Kwame Gyamfi

Atmospheric dispersion modelling and radiological safety analysis have been performed for a postulated accident scenario of a generic VVER-1000 nuclear power plant using the HotSpot Health Physics code. The total effective dose equivalent (TEDE), the respiratory time-integrated air concentration, and the ground deposition concentration are calculated considering site-specific meteorological conditions. The results show that the maximum TEDE and ground deposition concentration values of 3.69 E – 01 Sv and 3.80 E + 06 kBq/m 2 occurred at downwind distance of 0.18 km from the release point. This maximum TEDE value is recorded within a distance where public occupation is restricted. The TEDE values at distances of 5.0 km and beyond where public occupation is likely to be found are far below the annual regulatory limits of 1 mSv from public exposure in a year even in the event of worse accident scenario as set in IAEA Safety Standard No. GSR Part 3; no action related specifically to the public exposure is required. The released radionuclides might be transported to long distances but will not have any harmful effect on the public. The direction of the radionuclide emission from the release point is towards the north east. It is observed that the organ with the highest value of committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) appears to be the thyroid. It was followed by the bone surface, lung, red marrow, and lower large intestine wall in order of decreasing CEDE value. Radionuclides including I-131, I-133, Sr-89, Cs-134, Ba-140, Xe-133, and Xe-135 were found to be the main contributors to the CEDE.

Ghana is said to be the first independent sub-Saharan African country outside South Africa to promote science education and the application of science in industrial and social development. It has long been recognized that many schools' science curricula extend the extracurricular activities of boys more than those of girls. In order to bridge this gap, efforts have been made to give girls extra assistance in the learning of science by exposing them to science activities through specific camps, road shows, exhibitions, and so on. The best known of such efforts is the Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education (STME) camps and clinics for girls, which started in Ghana 23 years ago. Since our attendance at the Third International Conference on Women in Physics in Seoul, Korea, a lot has been achieved to further improve female science education, and this credit goes to STME. The first female nuclear engineer from Ghana graduated from the University of Ghana in March 2010.