Nuclear power to the rescue as traditional energy sources plateau

Africa’s sole nuclear power plant, Koeberg Nuclear Plant, in South Africa

Bogged by projected declines in traditional energy sources, Ghana is now banking its hopes on nuclear power plants (NPP) to help keep the recent strong investments in generation steady to meet national consumption needs and turn on new factories.

The growing appetite for nuclear power is to help avoid a repeat of a six decade old dilemma, when the influx of factories just after independence caused energy demand to outstrip supply, then resulting in the demise of most of the factories.

With plans afoot to build a factory each in the 254 districts nationwide, the Ministry of Energy forecasts that traditional energy generation resources – gas, petroleum and hydro-fired plants – will be inadequate, making nuclear the first port of call.

One nuclear power plant is capable of producing about 1,200 megawatts (MW) of power – slightly above a quarter of the national installed capacity of 4,674MW.

The Deputy Director of Nuclear and Alternative Energy at the Ministry of Energy, Dr Robert Sogbadji, told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS that forecasts showed that the country will require base loads to meet its development aspirations.

“According to our gas master plan, our gas resources will be dwindling by 2027. We have exhausted our large hydros. Our mini hydros will only give us up to about 200MW to 300MW. Solar is intermittent supply and so it has its role to play.


“However, for industrilisation, we actually need base load generation such as nuclear, coal and gas base loads,” he said.

Although gas base loads look tenable, he said it was only “based on hope,” making it unreliable.

Speak to data

The Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Mr Benjamin Boakye, said it was not clear “what is informing nuclear at this point.”

Given that the Ministry of Energy plans to import “significant volumes of gas” in the coming years, Mr Boakye said the country needed to be sure that “it is not just adding on to generation.”

“We need to have a plan that speaks to data so that we are not just building cost into the electricity tariff because when you build plants and you do not have use for them, you ultimately have to pay for them,” he said.

Mr Boakye Agyarko — Ennergy Minister

Mr Boakye Agyarko — Ennergy Minister

Paris Accord

Despite agreeing to go nuclear since 1964, Ghana is yet to sign a deal with any of the vending countries to start commercial installation for energy generation. This is mainly due to lack of political will and the general piecemeal approaches to the energy challenges that face the country.

It appears this is now becoming history.

Beyond being a sustainable alternative, Dr Sogbadji, who is also the Coordinator of the Ghana Nuclear programme, said the country’s interest in nuclear energy was also bolstered by its environmentally-friendly and cost efficient nature.

As a result, he said the ministry was working hard to seal a good deal on nuclear power soon to help make energy sustainable.

He explained that although coal-fired electricity was also an option to the dwindling traditional energy sources, Ghana’s status as a signatory to the Paris Accord means that it could not use “a generational source that will pollute the environment.”

“So with our situation, we do not have a choice but to go nuclear and to also take advantage of our subregion by exporting,” he said.

The Paris Accord is a United Nations’ backed convention that bounds signatory countries to a global effort to reduce global warming to well below two degrees Celsius.

Unlike NPP, which are virtually emission-free, experts say coal-fired power plants emit large quantities of mercury, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and lead, which are dangerous to humans, other living things and the environment in general.

PDA with ROSATOM

Since the 1960s, Russia has been a key ally to Ghana’s nuclear power agenda.

It was the vending country that advised the Kwame Nkrumah administration on the country’s nuclear power programme, which was thwarted in 1966, when his government was overthrown.

Dr Sogbadji explained that the government was close to signing a project development agreement (PDA) with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) for formal discussions on a deal to start.

He said although the signing of the PDA had faced some challenges, both sides were committed to ensuring that such nitty-gritties were ironed out to allow for the process to continue.

Similar discussions are also ongoing with China as part of a grand strategy by the government to weigh the financial and technical expertise of the two vendor countries before arriving at a best option.

It is expected that the country will sign a deal to develop two plants with a combined capacity to produce some 2,400MW.

Each plant costs between US$5 billion to US$8 billion and take an average of six years to complete.

It is understood that the nuclear project would include a power plant and a nuclear technology centre.

Dr Sogbadji said the center will come with a bigger research reactor to build human resource for the plant, produce radioisotopes for medical applications, material testing and research into other nuclear application technologies, among others.

Source: graphic online

Ghana goes nuclear; 2 Plants in six years

After more than five decades of back and forth movements on the production of energy from nuclear sources, Ghana is now inching closer to establishing two of its first nuclear power plants to augment national power supply from hydro, thermal and solar sources.

