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ST 1.2 –
Dosimetría externa
CHALLENGES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A QUALITY MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM APPLIED TO RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Carrijo da Silva Dias, Danila*; Leandro Bonifácio, Rodrigo;
Roberto Lopes do Nascimento, Marcos; Carlos da Silva, Nivaldo;
Tirollo Taddei, Maria Helena
Brazilian Commission for Nuclear Energy. Brasil.
* Responsible author, email: danilacdias@gmail.com
The concept of quality in laboratories has been well established as an essential factor in the
world of analytical techniques and the search for reliable results. Since its first version published
in 1999, the ISO/IEC 17025 – General requirements for the competence of testing and
calibration laboratories – has been applied in the industrial and research fields, in a wide range
of laboratorial analyses. However, the implementation of a Quality Management System (QMS)
still poses great challenges at many institutions and companies. The purpose of this work is to
expose the constraints related to the implementation of ISO/IEC 17025 applied to analytical
assays of radionuclides, which was accomplished by studying the case of the Poços de Caldas
Laboratory of the Brazilian Commission for Nuclear Energy. In this lab, a project of accreditation
of techniques involving determination of radionuclides in water, soil, sediment and food samples
has been conducted since 2011. The challenges presented by this project arise from different
facets such as the administrative one, where the governmental/public nature of the institution
translates into unstable availability of financial resources; or the organizational one, whereas
QMS requires inevitable changes in the organizational culture. It is important to point out that
when it comes to accreditation of analysis involving radioactive elements, many aspects must
be treated with special attention due to the unusual behavior of these elements. Among these
concerns are the determination of uncertainties, accessibility to international proficiency studies
(required by the system, yet not so commonly offered in the case of radionuclides), the study of
parameters on the validation of analytical methods and finally the lack of extensive reference
documents regarding radiometric analyses. Through an effective management system, the
institution is overcoming these challenges, moving toward the ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.