iia participates in IAEA meeting on emerging applications of radiation technology

The iia participated in the IAEA Technical Meeting on Exploring Emerging Applications of Radiation Technology, held on 10-14 November 2025. The objective of the meeting was to assist the IAEA in its strategic planning for the coming years including the direction of its radiation technology programme and international collaboration.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Asia, Europe and the Americas. There were presentations about many emerging applications including: healthcare (material innovation, tissue engineering), wastewater treatment (urban, textile, chemical, hospital wastewater etc.), other environmental applications (air pollution, re-use of plastics, chemical recycling), food and phytosanitary irradiation, and the use of machine learning and AI in material science and synthesis.

The iia’s aim was particularly to highlight the increasing value of phytosanitary irradiation that is now well understood but is commercially limited by standards, protocols and available facilities. The iia’s call for action was for the IAEA to support activities that will unlock the potential of this application. Various specific actions were discussed and will be reported by the IAEA and shared by the iia shortly.