Prof. Benjamin T. B. Nyarko, Director General, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission

The Ministry of Energy and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), which are coordinating activities towards realising the vision, estimate that the first two plants could be operational in the next five to six years, with the capacity to produce some 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

Each nuclear power plant would cost between US$5 and US$6 billion to establish, Professor Benjamin J. B. Nyarko, the Director General (DG) of the GAEC, and Dr Robert Sogbadji, the Deputy Director in charge of Nuclear and Alternative Energy at the Ministry of Energy, told the Daily Graphic in separate interviews in Sochi in Russia yesterday.

Ghanaian delegation

Prof. Nyarko and Dr Sogbadji spoke to the Daily Graphic after the opening ceremony of this year’s ATOMEXPO International Forum in Sochi.

Started in 2008, the annual event is organised by the State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) of Russia and brings together global experts and business executives with interest in nuclear and renewal energy.


On the theme: “Global partnerships – Joint success”, this year’s event is the 10th in the series, bringing together over 600 delegates from 68 countries.

Ghana’s delegation to the three-day conference is led by Mr William Owuraku, a Deputy Minister of Energy in charge of Power.

Prof. Nyarko and Dr Sogbadji explained that one important step in the country’s march towards producing energy from nuclear sources was the selection of a vendor country, which was also nearing completion.

For his part, Dr Sogbadji, who is also the Coordinator of the Ghana Nuclear Energy Programme, said after receiving dozens of proposals from nuclear vending countries around the world, the government had now zeroed in on China and Russia, as it continued the search for a suitable partner to help build the country’s first nuclear power plants.

He said a final decision on the vendor country was expected to be announced by the first quarter of next year, after which that country would then partner the government to start the construction of two plants by 2023.

The selected country is to, among other things, supply the nuclear reactors and other infrastructure needed to establish the two power plants.

Owner operator

The choice of a vendor country is an important milestone in Ghana’s march towards generating power from nuclear sources.

Despite commencing the process in the 1960s, the desire to produce energy from nuclear sources stalled over the years, largely due to lack of political commitment arising mainly from the negative publicity associated with nuclear energy around the world.

In recent years, however, significant progress has been made towards establishing the first plant.

Dr Sogbadji said the ministry was on the final lap of the first stage of its road map on nuclear energy production.

He explained that one key step in that lap was the choice of the vendor country, which had been ongoing for some time now.

He said although the country had received proposals from Japan, North and South Korea, among others, it had basically settled on Russia and China for strategic reasons.

“We are looking forward to the two countries to give us a comprehensive proposal, and then we can make a decision. For a newcomer country, you need a strategic partner to walk with and we do not want a project but a programme leading to a project,” he said.

“So the one who gives a good financial proposal and a good programme will be the one to choose. Also, these decisions are always more inter-governmental and so we the technical people and those on the ground may advise, but the sole decision will be based on a number of factors,” he added.

Owner operator

Explaining further, Prof. Nyarko said beyond the technical qualifications, the choice of a vendor country would be based on bilateral relationships and financing options.

“We are doing technology assessment and reactor type does not differ much. However, the government may decide on the financing option of each country or the bilateral relationship between the vendor country and Ghana,” he said.

Beyond choosing the vendor country, he said, one key step in the final lap of the first stage was the setting up or selection of an owner operator – a state enterprise that would own and operate the nuclear plants.

He said a memo was currently being prepared for the Cabinet to make the decision, after which the entity would then partner the vendor country to develop and operate the plant.

It is understood that the government is to choose between the Bui Power Authority (BPA) and the Volta River Authority (VRA) or set up an entirely new company to take up the role of owner operator.

Human resource

While awaiting the choice of the owner operator, Prof. Nyarko said, the GAEC had already developed the needed human expertise which would be offloaded to the owner operator after it had been established or chosen.

Ghana’s nuclear energy programme is being supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A successful generation of energy from nuclear sources will make Ghana the second country on the continent, after South Africa, to generate energy from that source.

Ghana’s first attempt at getting the international buy-in to generate power from nuclear energy started in the 1960s but was shelved following the overthrow of the government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.

The move was, however, renewed in 2006 when the Cabinet adopted a proposal for Ghana to go nuclear. That led to the resumption of discussions between the GAEC and the Ministry of Energy, on one side, and the IAEA, on the other, on how the country should proceed to produce and commercialise nuclear energy.

