Management System Activities of the Operation and Utilization of GHARR-1

The Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) is a 34 kW low enriched uranium (LEU) Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR), tank-in-pool type and cooled by natural circulation under atmospheric pressure operating conditions. GHARR-1 is owned by Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and operated by National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI), one of the institutes of GAEC. GHARR-1 is housed by Nuclear Reactors Research Centre (NRRC), one of the Centres of NNRI. Management/Administration, Radiation protection, Reactor operation and maintenance, Reactor utilization and Physical protection are the various systems/units that integrate to manage the activities of operation and utilization of GHARR-1 in addition to the quality assurance and quality control management system of the research reactor facility. The GHARR-1 which is currently in operation follows a robust maintenance culture adopted by the management system and this has made it possible to keep the reactor in operation with minimal interruption. The management system activities adopted at the Centre to ensure safety of the workers, public and the research reactor facility include authorization of the operation of the reactor for any experiments/modifications;providing material and financial resources for maintaining the research reactor facility;following standard procedures while carrying out Neutron Activation Analysis;participation in IAEA proficiency test;irradiation sites/positions characterization;following standard procedures while carrying out reactor operation and maintenance including reactor and pool water purification and other related activities;monitoring radiation levels in the controlled, supervised and uncontrolled areas of the research reactor facility as well as during reactor operation and maintenance;controlling the physical entry of the workers and public into the research reactor facility;and ensuring that the security structures provided to protect the reactor facility are functioning properly. The thorough knowledge on the functions of the various components that make up the electrical/electronic and control systems of the reactor has been observed to be important for continuous successful maintenance of the research reactor to keep the reactor in operation. This work provides some management system activities adopted to monitor the activities of the research reactor operation and utilization to guarantee safety of workers, public and the environment as well as to safeguard a continuous operation of the research reactor. These management system activities adopted among others, are in the form of Monitoring Forms provided for monitoring the activities of the research reactor operation and utilization in order to ensure standard procedures and specifications are followed and quality services are rendered to the public.