The Nuclear Physical Security Training Centre will be housed at the Institute of Nuclear Engineering (Portuguese: Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN)) and will be a facility, with partnerships across the country, region and with global agencies. The target is to have the centre fully operational within three years.
Cristóvão Araripe Marinho, director of the institute, said: "The project foresees the installation of the most modern equipment and physical security systems, enabling practical classes to be taught, which constitutes an important differentiator."
João Régis dos Santos, head of the Radiological Safety and Protection Division, said the courses would be taught by specialists trained at international physical protection training centres, such as those in the USA, Austria and Russia, and would seek to establish partnerships across Brazil's nuclear sector, government and academia and global specialists such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Institute for Nuclear Security, the US Department of Energy and Russia's Rosatom Technical Academy.
He said training would be targeted at professionals working in nuclear physical security in Brazil and Latin America, including those supported by international agencies and programmes, specialists linked to the Physical Security Office, personnel working in nuclear and radiological safety and specialist response forces.
According to the announcement from the National Nuclear Energy Commission (Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear, CNEN) the financing agency selected the project for support after a call for proposals for "national centres for thematic scientific and technological research infrastructure in the areas of energy transition, ecological transition, digital transformation, health and defence".
