IN-HOUSE TRAINING COURSE ON CRITICALITY SAFETY MANAGEMENT

IN-HOUSE TRAINING COURSE ON CRITICALITY SAFETY MANAGEMENT

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) organized an online In-house training course on Criticality Safety Management from 1^st to 5^th February, 2021. The training was conducted virtually through Zoom due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed by the Presidential Task Force.

The training course was organized by the Department of Nuclear Safety, Physical Security and Safeguards with the approval of the DG/CEO for the regulatory staff of the Authority. Most of the participants were drawn from the Technical Departments, especially those who took part in the IAEA Basic Professional Training Course (BPTC) on Nuclear Safety, held in December 2020. The training course was attended by 30 participants.

The Resource Persons were sourced from within and outside the NNRA; they included specialists in the area of Nuclear Safety knowledgeable in the operations that govern fissile processes, and analytical tools (Codes), and the regulatory requirements on criticality safety. The objectives of the training course were to provide participants with the basic concepts of nuclear criticality safety management, criticality safety assessments and regulatory oversight of nuclear facilities in general and understand the lessons learned from previous criticality accidents.

At the end of the training course, participants showed their appreciation and thanked the Management of the Authority for giving them the opportunity to participate in the training. Furthermore, the participants expressed their gratitude to the organizers and the Resource Persons for the efforts in making the training successful, in spite of the challenges posed by Covid-19 restrictions. On the other hand, most participants indicated that they would prefer class room setting with practical demonstration on the use of nuclear codes. They also requested the Management to make necessary efforts in acquiring the licenses for the codes.

The Director General / CEO represented by the General Manager, Nuclear Safety, Physical Security and Safeguards Dr. Nasiru Bello in his closing remarks thanked the Resource Persons especially the invited Expert from the Centre for Energy Research and Training for honoring the call.  He further urged all participants to study the materials given to them at their leisure in readiness for an open book quiz on Friday, 12^th February, 2021.