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Tag: Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

  • Petroleum industry records 95% of nuclear licenses – NNRA

    The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) on Monday said that 95% of the nuclear licenses it has issued are for the petroleum industry. 

    Its Director-General, Prof. Lawrence Dim, who made this known to reporters said that although other industries such as the beverage, breweries and paper mills also use nuclear materials, the oil and gas industry deploys nuclear materials heavily for well-logging and radioactivity. 

    The Director, Radiological Centre, Prof. Timothy Akpan, who represented him in Abuja during the opening ceremony International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) African Regional Coordination meeting to assess progress on leadership management in nuclear regulatory bodies made the disclosure in Abuja. 

    He said that: “Right now, oil industries in Nigeria requires inputs from nuclear, even the Coca-Cola industry, breweries, papers and all other. They are being used in almost all industries in Nigeria mostly in the oil and gas industry. We have well-logging, we have radioactivities going on in the oil industry. 

    “Like the petroleum industry is the greatest consumer of nuclear materials. In Nigeria presently, about 95% of all the recorded licenses we have in the NNRA are from the oil and gas industry.”

    On the adoption of nuclear energy in Nigeria, the Director-General submitted that the building of a nuclear power in the country is not a simple one.

    Read Also: NNRA mulls generation of electricity from radiation

    He however added that there are different huddles for the country, stressing that “Nigeria has not been a nuclear country.”

    Dim further noted that “I think what is stopping the inauguration of the nuclear power is the question of who should run it. From time to time there are some milestones being set up which Nigeria has to cross, which is not too easy because Nigeria has not been a nuclear country.”

    The NNRA explained that the African Regulator Conference was established by IAEA in consonance with other regional bodies to oversee radiation protection and nuclear safety in Africa. 

    According to him, the conference is for self-assessment for nations doing very well to work with other nations to meet up with the IAEA standards. 

    The agenda of the conference, he said, was to include the implementation of a regulatory framework in the entire Africa. 

    The review is to look at the performances of the different regulatory bodies to make sure that they come up at par for the continent to advance simultaneously in terms of nuclear regimes. 

    He noted that besides the African countries in the conference, other non-African countries were in attendance. 

    Speaking with reporters, the chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Adamu Husseini  said that 23 countries attended the conference out of the 26 that were expected. 

  • Police move to stop criminal use of explosives, others

    The police on Monday said they have commenced plans to contain criminal use of explosives and other dangerous allied materials capable of jeopardizing public safety.
    Already, operatives of the Explosives and Ordinance Disposal (EOD) department of the police have been trained on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threat mitigation as well as effective methods of attacking Improvised Explosives Devices (IED) through improvised special charges.

    At the quarterly conference with senior officers and EOD base commanders, Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of EOD Kayode Egbetokun confirmed the personnel were being trained, retrained to contain current realities.

    He said the command would intensify vigilance at all airports, seaports and border points to prevent illegal importation of explosive devices.

    Speaking on the theme “Excellent service delivery towards a safe and bomb free society,” he said explosives remain the weapon of choice for international and local terrorists organisations as well as deadly armed robbery gangs.

    According to him, CBRN materials were capable of causing great harm and pose significant threats in the hands of terrorists.

    Apart from malicious use of these weaponized or non-weaponized materials, the Commissioner said accidents could occur in the course of usage or transportation which could cause mass casualties.

    Read Also: Police warn vehicle owners

    “It is sad to note that explosives are easily accessible to criminal network and had become a fact of life. This poses a serious threat to internal security and a major challenge to the EOD teams.

    “It is our duty to deter criminal use of explosive and other dangerous allied materials, but the task in our hand is to completely put a stop to it.

    “To combat these threats, the capacity and professionalism of EOD personnel across the country have been strengthened for better service delivery.
    “In the last few months, a lot has been done with respect to capacity building in the command. Our personnel have been exposed to both local and international training on CBRN threat mitigation/special charges.

