About Symposium

11th International Symposium on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM XI).

Prof. Samuel Boakye Dampare
President – NORM XI Symposium

The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana Association for Radiation Protection, African ALARA Network and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Ghana, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, are organizing the Eleventh International Symposium on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM XI). NORM XI, the first NORM Symposium to be organized in Sub-Saharan Africa will take place from 13 – 17 October 2025 in Accra, Ghana. As a direct consequence of the 1996 European Council Directive 96/29/Euratom and its possible implications for non-nuclear industries in Europe, a symposium on NORM, the first in the current series,  was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1997. The second in the series (NORM II) was held in 1998 in Krefeld, Germany, the third (NORM III) in Brussels, Belgium, in 2001, the fourth (NORM IV) in Szczyrk, Poland, in 2004, the fifth (NORM V) in Seville, Spain, in 2007, the sixth (NORM VI) in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 2010, the seventh (NORM VII) in Beijing, China, in 2013, the eighth (NORM VIII) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, the ninth (NORM IX) in Denver, Colorado, USA, in 2019 and the tenth (NORM X) in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2022. In addition, a symposium on Technologically Enhanced Natural Radiation was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1999, reflecting the growing interest at that time within regions beyond Europe in the management of exposure to NORM.

This event is the first NORM Symposium to be held in Sub-Saharan Africa

The IAEA has played a key role and participated actively in the organization of the mentioned NORM symposia from NORM IV onwards. The results of the  research presented and discussed in some of these symposia have been used in the latest revision of the International Basic Safety Standards (IAEA General Safety Requirements Part 3). These requirements have now been incorporated into the regulations in many countries. Because of the interest of the IAEA in the past symposia, the Board of the NORM XI kindly requests the cooperation of the IAEA in the organization of NORM XI, knowing that the subject matter of NORM XI falls within the scope of work programme of the IAEA and would be of interest to most IAEA Member States. The Board has decided that the central theme of NORM XI should reflect the key issues of NORM in Africa. The theme of NORM XI is therefore: “Optimising Social, Environmental and Economic Performance Impacts from Industrial processes involving NORM: Policy, Regulatory, and  Technical aspects including Valorization of Tailings and Residues generated in Mining.”
The NORM XI aims to provide a forum for the industrial, technical and scientific communities, and regulatory bodies involved in the management of NORM in line with the IAEA Safety Standards and to disseminate the results of regulatory supervision, scientific information, research and knowledge. As in past symposia, it will be devoted to the dissemination of new regulatory approaches, research, scientific information, and knowledge on radiation protection of workers, the public and the environment for a wide range of NORM industry sectors, e.g., mining, including uranium/thorium mining and processing, as well as other industrial processes involving NORM, such as oil and gas production, and legacy sites.
This Symposium will also highlight key NORM management challenges and progress in Sub-Saharan Africa. The target audience of the Symposium is a variety of stakeholders including various sectors of industry associated with NORM,  (inter)national transport, NORM disposal facilities, etc., as well as researchers and regulators. The presentations and sharing of information should lead to increased harmonization of operational aspects and wider application of international guidance, including the IAEA GSR Part 3, which achieved already considerable mutual harmonization worldwide.