24 Jun (NucNet): Nigeria, which earlier this week said it had chosen two sites for its first commercial nuclear reactor units, must strengthen its ability to respond to a nuclear emergency in line with progress towards embarking on a nuclear power programme, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
An IAEA emergency preparedness review (Eprev) team yesterday concluded a 10-day mission to review the emergency preparedness and response framework in Nigeria, which has no commercial nuclear units, but does have a low-power research reactor at the Centre for Energy Research and Training at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, in the north of the country.
The Eprev team said state and local government levels need to be better involved in emergency preparedness and response, and the roles of all response organisations and “arrangements for appropriate coordination” need to be clarified.
The capabilities of first responders with regards to training, competence and equipment procurement and maintenance need improvement, the team said.
Arrangements for providing instructions and keeping the public informed during emergencies need to be improved. Arrangements for a medical response to nuclear or radiological emergencies also require improvement.
The IAEA said its Eprev team was made up of five experts from Cuba, Croatia, Hungary, Pakistan and the IAEA.
Denis Flory, IAEA deputy director-general and head of its department of nuclear safety and security, said that by asking for the Eprev mission Nigeria clearly showed that it understands the importance of being well prepared to respond to nuclear or radiological issues
“This is a cornerstone of nuclear safety. The IAEA is very pleased to assist Nigeria in identifying strengths and opportunities for improvements in a spirit of transparency.”
Nigeria said this week that sites have been chosen for its first nuclear power stations in Kogi state in central Nigeria and Akwa Ibom state on the country’s south coast.
The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) said Nigeria is planning to build up to 4,800 megawatts of nuclear capacity and the proposed plants could be built and part-financed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom. Some media reports in Nigeria said the first reactor could be built by GE-Hitachi.
Bloomberg has reported that Nigeria is in talks with Rosatom to build as many as four nuclear power plants costing a total of about $20 billion (€18 billion).
NAEC chairman Erepamo Osaisai was quoted in local press reports as saying preliminary licences for the sites should be approved by the end of 2016.