Nuclear currently accounts for 11 per cent of the global energy supply.

Author: Maxwell Akalaare Adombila | Graphic Online

Devt partners paid $20m to repatriate Ghana’s uranium to China

The Director General (DG) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Prof. Benjamin J. B. Nyarko, has revealed that it cost the country more than $20 million to convert the Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) from highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) before repatriating the spent fuel to China.

The HEU, within a TUK/145/C MNSR package, is loaded on a trailer during its journey (Image: IAEA – Sandor Miklos Tozser)

But instead of Ghana bearing that cost, Prof. Nyarko said the United States of America (USA) took up the cost, under the American government’s Global Threats Reduction Initiative with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in an effort to remove the use of weapon grade uranium from civilian use.

The conversion involved reducing the uranium content in the GHARR-1 from 90 per cent uranium 235, which is a weapon grade, to 13 per cent

Given that the conversion and repatriation process was a big relief to the country, the DG of the GAEC told the Graphic Business in Sochi in Russia that it was “untrue” that some sections of the general public intimated that the country had by passed other countries “to cheaply sell its highly enriched uranium to China”.

“It is the US government and the IAEA that paid for the cost of the repatriation. The whole process, including bringing in the low-enriched uranium to be loaded into the reactor and everything, was a little above $20 million,” he said at Sochi, where he is attending the 2018 ATOMEXPO.

He explained that the repatriation was done last year, bringing to an end a process that started in 2005 to help convert Ghana’s research reactor which was operated for more than 20 years with enriched uranium 235 to below 20 per cent.


Following the conversion, the GHARR-1 is now used for research and education purposes.

Provide answers

In September last year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced at the General Assembly of the United Nations that Ghana, through its commitment to international peace, had returned its highly enriched uranium reactor to China.

“Africa and indeed, Ghana, remain committed to remaining a nuclear weapons-free continent. Three weeks ago, highly enriched uranium was flown out of Ghana back to China, signalling the end of the removal of all such material from the country,” he said at the time.

The announcement, however, generated discussion among a section of the public, with the Minority in Parliament demanding that the President explain why he took such a decision.

While describing such concerns as misplaced, Prof. Nyarko, who is also a Professor of Applied Nuclear Physics at the School of Nuclear and Allied Science (SNAS) at the University of Ghana, Legon, said those comments were unfortunate and a worry to the state.

“Sometimes when some of us hear these kinds of things, we start to worry because it is untrue and it made people ridicule us.

“If I have somebody who will take the core (the spent fuel) for fuel, I will thank my God because it is radioactive and dangerous. So if it was easy to do, we could have just gone somewhere, dig a hole and bury the spent fuel and take the $20 million that the Americans and the IAEA spent into something else,” he said.

“We have to pay for it; even with the storage in China, Americans have to pay for it. So if somebody is saying that you are selling spent fuel, then it is unfortunate because who will buy your waste?” he asked.

He said the country did well by including a spent fuel return clause in the contract with China in 1992, allowing the repatriation of the spent fuel to China.

“Otherwise, every spent fuel should be managed by the host country, which would have been Ghana, and storage of spent fuel is very expensive.

“If somebody says that we have sold the core, that is not true; it is not fresh uranium that you can sell,” he stressed.

Leading example

The National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI), a division of the GAEC received the GHARR-1 from China in 1994 to be used for research purposes.

However, with 90 per cent enriched uranium, it was feared that the device could be diverted into non-peaceful activities.

As a result, the IAEA partnered the GAEC to form a collaborative research project and later a working group to help convert the uranium content.

Prof. Nyarko said the conclusion of the process in 2017 made Ghana the first country outside China to successfully convert Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) to LEU.

“It is one of the successes because we have taken the lead,” he said.

He added that the conversion was done in such a way that it would not affect the reactor safety and operation.

 

Author: Maxwell Akalaare Adombila | Graphic Online

Eulogy for Prof. Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey

EULOGY FOR PROF. FRANCIS KOFI AMPENYIN ALLOTEY

BY ALBERT K. FIADJOE

EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC LAW &

FELLOW OF THE GHANA ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

DELIVERED AT THE FORECOURT OF THE STATE HOUSE ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2018

 

Francis Kofi Ampenyin Allotey – of the Royal Sempe Stool, Accra, of Saltpond, of Ghana, of Africa and the World.