    The command has also established CBRN offices in three major centers- Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. These centers are saddled with the core professional responsibilities of managing radiological emergencies, monitoring the usage, storage and transportation of hazardous chemical, biological agents and radioactive sources.

    “A good number of our personnel have now been trained and qualified as CBRN frontline officers to undertake escorts and manage security of radioactive emergencies.
    We have established Zonal Workshop Centres in Uyo, Umuahia, Lagos, Minna, Kano and Maiduguri for maintenance of EOD equipment and training of EOD technicians.”

    Egbetokun further said the command was collaborating with agencies such as the National Emergency Managenment Agency (NEMA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) to develop a framework for prevention and response to CBRN incidents.

    “It gladdens my heart to note that through the effort and leadership of the Inspector General of Police (IG) Ibrahim Idris, the Police EOD is today in good standing. We are blessed with intelligent, well trained and professionally competent officers who can hold their own anywhere in the world. Our Base Commanders in their various State Commands are known to always deliver on critical assignment given to them.”

    “Our actions have been geared towards making leakages of commercial explosives impossible. We will not relent. We will continue to deploy human and technical resources at our disposal to stop criminal use of explosives and allied materials.

    “We will intensify our vigilance at the airports, seaports and border points to deter any illicit importation of explosive and allied materials. We will embark on public enlightenment against criminal use of explosives in our neighborhood, communities, school and on electronics and print media.”

  • FG to protect abuse of nuclear materials 

    FG to protect abuse of nuclear materials 

    The Federal Government Tuesday vowed to protect nuclear materials and radioactive sources from getting into the hands of non-state actors that may use them for destruction and criminal activities.

    The Director General of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Prof. Lawrence Dim noted that the authority’s 2017-2020 strategic plan that affords the nation the first comprehensive blueprint for tackling nuclear safety and security in Nigeria.

    He noted that the agency has emplaced a regulatory control programme for nuclear safety and radiological protection regulation.

    Dim spoke at Abuja during the opening session of information meeting for national nuclear security which theme was “Emerging security threats and the need for integrated approach”, which NNRA organised.

    The meeting whose participants were drawn from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Police, Department of State Security, Nigerian Immigration Service, among other security agencies, was meant for enhancing collaboration and fine-tuning strategies at securing nuclear materials and protecting lives and property.

    He noted that by the NNRA activities, the issue of nuclear safety, security and radiation protection has become very topical mainly because Nigerians were now becoming more informed about the harmful effects of the misuse of ionizing radiation.

    However, the NNRA Director General said: “Nigeria has been at the forefront of United Nations and International Atomic Energy (IAEA) efforts in ensuring that nuclear materials and radioactive sources do not fall into the hands of non-state actors and has over the years signed relevant security related international instruments like the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPNM), the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) and a host of others”.

    Further, he stressed that Nigeria is at the forefront of enhancing national and international nuclear safety and security regime, citing that it is guaranteed through the NNRA’s effective regulatory control programme.

    “It is our best hope of rebuilding trust and confidence, precisely because it promises nobody, outside the national security framework. Without security, our efforts for a better Nigeria will be seriously compromised or will simply not succeed”, he said.

    While delivering a paper on the theme of the meeting, the Director General of the Department of State Security who was represented by Mr. Paul Afunanya, noted that there are growing use of nuclear materials and the concerns to secure it against use by non-state actors.

    He said as the wind of democratic principles blows across the globe, there is growing emergence of non-state actors who constitute great challenge to security in the exercise of their perceived rights.

    He canvassed that in building integration in the areas of handling nuclear materials, there are need for training, peer review, collaboration, and exchange of information among agencies.

    Earlier, the Director of Policy and Strategy, Office of the National Security Adviser, Umar Abba, said the office has been collaborating with NNRA to ensure safety of lives, property and environment.

    He expressed hope that the outcome of the meeting would help in invigorating the nation’s nuclear use information.

  • NNRA mulls generation of electricity from radiation 

    NNRA mulls generation of electricity from radiation 

    The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) Tuesday revealed that it is considering the possibility of producing electricity from radiation.

