…Atomic Energy Commission assures

As Japan counts its losses following the earthquake-triggered nuclear disaster, authorities at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) say the country's nuclear project is safe and as such poses no threat to the public.They are therefore appealing to government not to abandon its nuclear energy programme as it has the potential of solving the nation's energy requirements, once and for all.

The Deputy Director-General of the Commission, Prof. Yaw Serfor-Armah assured the public in an interview with the Public Agenda at Kwabenya, the location of Ghana’s nuclear reactor, last Wednesday that by geological studies the earthquake recently experienced in Japan is not a phenomenon of the Atlantic Coast. That notwithstanding, he said, the Commission together with other state agencies has put together an emergency response team in view of the fact that occasionally the country experiences earthquakes and tremors. The team comprising of personnel from the Commission, the Ghana National Fire Service, the Police Service, the Military, National Disaster Management Organisation and medical personnel has been periodically carrying out simulation exercises. "We periodically carry out pre-empts so as to be abreast with management of emergency situations if they should occur," he said.

Prof. Sefor-Armah said, the reactor also has other safety mechanisms to ensure that, there are no leakages.

His comments came as authorities work to contain an imminent catastrophe at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant; the situation there is prompting countries across the globe to re-evaluate the safety of existing nuclear plants and their plans to build new facilities.

A massive 8.9/9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean nearby Northeastern Japan at around 2:46pm on March 11 causing damage with blackouts, fire and tsunami. The earthquake with its attendant 10 meter high tsunami also caused substantial damage to that country’s nuclear plant at Fukushima.

According to officials, the quake-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has reached harmful levels and they have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30kilometres to evacuate.

The worry of Prof. Sefor-Armah about the Ghana programmme, however, is that developers are fast encroaching the radiological zone, the land bank bordering the reactor. "We are not saying an accident should occur, but should it happen these encroachers, especially those in Musuko, Obahema, Kwabenya will be at a very high risk."

He said the unfortunate situation in Japan serve as a reminder to Ghana and other nations with atomic reactors to be alert all the time.

Industry experts say explosions at the three reactors in Japan will seriously affect what many call a nuclear renaissance, a growing shift towards nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuels.? According to the World Nuclear Association, which promotes nuclear power and related industries around the world, 155 new nuclear reactors are planned or are under construction — most of them in Asia.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano says it’s too early to say how the crisis in Japan will affect the nuclear power industry.?? "In my view, this is not the accident by design or by human error.? This is an accident caused by natural disaster that is unprecedented," he said.

The GAEC was established by an Act of Parliament (Act 204) in 1963. The main functions of the Commission include the promotion of the development and utilization of the peaceful application of nuclear and biotechnological techniques for economic and social advancement of Ghana. In pursuance of these objectives the Commission has established 3 institutes and 5 Centers which carry out appropriate research activities.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president underscored the relevance of such a facility when he declared on November 25, 1964 that: "We have been compelled to enter the field of Atomic Energy because this already promises to yield the greatest economic source of power since the beginning of man. Our success in this field will enable us to solve the many-sided problems which face us in all the spheres of our development in Ghana and Africa."

The 3 institutes of the GAEC are the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI), Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) and Radiation Protection Institute (RPI). The centers include the Radiation Technology Centre (RTC), Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) Centre, National Radioactive Waste Management Center (NRWMC), Digital Electronics and Nuclear Instrumentation Center (DENIC) and National Center for Mathematical Sciences (NCMS).

Ghana started the use of radio-isotopes in 1952 when radiostrontium was used in experiments on monkeys. In 1958 the Physics Department of the University College of Gold Coast (now University of Ghana, Legon) on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, started radioactive fallout monitoring service. By the end of 1959, work in radio-isotope application in Ghana had sufficiently gained ground in a number of institutes to justify the establishment of a Radioisotope Unit. Approval of proposals submitted to the National Research Council (NRC) for the establishment of such a Unit gave birth to the Health Physics and Radioisotope Unit.