We are gathered in the Forecourt of the State House in God’s presence to honor God’s treasure and to send his faithful servant safely Home.

In Kofi Ampenyin Allotey, we have lost both a gentleman and a gentle man, a very decent one at that!

It has fallen to my lot to deliver this Eulogy to Kofi Ampenyin Allotey in a final farewell on behalf of a grateful nation and an admiring world.

 

THE EARLY YEARS

 

My association with Prof. Allotey began in 1973 when I served under him as a Chairman of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Board. We remained close friends from that time and discussed a multiplicity of issues till he passed on in November 2017.

Of course, a great deal will be said and written about his wondrous deeds and accomplishments because he was indeed a famous man. We all know now that though Kofi Allotey was born of ordinary circumstances, he lived an extraordinary and fascinating life as a father, academic and a renowned scholar.

From very humble beginnings, Prof Allotey defied all the odds and obstacles that came his way, and indeed there were many of those.

As we celebrate his life, we cannot but also reflect on the family environment from whence he came for, together he and his family symbolize so much about what makes this country of ours the wonderful gem that it is. Poor but proud, that family of humble circumstances strove hard and exhibited industry of a very high pedigree.

Francis Allotey was born on the 9th of August, 1932 to Alice, a dressmaker of Saltpond and the farseeing Papa Joseph Allotey, originally from Accra, a trader and a general merchant who sold books, musical instruments and fishing gear for a living.

With that exceptional combination of sheer industry and talent, it is not surprising that he and Mrs. Allotey bequeathed to this world a decent number of children – seven in all.

 

Professor Allotey was the second of the seven, four girls and three boys.

They came in this order –Martha, Francis, Elizabeth, Augustine, Agatha, Theresa and Michael. The only survivors are Agatha and Theresa both of who have traveled down from the US to be at the funeral of their brother.

A late entrant to school at the age of nine, Francis assisted his father in his store to sell his wares. Even at that tender age, Papa Allotey marveled at his son’s facility in computing the daily sales and submitting accurate daily accounts. Those were early signs of the young Allotey’s extraordinary mathematical genius.

 

By age 16, Francis persisted and was enrolled at the Ghana National College as the only student in Form 1 – a clear sign of tenacity and doggedness in the young Allotey.

Motivated by his ambition to gain the benefits of higher education, Francis Allotey courageously traveled alone to Liberia at the age of 19 to obtain a British Passport so that he could proceed to England. He succeeded at that too.

Back to Saltpond, he founded a co-educational secondary school which he named the Fanti Confederation Secondary Technical College, later re-named as the Fanti State Secondary Technical College.

Then onto England, Francis traveled, checking first into Borough Polytechnic before eventually ending up at the prestigious Imperial College of Science and Technology. Such was Francis Allotey’s brilliance at his subject that he was made to skip the Undergraduate degree course and was enrolled directly into the Masters degree program. This was how our African genius traveled through the corridors of higher education in Imperial College, without obtaining a first degree, a feat that I am told, has not been equaled since then in the history of that institution.

 

From there, take-off to Princeton University in the US was a natural and logical step for Francis. That was in 1962, after a two-year stint at the Department of Mathematics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

I am advised that Francis Allotey was the first African to study at the Mathematics Department of Princeton University, a tremendous feat accomplished at that time. It was while in Princeton studying Mathematical Physics for his Ph.D that Francis Allotey developed his universally acclaimed and world renowned Allotey Formalism theory. Through intrepid research and complicated mathematical calculations, Francis Allotey was able to prove that electrons jump into nucleus only after the nucleus has had an effect called “resonance scattering” on it.

 

Prof. Allotey’s first wife, Eudoris Enid of blessed memory of the parish of St. Lucy in Barbados bore him two children – Francis Jnr and Joseph. Sadly, she passed on in 1981.

He re-married in 1988 to Asie, my own classmate from the Law Faculty in Legon.

Prof Allotey embraced Asie’s two children warmly as his own. They are Cilinnie and Kay. Regrettably, Asie too passed on in 2011.

 

The records would show that Prof Allotey did not have the courage to make a third attempt at matrimony though the science of mathematics would seem to suggest that luck attends every third attempt at something good!