    It’s Director General, Prof. Lawrence Dim made this known in the second technical meeting on Personal Dosimetry for Dosimetry Service Providers and Radiation Safety Advisers in Abuja.

    Represented by the General Manager, Radiological Safety, Prof. Timothy Akpa, he said that many countries are already utilizing radioactive materials for heating purposes.

    He added that as safety measures and consciousness in the industry improves, the world, including Nigeria, will use vehicles that are fueled by radioactivity.

    The NNRA boss said that: “We are now starting to see how we can begin to use radiation in producing electricity. In many countries many radioactive materials are being used for heating purposes.

    “Like I often say in the meeting, it may likely be that in the future as safety consciousness grow all over the world we will soon begin to use vehicles running on fuel of radioactivity and Nigeria cannot afford to be behind.”

    He disclosed that the meeting was convened to address issues bordering on efficient and effective radiation worker, public and environmental monitoring of the duties of the Personal Dosimetry Service Providers (DSPs) and Radiation Safety Advisers (RSAs).

    According to him, the dearth in the amount of DSPs and RSAs to cover the entire country birthed the maiden edition of the National Technical Meeting in 2008 and has yielded positive results as there has been a significant increase in the number of both DSPs and RSAs accredited by the NNRA to operate in Nigeria.

    Dim noted that the number of DSPs and RSAs accredited by the authority currently stands at five and 17 respectively.

    He explained that “Dosimetry is the measurement of dose. What do we mean by dose: the energy the body takes when you radiate the body. You measure it and make sure that the amount of energy that enters the body is not so much as to cause biological damage to the body.”

    Asked to explain the essence of the meeting, Dim said that: “It is a requirement by IAEA that every country should have a system of dosimetry which they will use as a benchmark to know how much radiation that the people are getting. And that the people are not over exposed in the course of either medical examination in the course or in the work in the industry ionizing radiation.”

    Meanwhile, a safety consultant, Dr. Modupe Olusegun, said that the idea of having the meeting was to bring the operators to have a feedback to the regulatory authority.

    She noted that the essence was that the operator would take advantage of the meeting to table their areas of success and challenges.

    She said that most of the clients in the industry are always keen about consultants when they are applying for licenses and disappear after securing the license.

    Olusegun urged the NNRA to compel the clients (operators of nuclear activities) to cooperate with the nuclear safety consultants.

  • Buhari inaugurates boards of NNPC, NCDMB,  NNRA

    Buhari inaugurates boards of NNPC, NCDMB,  NNRA

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday challenged members of the newly inaugurated boards in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to ensure decency and transparency in the management of the nation’s oil industry.

    The inaugurated boards included the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

    Buhari specifically tasked the new boards to ensure that they devise practical strategies aimed at tackling current challenges within the oil industry.

    He said the boards, which would be chaired by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, should advise the minister and the corporations’ management on the most effective ways for Nigeria to get value for money from its assets.

    “Oil and gas are the country’s foreign exchange earners. Therefore, the importance of these boards cannot be over emphasised. Your job should be to ensure propriety in management of these most vital national institutions

    “You should advise the Minister and the Corporations’ management on the most effective way for Nigeria to get value for money from our assets.

    “My expectations from the members of the boards is for them to ensure that NNPC charts a way to face current economic challenges.

    “This will involve a careful look at the ongoing reforms designed to steer the corporation to achieve better performance and efficiency,’’ he said.

    Buhari further stressed the need for the new NNPC board to come up with innovative ways of addressing the constraints in funding Joint Venture projects between the corporation and international oil companies as well as other investment issues.

    According to him, his administration has introduced transparency in the management of the country’s oil industry through the monthly publishing of operational and financial reports of the NNPC.

    The President expressed optimism that with the members’ experience and knowledge, the country’s aspiration in the oil industry would be achieved within a reasonable time frame.

    Responding, the Chairman of the inaugurated boards, Kachikwu assured that they would ensure transparency and accountability in running the affairs of the boards.