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Tag: Prof. Lawrence Dim

FG to protect abuse of nuclear materials

The Federal Government (FG) on 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 an 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, precise!y 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 is 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 a growing emergence of non-state actors who constitute a 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 is the 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 the 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.

November 14, 2017
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.

November 14, 2017
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.

November 7, 2017
Workers urge funding of NNRA with 2% oil proceeds

The staff of the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) have called on the Federal Government to earmark 2% of crude oil proceeds for the funding of the activities of the authority.

The NNRA chapter of the Petroleum and Natural Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Chairman, Ifreke Udeme, made this request during the second Triennial Branch Conference in Abuja.

Its theme was “NNRA: Regulatory Responsibilities for Increased Performance viz-a-vis Safety, Security and Safeguards for Radioactive Substances.”

He explained that although the activities of the authority are mainly in the oil and gas industry, yet it has been underfunded from inception.

Udeme said that the National Assembly, the governing board of NNRA, PENGASSAN and NUPENG can jointly work towards earmarking 2% of oil and gas proceeds for the funding of the authority’s activities.

He said that: “The activities of the NNRA, 90% of it is in the oil and gas industry. We licensed the sources and we conduct well logging and this cuts across the oil and gas industry.so the proceeds from there, a percentage of it with a legislature should be used to fund the NNRA for its activities.

“One percent or two percent of the proceeds can fund the activities of the NNRA vis and vis the directive of government that we should exit the federation appropriation by 2020.

“We have to collaborate with the relevant stakeholders; the NNRA governing board, the National Assembly and the management of NNRA’ PENGASSAN and NUPENG to be able to achieve this.

“The NNRA is grossly underfunded right from inception. And the National Assembly together with our legal unit can sit down and work out the areas that we can achieve this: the activities in the oil and gas industry from seismic activities to exploration to upstream or downstream, we can look at these areas.”

Speaking, the Kaduna Zone PENGASSAN chairman, Comrade Yusuf Abubakar noted that the global economy is now diversifying from oil to other sources of energy and Nigeria can resort to nuclear.

He appealed to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to reposition the NNRA with its next year’s budget for it to carry out the expected development of the nuclear energy.

The minister’s representative, who was from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Sanusi Abdulakeem, promised to convey the demands of the association to Kachikwu.

He said that the ministry would consider the workers’ demand for a spacious office accommodation.

Kachikwu, however, advised them not to abuse the opportunity that the Director-General, Prof Lawrence Dim has allowed them to unionize.

The Deputy General Manager, Katsina Zone of the association, who represented Dim admonish the union to take the results of the Congress election in good fate.

A member representing Akoko Edo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Comrade Peter Akpatason, promised the support of the lawmakers for whatever bill the NNRA may present to the lower chamber.

October 9, 2017
IAEA rates Nigerian nuclear infrastructure high
- Seeks independence for NNRA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday gave the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) a clean bill of health, describing it as a committed regulatory body that works for the continuous improvement of nuclear and radiation safety.

An interim report that the IAEC Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission’s chairman, Lamberto Mattoecci presented on the 10-day mission, however, observed that the NNRA was still enmeshed in challenges related to its independence in implementing regulatory decisions and activities.

Presenting the report in Abuja, the IAEA recommended that the “government should ensure that the NNRA is effectively independent and it is functionally separated from entities having responsibilities or interests that could influence its decision-making.”

It also recommended that the government should establish a national policy on safety and ensure that the corresponding legal framework is in line with IAEA safety standards.

It recommended that the NNRA should carry out an analysis of all competencies needed to cover its responsibilities, develop and implement a human resources and training plan.

IAEA urged the regulatory body should ensure that all facilities and activities have a valid authorization, and establish and implement an enforcement policy to respond to non-compliance,
The NNRA, according to Mattoecci, should consider formalising cooperation with other authorities having responsibilities related to safety.

He submitted that the final mission report will be provided to Nigeria in about three months. Mattoecci revealed that “Authorities in Nigeria have told IAEA that they plan to make the report public.”

The 12-member IRRS team comprised of senior experts from France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Latvia, Morocco, Pakistan, Slovenia, Turkey, and Zimbabwe, as well as IAEA staff members.

The Nigerian government, according to him, “will work with the IAEA to develop a work-plan for the implementation of the mission’s recommendations and suggestions,”

On the findings, the mission said that “The IRRS team recognises the strong commitment of Nigeria to improving nuclear and radiation safety. The team was extended full cooperation by all parties in this review,” said Lamberto Mattoecci, Technical Coordinator for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).

He added that “We believe the outcome of this mission will be of great help to the country in order to enhance its national regulatory framework.”

Speaking at the press briefing, NNRA Director General, Prof. Lawrence Dim noted that the action- plan is the basis for the work, stressing that many of the recommendations will be addressed.

The NNRA boss said: “Someone also asked what is the expectation before the team will come back in three years time. We have not decided when they will come back. But after we decide we will come again to look at what we are doing. It is a continuous process.”
July 12, 2017