 

RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE

 

Prof Allotey has been recognized for excellence across many fields and his numerous accomplishments are garnished with several firsts –

A pioneer in Computer Science education at the KNUST, first Ghanaian Full Professor in Mathematics at the KNUST, Chairman of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission on seven different occasions, a member of the UN Secretary General’s Group of 12 Experts to advise on nuclear weapons, a member of the Scientific Council of the world renowned International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy, and Founder of AIMS in Ghana, among other brilliant accomplishments.

 

In short, Prof Allotey’s singular and sterling achievements are indeed written in gold all over the scientific world and in other areas as well. Prof Allotey both symbolized and nurtured the maturing of science, especially mathematics in Ghana. Through his enterprise and hard work, he transformed the scientific landscape of Ghana, Africa and the world for the better. His singular role in the development and promotion of mathematical sciences in Africa is exemplified in the establishment of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) (with that imposing and magnificent mountain-top edifice in Biriwa, near Salptond)

 

His legacy to Ghana and the world through his fine mathematical mind is monumental and our individual and collective debt to him is unusually large.

In short, Prof. Allotey was the quintessential scholar who won the admiration of all. He lived and practiced his profession in several countries and in multiple jurisdictions across the world.

He was tried and tested in all, yet he traversed every jurisdiction with flying colors.

We thank God for making it possible for us to benefit so richly from the decency of his life and the scholarship of his mind.

 

ALLOTEY’S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

 

There were other sides to Francis Allotey beyond Mathematics and Physics.

So, let me say a word about Prof Allotey as a decent human being and a perfect gentleman.

In a world of unstable values, Prof. Allotey maintained a shining example of simplicity and modesty.

 

He never lost touch with the common man.

He had a sense of fair play, honesty and sympathy for the underdog, not equaled by many in public or private life.

On a very personal note, Prof Allotey never allowed his supreme knowledge of his subject discipline nor the fact that he was far senior to me to stand between us. Such was the humility of the man!

 

He was an exemplar. Big hearted and extremely generous, Kofi Allotey cared for and looked after many without counting the cost. As at the time of his passing, Prof Allotey had under his care and protection not less than 10 individuals that he looked after and singlehandedly supported fully. In the area of rural development, Prof Allotey assisted in the establishment of two elementary schools in Edumanfa and Owomasi in addition to funding a library in Saltpond. So long before “one district one factory”, Prof Allotey had his version of an appropriate slogan “One district, two elementary schools and one library!”

 

FINAL FAREWELL

 

God’s beautiful treasure has been returned to Heaven.

So as we proceed to the final farewell, we can say proudly to Prof Allotey -Your life’s work has been accomplished to perfection with aplomb and excellence.

Soft spoken, easy going, never in a fight, seldom appearing to be vexed about anything, generous, and extremely kind –

Warm-hearted, humorous, charming and passionate, Prof Allotey was a giant of this land.

 

So that no one may accuse me of plagiarism, let me be quick to borrow an apt phrase from President Akufo Addo’s State of the Nation address delivered on the 8th of February, 2018: Prof Allotey was indeed “a national asset”.

What a stupendous life Prof Allotey led!

I am the richer for having known Kofi Ampenyin and worked with him as a colleague and friend.

We thank God for letting Kofi Ampenyin cross our paths. We thank

Him for this blessing on the African continent and the world at large

Within the constraints of human weakness, he gave of his best and in this last fond farewell we now thank God for giving us the opportunity to share in the life and times of Prof Allotey.

 

He is survived by his children, two boys and two girls – Francis Jnr, Joseph, Cilinnie and Kay, his two surviving sisters Mrs Agatha Narh, Mad. Theresa Allotey and twenty grandchildren.

 

Our deepest condolences go out to all of them and to the Allotey family of Saltpond and Accra.

Professor of Mathematics, Eminent Scholar, Nuclear and Mathematical Physicist, Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and numerous other Academies and Learned Societies.

 

May You Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory.

 

Opanyin Kofi Ampenyin, Exquisite Genius,

May God’s Grace lead you home.

The Heavenly Angels await your arrival.

Damirifa Due!!!

GHANA IS DEVELOPING THE EXPERTISE TO MANAGE WASTE FROM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OPERATIONS – (GAEC)

The Manager in charge of the Radioactive Waste Management Centre (RWMC), of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr. Eric Tetteh Glover, has disclosed that his outfit is developing the expertise to handle waste generated from nuclear power.

