SAFETY OF RESEARCH REACTORS

Nigeria is one of many countries that are developing infrastructure in nuclear energy. Challenges in developing its safety infrastructure are thus enormous. The Nigerian Government under the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act 19 of 1995 established the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority as regulatory body responsible for nuclear and radiological protection and also the regulation of safety infrastructure for nuclear facilities. One of such facility is the Nigerian Research Reactor (NIRR-1). This paper seeks to look at the NNRA regulatory control regime aimed at ensuring the safety of research reactors in Nigeria. This involves a series of processes from the legal obligations, development of regulations and guidance documents, review and assessment of documents, inspection program and enforcement actions. The challenges encountered in enforcing the control regime and possible solutions proffered are enumerated in this paper.