Eighth On-Site Inspection Workshop Held in Vienna

The Eighth On-Site Inspection (OSI) Workshop was held in Vienna from 24 to 28 June 2002, organized by the OSI Division of the Provisional Technical Secretariat. The event was one of the OSI workshop series to support the development and elaboration of the OSI Operational Manual and the execution of other OSI projects related to methodology, field operations and logistics, equipment specifications and testing and training of inspectors. The Workshop concentrated, under the direct guidance of Working Group B of the Preparatory Commission, on the following topics: 1) Further Development of the OSI Operational Manual; 2) Noble Gases Measurements and Operational Procedures; and 3) Field Experiment in Slovakia. Twenty-five presentations were made at the workshop by OSI experts from States Signatories and staff of the OSI Division. The main recommendations reached at the workshop ranged from specific suggestions to assist the elaboration of the OSI Operational Manual; a proposal for the WGB to consider the functional requirements and technical specifications of the xenon and argon measurement systems, including the demonstration and testing of an available Ar-37 detection system; the setting up of a special expert group under PTS supervision to work on a systematic utilisation of the Seismic Aftershock Monitoring System during an OSI; to tasking the PTS to initiate development/selection and testing of software to support planning and implementation of OSI activities, with a view to their future integration into the field information management system. The content of the workshop report will be presented to the Nineteenth Session of WGB for consideration. Thirty-five OSI experts from 17 States Signatories (Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Zambia) participated in the workshop, augmented by PTS staff.