ABUJA – Mr David Fadairo, an environmentalist, has called on the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) to conduct a radiological assessment on companies that generate radioactive waste.
Fadairo, who is also a consultant on decontamination of radioactive waste, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday that the authority should be proactive in addressing the challenges of radioactive waste in the country.
He said even though the authority was trying its best to address the problem, it had not been able to determine all the places generating radioactive waste.
“They should go round refineries; they should go around agriculture companies; oil and gas institutions, hospitals; they should go round the country and conduct an assessment.
“Before that, they should have released to the public the dosage level of the radioactive level that is permitted in Nigeria so that any company that flouts that limit or exposes Nigerian workers to levels of radiation beyond that limit should be immediately held accountable.
“The regulation should be very strict; they should release the penalties for companies flouting the level of radiation or exposure of workers to unacceptable level.
“They should have prior communication to them in terms of the consequences, and if there is surprise assessment of any company and if any company should go beyond that level, the company should be sanctioned.’’
Fadairo, who is also the Chairman of Dakann International Services Limited, urged the Federal Government to also review the environmental laws to strengthen punishment for the companies that flouted the radioactive regulations.
He said that the Federal Ministries of Environment and Health should be actively involved in radioactive activities because of their impact on the environment and health of the people.
“It should also interest the Minister of Petroleum Resources because oil and gas sector generate a lot of radioactive waste, so it is an inter-ministerial responsibility to address the problem.”(NAN)
