El Salvador Opens First Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory with IAEA Support

El Salvador has inaugurated its first Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory —a specialized facility that will help ensure the safe and effective use of ionizing radiation. The laboratory will provide calibration services for facilities across the country, strengthening radiation safety and measurement accuracy.

“Thanks to the support from the IAEA, we are strengthening our radiation protection in El Salvador by establishing a Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory,” said Héctor Chávez, Director of the Centre for Nuclear Research and Applications at the University of El Salvador, where the laboratory is located. “This will enable us to carry out calibrations of the various radiation measuring instruments used in the country, thereby achieving better measurement quality in the different devices employed in areas such as medicine, industry and research.”

Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratories (SSDLs) link national and international measurement standards, ensuring that radiation doses are traceable to the international system of units. This accuracy is an essential factor for the safe and effective use of radiation in medical, industrial and other scientific applications.

Setting up an SSDL requires specialized expertise and equipment. The IAEA’s publication Establishing a Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory outlines the process for setting up such a facility.

Strengthening Skills in El Salvador

Through its technical cooperation and human health programmes, the IAEA provided El Salvador with expert guidance and equipment, including beam irradiators, ionization chambers and other essential technology. The new laboratory reflects eight years of collaboration to build national capacity for radiation safety.

“With IAEA support, El Salvador’s Centre for Nuclear Research and Applications is building a self-sufficient system for radiation safety. The new laboratory is a key step, ensuring accurate dose measurement for patient safety and regulatory control,” said Scarlett Ihlau, IAEA Programme Management Officer for El Salvador. “The IAEA will continue to support capacity building at the laboratory to ensure sustainability.”

To strengthen local expertise, the IAEA arranged a short-term fellowship for Salvadorian staff to train at Mexico’s National Institute for Nuclear Research — one of 88 member laboratories in the IAEA and World Health Organization (WHO) Network of SSDLs.

The University of El Salvador marked the laboratory’s opening in May 2025 with a congress on ionizing radiation metrology and its impact on medicine and industry.

“As El Salvador continues to build on its experience, its new laboratory can consider joining the IAEA/WHO Network of SSDLs,” said Zakithi Msimang, IAEA SSDL officer and medical radiation physicist. “This would provide access to a global pool of knowledge and allow the country to contribute to international dosimetry efforts by sharing best practices, exchanging experiences and providing calibrations to others within their country and beyond.”

New calibration services will help to assure the safe and effective use of ionizing radiation across El Salvador. (Photo: Centro de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones Nucleares)

IAEA/WHO Network of SSDLs

The IAEA and WHO established a joint network of SSDLs in 1976 to improve radiation dosimetry worldwide. Managed by the IAEA’s Dosimetry Laboratory, the network enables national dosimetry standards to be traceable to the international system of units. The IAEA’s Dosimetry Laboratory provides countries with reference dosimeter calibrations, comparisons, reference irradiations and postal dose-audit services.

SSDLs and related topics will be discussed at the IAEA’s International Symposium on Standards, Applications and Quality Assurance in Medial Radiation Dosimetry (IDOS2026), to be held in Vienna, Austria, from 5 to 9 October 2026. Medical physicists, radiation metrologists, and other researchers and scientists working in radiation dosimetry are invited to submit abstracts by 2 April 2026.