a letter to Science and Technology Minister Pichet Durongkaveroj last week, expressing concern over the legislation, saying it would cause a huge impact on more than 6,000 dental clinics nationwide.
The act stipulates that owners of dental X-ray machines must have proper ownership licences and are required to pay annual fees for their machines. All dental clinics must have X-ray machines which also comply with the 1998 Sanatorium Act.
Operators of such machines must also be radiation safety officers (RSO) who have gone through proper examinations to obtain a licence which will be divided into three professional levels based on their responsibilities.
The OAP said that according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), permission and fees are waived for radiation producing machines operating less than 5 kiloelectrons (keV) while owners of three types of radiation machines have to seek permission and pay fees for their equipment based on the degree of harmful radiation they produce.