FG Moves To Repatriate ‘Nuclear Materials’ From Ajaokuta • Russia Rejects Toxic Materials • 10-member Committee Trace Origin • Radioactive Substances Imported By Solviet Union Owners 30 Yrs Ago • Why It Generates Discord, By Minister TO avert contamination of the environment, the Federal Government has inaugurated an inter-agency committee for the repatriation of radioactive substances in Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL). Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada, at the weekend said, “the issue of nuclear materials have always generated discord.” When the government awarded the contract for construction of the steel plant to Tyazpromexport (TPE) of the defunct Soviet Union between 1983 and 1988, the company imported some radioactive materials for various specialised facilities in the plant. The 10-member committee to be chaired by Permanent Secretary in the Mines and Steel Ministry, Linus Awute, is mandated to establish the country of origin of the radioactive sources. The minister cited other terms of reference of the committee to include: •Establishing “necessary liaison with relevant countries to facilitate repatriation. •Determining the methodology for handling the safe evacuation of the substances; estimate the probable cost implication and submit a report of the exercise to the Federal Government.” Director, Steel and Non-ferrous Metal department, Abdullahi, also said: “The collapse of the former Soviet Union has occasioned many political and administrative changes leading to the Russian Federation not accepting to take back these radioactive sources, saying it is not part of the purchase.” The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, which was notified since 2004, by the ASCL about these conditions explained that the extant policy for management of spent or disused radioactive sources is to repatriate them to their original manufacturers or suppliers.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 08:39:45 +0000
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