Nigerian researcher shines at global nuclear safety workshop

A Nigerian nuclear safety researcher, Babatunde Ojo, has been spotlighted at a high-level international workshop organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the United States Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL).

The elite workshop, titled Workshop on Safety Analysis and Safety Documents for Research Reactors, was held from March 8 to 12, 2021, and brought together only 26 participants drawn from nine IAEA member states, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Participation in the forum was strictly limited to experts considered capable of contributing meaningfully to advanced technical discussions on nuclear safety, underscoring the prestige of the gathering and the calibre of attendees.

Ojo was one of just two Nigerians selected to represent the country, a development that highlights his growing profile in the specialised field of nuclear safety analysis and regulatory documentation.

During technical sessions, Ojo and other participants identified critical gaps in the way research reactor safety is managed across several countries, particularly in the area of safety documentation.

The experts noted that many facilities still rely on obsolete safety standards, such as the IAEA Safety Series No. 35-G1, rather than adopting the more current and comprehensive SSG-20 standards introduced in 2012.

They also raised concerns over improper documentation of reactor safety management systems, warning that such lapses could pose significant risks, especially as many research reactors are ageing.

According to the participants, there is an urgent need for member states to migrate existing safety cases to current IAEA standards and to apply the latest safety publications when developing or updating safety documents.

The workshop further emphasised the importance of a graded approach to safety, ensuring that research reactors, many of which are located within university campuses or close to populated areas, operate within the strictest safety margins.

Summarising the outcome, the workshop report stated: “The identification of the gap between member states’ current safety analyses and safety documentation was a pivotal takeaway for many participants. It reinforced the necessity for regulatory bodies to enforce the latest safety requirements during licensing reviews.”