BUILDING NUCLEAR FORENSIC CAPABILITY IN GHANA- PROSPECTS AND - PowerPoint Presentation

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BUILDING NUCLEAR FORENSIC CAPABILITY IN GHANA- PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGESBY S.Adu1, K. A. Afrifah2, S. Akrofi3, A. A. Nketia4 , P.Amoah1 1Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Ghana, 2Forensic Science Laboratory, Ghana Police Service, Accra, 3Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division, Accra, 4Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, Accra.

INTRODUCTIONSince the first seizures of nuclear material and the inception of the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recorded 2331 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking between 1993 and 2012. Of these cases, 419 were from unauthorized possession; 615 from theft or loss of nuclear material; and 1244 were detected at borders and in scrap metals. Materials out of regulatory control are considered to be at risk of illicit trafficking and subject to potential acquisition by criminal or terrorist actors who might seek to use them to create a malicious incident. National authorities have the responsibility of ensuring that such materials, and their housing facilities, are properly secured. Ghana achieved a middle-income economic status and has a sharp increase in the incidence of crime over the past eight years. The government responded to this challenge by teaming up with international bodies to resource existing crime-combating laboratories and agencies to deal with the menace. Developing and sustaining a nuclear forensic capability is a State’s responsibility. Elements such as infrastructure, legal and regulatory frameworks, operations, human capital, and specialized equipment and knowledge are critical for an effective nuclear forensic capability. This poster presents the forensic science facilities, capabilities, challenges and the interventions made by stakeholders in fighting crime and promoting forensic science in Ghana. Fig. 1:Forensic examination of a crime scene.INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR NUCLEAR FORENSICS.International collaborations, coordination, and partnerships to improve security, disrupt smuggling networks, deter potential perpetrators among other things, to the recovery of unlawfully taken nuclear material is very critical in Nuclear forensics.This is achieved by agencies that create the multinational forums to actively cooperate on nuclear forensics. Some of this agencies include: International Technical Working Group (ITWG) Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) National Nuclear Forensics Library (NNFL) International Criminal Police OrganizationAccess to knowledge from the broadest collection of experts increases the chances of a unique and successful interpretation of data. Also, the participation of other nuclear forensics laboratories allows for a peer review of the nuclear forensic interpretation process, increasing confidence in the validity.NUCLEAR FORENSIC CAPACITY BUILDINGAccording to the IAEA, each state has to build a national nuclear forensics system to determine the origin of radioactive or nuclear materials related to nuclear terrors. Ghana has developed strategies for developing, testing and sustaining nuclear forensic capability and capacity. These approaches include; Awareness of Nuclear Forensics for Stakeholders at all levels Appropriate Training of existing and future Personnel Exercising Response Actions Education and expertise Development Research and Development Fig .2: Nuclear Forensic Training at the AH Hotel, Accra.

SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION The Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service, which operates The Forensic Science Laboratory received a grant of £3 Million funding from the European Union to refurbish the Laboratory and expand its capabilities into a State-of-the Art Facility. The Facility is an ultra-modern forensic laboratory, the first of its kind in West Africa. The Laboratory is located in Accra and serves all the 651 police stations across the 10 regions of Ghana.INTEGRATION OF FORENSIC SCIENCE INTO TERTIARY EDUCATIONFollowing major advancements in forensic science within the past eight years in Ghana, forensic science education programs have been developed in some tertiary institutions to help train scientists in the field.The Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was the first to start a Master of Science (MSc) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) in forensic science in the 2014/2015 academic year. Also,The University of Cape Coast has commenced a 4 year Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree in forensic science. Plans are far advanced to start training students in the field of Nuclear Forensics at the University of Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority.FELLOWSHIPSTwo Ghanaians have been offered the opportunity to a sixty three (63) working days technical training in nuclear forensics at a nuclear forensics laboratory. The goal of this assignment is to promote skills and confidence of practitioners apprenticing within a leading nuclear forensics laboratory. This Residential Assignment is structured in a unique manner and is complemented by the incumbents’ participation in the laboratory-based Practical Introduction to Nuclear Forensics, held at the Centre for Energy Research in Budapest, Hungary, of which the incumbent would be an observer to. BASIC EQUIPMENT IN GHANA The advancement of nuclear forensics in Ghana is accomplished with the following facilities and equipment; Ghana research Reactor 1 (GHARR-1) Gamma Spectrometry laboratory XRF Radiation Isotope Identifier Device (RIID) Back pack MDS van Fig. 3: GHARR -1 facility and a Backpack for Nuclear Forensics in Ghana.CHALLENGES  In spite of these advancements, myriad of challenges continue to plaque the forensic science sector in GhanaLack of awareness and understanding of the nuclear forensics among relevant stakeholdersGhana has not got much experience of nuclear-related incidents to sustain a full time nuclear forensics expert. For this reason, it is necessary that nuclear forensics is framed as a special qualification for professionals employed in the nuclear field, rather than as an all-encompassing career. This makes the identification of a target audience for nuclear forensics expertise development relatively straightforwardAlthough support has been received from some international bodies, Much funding is required in setting up a Nuclear forensic lab.A national response plan to include nuclear forensics CONCLUSIONGhana is taking all measures to build her capacity in the science of nuclear forensics. Considering the insurgence of terrorist groups within the African sub-region, it is indeed necessary to build enough capacity, capable of effectively applying the science of Nuclear Forensics to combat such issues. It is therefore recommended that Greater transparency and adequate information be provided for states and other international bodies to identify weak links in the chain and regularly help update the security systems as the threat environment changes. This will boost confidence in the regime.

Presented at the 3

rd

International Conference on Nuclear Security: Sustaining and Strengthening Efforts (ICONS 2020) ,

from 10

- 14 February 2020, Vienna,

Austria.