The RWMC which falls directly under the Radiation Protection Institute of GAEC has the mandate to secure and manage all radioactive waste materials generated in Ghana in order to protect human health and the environment from the hazards associated with these materials.

The centre is the only authorized unit for safe and sustainable management of radioactive waste in the country.

Speaking to Dr. Glover in an interview, he disclosed that, there has not been a single question raised against radioactive waste management in Ghana as far as his outfit is concerned.

According to him, his centre has been very instrumental with the collection and transportation of disused radioactive sources from industries, characterization and conditioning of radioactive sources and also storage of collected radioactive waste materials.

Alluding to this fact, he was confident that the RWMC will have no challenge should Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme come into full force. Aside having the expertise GAEC is developing the infrastructure facilities and other needed recourses to meet the demands.

“Nuclear waste unlike domestic waste, does not require much space for storage since the waste generated over a period of time is mostly small in quantity”, he said.

Responding to question on the dangers involved in transporting radioactive waste materials to its storage base, Dr. Glover revealed that, the sources are concealed in a special container that prevents emission of radiation into the atmosphere. “However it is regulated”, he added.

He urged industries and hospitals that use equipment with radioactive sources like the X-ray machine and nuclear moisture/density gauges to ensure that all cases of malfunction are immediately reported to avoid radiation exposure.

He further called on Ghanaians to maintain the trust in the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission for radiation safety.

GAEC Institutes Board Members Sworn into Office

A total of 49 members were inaugurated to serve on the Institutional Boards of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) on October 25, 2017 at the SNAS conference room.

The Institutes include, the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI), National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI), Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), Radiation Protection Institute (RPI), Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI), Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) and the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS).

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, the Board Chair of GAEC, Dr. Kweku Anning, charged the Institute Board members to do due diligence to their responsibilities.

He advised that their role is not to frustrate the growth and progress of the Commission but to make fruitful decisions that will promote development and smooth running of the Institutes and GAEC as a whole.

Speaking on behalf of all the instructional board members, Prof. Amoasi was thankful to the GAEC Board for the appointment. He pledged the commitment of all members to ensure the progress of activities of all GAEC Institutes for sustainable development in Ghana.

Prof. Amoasi finally called for unity among the members and added that staying united will influence positive decisions.

Looming NORM Management Crisis to Hit Ghana – RPI Warns

Ghana has been warned against a looming Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) management crisis in the near future if pragmatic steps are not taken to control the situation.

The Radiation Protection Institute (RPI) under the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) made this revelation.

Speaking in an interview with the Center Manager of the Food and Environmental Monitoring Centre of RPI, Dr. Oscar Adukpo disclosed that the situation has affected some oil producing countries including Ghana’s West African neighbor Nigeria.

NORMs, also known as, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials are typically produced from the debris of oil extraction and mining activities.

According to Dr. Adukpo, the risk is more prevalent in the oil-producing sector than the mining sector. Explaining how the situation degenerates, he said that cleaning of the Scale; (a pipe trough which crude is extracted from the oil well) is a mandatory procedure that must be observed after a period of oil extraction. “When this waste is collected from the scale, storage and deposal becomes a difficult situation to deal with”, he added.

He further explained that unlike the mining sector that may reclaim mined sites over a relatively shorter period of time, oil wells are engaged for decades and hence making it difficult to dump NORM waste. “ The waste become sizable overtime and is unbearable”, he lamented.

Stressing on the dangers it poses on public health, Dr. Adukpo pointed out that poor NORM waste management practices, may cause them to end up in streams and other water bodies, contaminating them with radioactive substances in the process. This he said affects aquatic creatures (Fishes, etc) and goes ahead into food crops if contaminated water is used to irrigate farmlands. “The underground water is also affected since surface water goes deep into the ground to recharge underground water and in effect, the boreholes within that region will be affected.

He lamented that; this can have servere health implications on the general public if borehole water is used for domestic activities (cooking, drinking, etc) and on commercial bases (Sachet water production, etc)

He disclosed that, Ghana is yet to manage NORM waste for the first time from the oil sector, but has little or no capacity in that regard.

According to him, the RPI under GAEC is able to do NORM measurement and Analysis but will require extra facilities to be able to clean oil scales and manage NORM waste.

He called on government to consider developing strategies to manage NORM waste to avoid all manner of dangers the public will be exposed to, due to poor management of NORMs.

