Impact of Strontium and Krypton Release from Ghana’s MNSR following a Conjectural Accident Scenario

Abstract

Accidental release of gaseous or liquid effluents is a critical issue and of a greater concern to the nuclear industry when it comes to the protection of the public and the environment. The emphasis becomes paramount when the release involves particulate of radiation particles. This paper provides a comprehensive insight report on an account of a research investigation carried out in addressing a radiological safety issue of Ghana’s Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) during its core conversion project. The amounts of Strontium-90 (Sr-90) and Krypton-85 (Kr-85) effluents presumably released from the reactor hall to the surroundings and the consequential emission radiation to the working area within a 200 m radius were analyzed for a six-month working period. The objective was to estimate specifically the approximate total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) of Sr-90 and Kr-85 by considering a conjectural accident scenario using a well-recognized and user-friendly known atmospheric dispersion model before the preparatory period. The maximum TEDE value recorded at a ground deposition value of 4.6E − 01 kBq/m2 was approximately 1.80E − 02 mSv and 4.90E − 4 mSv for Sr-90 and Kr-85, respectively, at a maximum distance of 0.1 km from the source. The estimated dose values recorded were found to be within the recommended regulatory safety limits of 50 mSv for onsite workers and 1 mSv for the general public. No adverse effect was experienced with respect to human health and the environment.

Assessment of radiological consequence of a hypothetical accident at the Ghana Research Reactor-1 facility based on terrorist attack

“…10 The code was chosen due to its faster convergence factor and performance of calculations on all possible fission products along the chain. 11 In general; the mathematical expression is as follows.…”

“…10 The code was chosen due to its faster convergence factor and performance of calculations on all possible fission products along the chain. 11 In general; the mathematical expression is as follows. where N = number of nuclides; Xi is the atomic density of nuclide i ; l ij is the fraction of radioactive disintegration by nuclide j which leads to the formation of nuclide i ; λj is the radioactive decay constant; normalΦ is the position and average neutron flux; σk is the spectrum averaged neutron absorption cross-section of nuclide k ; f ik is the fraction of neutron absorption by nuclide k which leads to the formation of nuclide i ; σk is the spectrum averaged neutron absorption cross-section of nuclide k ; r i is the continuous removal rate of nuclide i from the system; F i is the continuous feed rate of nuclide i .…”

Ghana Armed Forces’ Contributions to African-Led Peace Support Operations from 1990-2020

“…The country has been careful in its response to certain conflicts such as the political crisis in neighbouring countries. 77 For example, during the 2010-2011 post-election crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, ecowas's threat of forceful removal of former President Laurent Gbagbo as the last resort was met with mixed responses from individual member-states particularly Ghana who reiterated the call for a negotiated solution to the problem by stating categorically her inability to contribute troops should ecowas decide to intervene due to the overstretch of limited personnel in peacekeeping duties elsewhere. President John Atta-Mills proclaimed a concept of Dzi wo fo fie asem (mind your own business), to the disappointment of many who waited on Ghana's direction in the crisis of an immediate neighbor.78…”