Management and control of radioactive wastes in Ghana

Abstract

The National Radioactive Waste Management Centre (NRWMC) and the Radiation Protection Institute (RPI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) in conjunction with other state regulatory agencies have embarked on security measures to protect the citizens from any radiation exposure resulting from sabotage or illegal disposal of radioactive wastes. Actions taken to educate the public, industrialists, health workers and other users of radioactive materials on the national system of control of radioactive wastes are presented. The roles of NRWMC as the institution responsible for collection, treatment and safe disposal of spent and disused radio-active materials are specified, while RPI is responsible for monitoring and tracking all radioactive materials imported, stored or exported. The profile of radioactive sources in active use are also presented, in addition to spent radioactive sources currently in the custody of the NRWMC as part of the inventory for creating databases on radioactive wastes in Ghana. Journal of Applied Science and Technology Vol. 10(1&2) 2005: 97-103