Be Visible on Your Properties – Deputy Minister Charges GAEC

The Deputy Minister of Environment Science and Technology and innovation Mrs. Patricia Appiagye, has charged the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission to utilize its available lands to prevent encroachment.

The deputy Minister who addressed the leadership of the Commission during her one-day working visit lamented that lands that are yet to be developed by the Commission are being taken over by encroachers.

According to her, the graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS) will soon require expansion, hence will need a vast land for such development. She added that SNAS offering postgraduate programmes in Nuclear Science is a big project and must not be underestimated.

She blamed the poor visibility of GAEC activities on its lands as one of the leading causes of encroachment. She advised that the Commission expands its Institute to fill up the remaining properties to limit or eliminate these issues of encroachment.

Mrs. Appiagyei further pledged government’s commitment to help GAEC protect the remaining lands against encroachment.

The Director General of GAEC, Prof. Benjamin Nyarko was thankful to the Deputy Minister for her support to help find a lasting solution to the issues of encroachment on GAEC Properties. According to him, the situation becomes less challenging when a state owned institution like GAEC gets the full support of government.

He called on government to help the Commission ensure that the needed expansion and developmental projects come into full force.

Abandoned Masts Are Death Traps

The Manager in charge of the Health Physics and Instrumentation Centre of the RPI of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Dr. Owusu Banahene, has raised concerns over dangers human lives are exposed to with regards to abandoned radiofrequency and Telecommunication Masts.

Dr. Banahene who raised this concern in an interview, disclosed that, some disused masts are dilapidated, due to neglect by the owners.

The Health Physics and Instrumentation Centre, which is under the Radiation Protection Institute (RPI) of GAEC is responsible for safety assessment of radiofrequency base station as well as mobile phone based stations.

According to the manager, rusty masts can easily be pulled down by rainstorms, making them more life threatening to the public. He added that in spite of their dangers, such masts do not emit any useful radio frequency radiation, since they no longer function.

Touching on issues of radiation exposure and public safety with regards to Masts in general, Dr. Banahene said the RPI has been vibrant and proactive in checking the levels of emission to ensure that they do not exceed national and international levels.

He said, an immediate action would be taken to control the extent of radiation exposure should test results go beyond the expected range. “So far, we are yet to encounter any of such cases where the measured radiation emitted by a radiofrequency and mobile phone base stations is above recommended levels”, he added.

To ensure absolute public safety, Dr. Banahene called on the public to desist from running their activities directly under radiofrequency and mobile phone base stations. He stressed that the amount of time spent around the mast will determine the amount of radiation one could be exposed to. “Keeping a distance away can help save one from radiation exposure”, he explained.

Throwing more light on other responsibilities of the Health Physics and Instrumentation Centre, the Manager said his outfit is also responsible for monitoring of occupationally exposed workers, calibration of radiation measuring devices such as survey meters, contamination monitors and ionization chambers which are used for the detection and measurement of certain types of ionizing radiation (X-rays).

He urged the public to be quick in consulting the RPI at the least suspicions of any radiation exposure.

Let’s not Kill the One District One Factory Vision with Energy Crisis – Prof. Nyarko Advices

The Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Prof. Benjamin Nayrko has hinted that the “One District One Factory” initiative may face severe setbacks if recommendations made by energy experts are not taken into consideration.

The Director General made this revelation at his inaugural lecture as a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, on the topic “Access to sustainable and Affordable Energy for all; the role of Nuclear Energy”.

According to him, the energy demand will triple across the country when the “One district One Factory” initiative comes into full force. This he said will threaten the growth of the initiative if Ghana does not settle on affordable and reliable energy supply.

He recommended that Ghana went Nuclear in order to meet the industrial energy demand. “Even though solar is also an alternative source of energy, it may not generate enough to meet industrial demand”, he added

Speaking on the anxiety that grips many at the mention of nuclear power, Prof. Nyarko said, “to everything system there is a disadvantage. What matters most is to ensure that, such disadvantages are well managed”. He added that, despite the Fukushima nuclear accident Japan has not given up on nuclear power because of its benefits.

He charged the public to conduct individual research to ascertain for themselves the type of energy that is most reliable and suitable to solve Ghana’s challenges. “The fact that we have enough sunshine is not a guarantee that solar energy can solve all energy related problems in Ghana”, he stressed.

He advised Government to consider recommendations made by its advisory bodies on energy including GAEC in order to meet future energy demands.