By Kevin Lamdo
A nuclear expert from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in Freetown to revamp the radioactive and nuclear laboratory in the Physics Department at Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. Alessandro Migliori is visiting Fourah Bay College to explore possibilities of restarting the training of all personnel working with radioactive elements and nuclear energy in Sierra Leone. He told Politico that he was here to conduct a needs assessment survey of the laboratory space for possible instrumentation of the facility to do its work under the programme known as “Re-establishing a Nuclear Science Laboratory at Fourah Bay College for the Training of all Personnel”. Dr. Migliori promised to go back to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria to submit his findings for further action. Speaking to students of the Pure and Applied Sciences Faculty at FBC, the IAEA expert said science students and practitioners stood to benefit from training opportunities overseas if they sought more knowledge in the nuclear sciences and applications. He said Sierra Leone is among 151 member states of the IAEA, which was founded in 1957. The head of department of physics, Dr Edmond Nonie, assured Politico that the laboratory would be up and running later this year. Addressing the students, he said he was a direct beneficiary of the former nuclear lab at FBC, which was ruined by the decade-long civil war. He said that with medical and mining challenges facing the country, the re-establishment of the nuclear sciences laboratory was a step in the right direction in providing solutions to those challenges. “Medical issues involving Diagnosis and Treatment like X-rays, Chemotherapy and others are carried out around radioactive elements which if not well handled would prove dangerous”, Dr Nonie said. He said that Industrial mining activities too could be dangerous if radiation protective measures were not taken seriously. The new lab he went on, would benefit not only students of the Pure and Applied Sciences, but also science practitioners of the National Radiation Protection Board of Sierra Leone
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