NIGERIA-INCREASING ASSISTANCE ON NUCLEAR SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 001121

SIPDIS
NOFORN

STATE FOR IO/T, ISN/MNSA. ISN/NESS, ISN/RA
DOE FOR CHAYLOCK AND GPERSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018
TAGS: AORC ENRG IAEA SENV TBIO TRGY NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA-INCREASING ASSISTANCE ON NUCLEAR SECURITY
AND SAFETY

Classified By: Economic Counselor Robert Tansey for Reasons 1.4 (b & d)
.


1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: A Department of Energy (DOE) team from
the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),Office
of Global Threat Reduction (GTR) visited Nigeria April 19-25
to assess the security and storage of radiological and
nuclear materials in Nigeria. The Nigerian Nuclear
Regulatory Authority (NNRA) was extremely cooperative and
welcomed DOE,s continued cooperation in protecting
radiological and nuclear material in Nigeria. DOE has a
pre-existing contractual assistance agreement with the NNRA
until 2010. As a result of the visit, the DOE plans to
provide assistance for physical protection upgrades at two
hospitals, a nuclear research reactor, and for expansion of
an existing facility as a national storage site for nuclear
and radioactive materials. END SUMMARY.

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Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI)
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2. (SBU) The GTR Office administers the Global Threat
Reduction Initiative (GTRI) which addresses dangers posed by
nuclear and radiological materials at civilian sites. The
purpose of the April 19-25 trip was to conduct coordination
meetings with the NNRA and propose physical protection
upgrades at nuclear and radioactive facilities in Nigeria.
The team was led by Abigail Cuthbertson, GTRI Country Officer
for Nigeria, accompanied by Carolyn MacKenzie of Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory; Keith Frier, Jeremy Jamison
and Michele Landreth of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL); and Alexander Kovar from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA). Initial meetings were held at NNRA
headquarters in Abuja with site visits to Zaria, Ajaokuta,
Lagos and
Ibadan.


3. (SBU) The GTRI has been working in partnership with the
IAEA and regional partners to: reduce and protect vulnerable
nuclear and other radioactive material at civilian sites
worldwide; convert highly enriched uranium (HEU) to low
enriched uranium (LEU); remove or dispose of excess usable
radiological materials, and protect at-risk usable nuclear
and radiological materials from theft and sabotage. The
program looks at protecting sources that are used for
peaceful purposes which could be used by terrorists for
"dirty bombs". The sources of the materials can be found at
radioactive waste storage facilities; research institutions;
oncology and radiotherapy departments at hospitals; and
sterilization and irradiation facilities.

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Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Administration (NNRA)
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4. (SBU) The NNRA was established in 2001 and has the
responsibility for nuclear safety and radiological protection
regulation in Nigeria. This includes the possession and
application of substances and devices emitting radiation;
ensuring Nigeria meets national and international safeguards
for safety; and advising the GON on nuclear safety, security
and protection of radiological sources. The NNRA,s major
priorities for nuclear security are developing a national
training program, repatriating unused radiological sources
back to their points of origin, employing detection and
monitoring equipment at air and sea ports, and more
importantly establishing a secure, centralized radioactive
waste storage facility within Nigeria.

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Radiation Sources in Nigeria
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5. (C/NF) In Nigeria there are a number of sectors where
nuclear and radiation materials can be found and need to be
protected, according to the DOE team. Two major sources are
the nuclear reactor at the Center for Energy Research and
Technology (CERT),and an irradiation facility at the Sheda

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Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO). In the health
sector there are over 5,000 x-ray machines, five radiotherapy
centers and five nuclear medicine centers. In the petroleum
industry, radioactive iridium, cobalt, cesium and radium are
used in refineries, offshore platforms and jetty's for the
import and export of products. The mining sector has
thousands of tons of abandoned mine tailings in the form of
technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive
material. These radiological sources can also be found in
the agriculture and water sectors as well as educational and
research institutions. In the power sector Nigeria has two
hydroelectric power plants producing approximately 3,000
megawatts (mw) with ancillary use of radioactive materials.
Also, radiological sources can enter and exit through
Nigeria's six seaports and four airports.

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Security Incidents
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6. (C/NF) In 2002, there was a fire at the National
Veterinary Research Institute where two high-risk
radiological sources were housed. The NNRA with IAEA
assistance evacuated one of the sources into temporary
storage and the other was transported out of Nigeria. In
2003, an illegally procured radiological source that was
being used by an illegally operating company was stolen.
Again in 2003 armed youths invaded a site where personnel had
to be evacuated. When they returned the source was missing
and has still not been found. Other incidents include
radiological source material that was exported to Europe as
scrap metal and eventually discovered at a recycling plant.
There have been other incidents of mis-declaration and
illegal export of radioactive sources.

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Center of Energy Research and Training (CERT)
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7. (C/NF) CERT is part of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.
At the university is a 31 kilowatt miniature neutron source
reactor (MNSR) that has one kilogram of HEU. The IAEA funded
the reactor and its control panel which were manufactured in
China. It was commissioned in March 2004 and given a license
to operate by the NNRA. The reactor is tentatively scheduled
to be re-conditioned by the IAEA in 2010 at which time the
HUE will be returned to China. The facility is presently
being used for teaching, research and development activities,
but it can also be used for the production of small
quantities of selected short lived radioisotopes.


8. (C/NF) CERT is the only institution presently charged with
storing disused radiological sources in Nigeria. The NNRA
signed an MOU with CERT for temporary storage, but the
storage facility is not large enough to be used as a national
storage site. CERT and the GTRI Team noted that there is
room for expansion and CERT representatives expressed
receptiveness to being used as a national storage site, and
in acquiring equipment and expertise related to conditioning
sources for storage.


