International Conference on Nuclear Security 2020

SECURITY OVERSIGHT OF CONVERSION OF GHANA RESEARCH REACTOR-1 FROM HIGH ENRICHED URANIUM TO LOW ENRICHED URANIUM FUEL

Not scheduled

15m

Poster PP: Research reactor security

Speaker

Emmanuel Ampomah-Amoako (Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Ghana)

Description

In line with the global efforts at reducing and eventually eliminating the civilian use of High Enriched Uranium as fuel for reactor cores, Ghana has successfully undertaken the conversion of the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor core to Low Enriched Uranium, at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, and returned the spent fuel to China. The nuclear security aspect of the regulatory oversight of this event was under the auspices of the Nuclear Security Committee of Ghana which is coordinated by the National Security Council Secretariat and chaired by the Director General of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority. The submittals received and the review conducted led to involvement of the Nuclear Security Committee which assisted with the conduct of Scoping Missions, Dry Run, issuing of Administrative Instructions and provision of security cover for the conversion. The roles played by various organizations forming part of the Nuclear Security Committee in securing the transport of the used fuel are discussed along with experiences obtained. The assistance received from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the support of the United States Government are also presented along with lessons learnt.