9. (C/NF) The team characterized the infrastructure, staff
and security measures in place at CERT as impressive, but
noted additional physical protection upgrades are required.
For the reactor, GTRI promised to fund upgrades and the IAEA
rep said it will provide remote security monitoring
equipment. For the waste storage facility, IAEA may also
fund the security upgrades and provide remote security
monitoring equipment. From GTRI funds, the team indicated
funding for expansion of the storage facility.

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Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL)- Ajaokuta
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10. (C/NF) The $5.6 billion ASCL plant was built in 1984 by
the Soviets to produce steel. The plant has two mills
working at minimum capacity, one 110 mw gas fired power
plant, an aluminum factory, steel factory and multiple other

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industrial complexes. In an IAEA visit in August 2007, the
IAEA was alarmed to see unused gauges, calibration standards
and other sealed radioactive sources purchased originally
from the Soviet Union in the 1980's still in unopened crates
that were never installed. In addition, the IAEA found a
small shed containing a disused Iridium (Ir)-192 industrial
radiography source and two Cesium (Cs)-137 sources in
shielded containers. (Note: Ir is used primarily in gauges
for checking welding and in the treatment of cancer. Cs is
used for drilling that is water soluble and extremely toxic.
End Note.)


11. (C/NF) During this visit the sources were still in
unopened crates in a warehouse on the complex grounds and one
of the Cs-137 sources and one of the Ir-192 sources had been
stolen. The NNRA explained that it had begun an
investigation and insisted on the immediate movement of the
remaining source to a warehouse facility on the complex.
(Comment: The ASCL plant has been operating well below
capacity, and in 2004, under allegedly questionable
circumstances, was sold to Global Infrastructure Holdings
Limited (GIFL) a subsidiary of the Indian steel conglomerate
- Mittal Steel. In early April 2008 the GON canceled the
concession due to poor performance and failure to comply with
the major agreement provisions and placed it under interim
management. In late April, GIFL filed a lawsuit at the
International Chamber of Commerce, a leading international
arbitration body for international disputes. The GON
appointed an interim management committee, and when the team
arrived on April 23, the new chairman, Philip Umunnakwe, was
beginning his first day on the job. End Comment)


12. (C/NF) The team is proposing GTRI send experts to
inventory all the sources, move them into ISO containers
outfitted with physical protection upgrades recommended by
PNNL and purchased by NNRA. The team will prepare a list of
options for the disposing of the sources by NNRA and ASCL
management. If removal to CERT is recommended and the
physical protection upgrades are completed at the CERT Waste
Storage Facility, the IAEA may fund the transport of the
sources where they could be conditioned and stored. The NNRA
will then direct the ASCL staff to cooperate with the
inventory and temporary storage of sources. Additionally,
the NNRA will offer a radiation safety awareness workshop for
the staff that will assist in the uncrating, inventorying and
securing of sources in the ISO containers.

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Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO)
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13. (C) SHESTCO is located in Abuja and is a gamma
irradiation facility used for food irradiation, and
sterilization of medical and pharmaceutical equipment. This
is a new facility and the security precautions for both
radiation safety and physical security the team found to be
very good. SHESTCO hopes to expand its operations to include
a large research reactor in preparation for eventual nuclear
power in Nigeria. The IAEA may consider the installation of
remote security monitoring equipment.

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University College Hospital (UCH)
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14. (C/NF) UCH is located in Ibadan and has two machines with
radiological components. One is a new 2 Curie (Ci),Cobalt
(Co)-60 brachytheraphy machine that was provided by the IAEA.
The other is a Co-60 MDS Nordion Theratron Teletherapy unit
located in their oncology unit. (Note: Cobalt is a
radioactive material used in radiotherapy and a Ci is a unit
of radioactivity. End Note.) The original load in March 2003
on the teletherapy unit was 8209 Ci, but the current load is
almost half that at 4183 Ci. With the decreased load comes
decreased efficiency and longer treatments. Allegedly the
manufacturer does not want to replace the source of the
teletherapy unit because of the age but UCH is hopeful they
will at least refurbish and provide a new source for the
unit. If UCH acquires another unit, the head of the oncology

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department committed to putting both machines in the same
bunker if physical security upgrades are installed. The GTRI
pledged to fund the physical security upgrades.

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EKO Hospital
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15. (C/NF) EKO Hospital is in Lagos and is a private
institution that has two Co-60 teletheraphy machines. One
was purchased in 1980 and is no longer used, the other is in
use but its source is losing its effectiveness. The GTRI,
IAEA and NNRA agreed to jointly pursue options available for
removing the one disused source and transporting it to secure
storage outside of Nigeria. If that is not possible, the
IAEA may fund moving it to the CERT waste storage facility in
Zaria. GTRI also pledged to fund physical protection upgrades.


16. (C/NF) Comment. The NNRA recognizes that there are
priority areas for nuclear security in Nigeria. These
include a national training program, repatriation of
radioactive sources to their origins, provision of detection
and monitoring equipment at the major air and sea ports, and
the establishment of a centralized radioactive waste
management facility. The GON has a daunting task to identify
all known sources within the country, but GTRI's Search and
Secure Project promises to augment the NNRA's capabilities
with additional equipment and training. All the institutions
visited were very supportive. Several institutions were not
aware of the importance of securing radiological and nuclear
material, and are looking forward to continued cooperation
and assistance. End Comment.
SANDERS