The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Zephania Ubwani, Arusha
12 November 2009
Tanzania's efforts to embrace nuclear technology may take much longer than anticipated because the country does not have nuclear scientists, according to the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission (Taec) boss.
Mr Firmin Banzi said those currently handling nuclear applications were engineers, medical specialists and other experts who had not been purposely trained in nuclear science.
It would take at least 15 years to get the required scientists even course in nuclear science were introduced now, he added.
"Even if we are keen on training our nuclear scientists, it would take probably 15 years to get them because that would entail introducing nuclear science in the school syllabus.
"Nobody has graduated from any university in nuclear science or engineering in this country. We only have those who have been exposed to nuclear technology applications," he told The Citizen.
There is no college in the country offering nuclear science courses, and the subject does not even feature in the science and engineering subjects in schools.
Mr Banzi said the 20-plus experts working at Taec were mainly engineers who had undergone short courses abroad, but who cannot meet the country's needs in nuclear science in future.
In addition to a shortage of experts, he added, Tanzania does not have the requisite infrastructure for nuclear technology such as power generation, which would demand high-level radiation control.
Mr Banzi admitted that the situation was not very different in many sub-Saharan African countries, but said Tanzania's case had some significance given recent calls to exploit its vast uranium resources for power generation.
"Only South Africa, Egypt and other states in North Africa have qualified scientists to handle their nuclear reactors."
Mr Banzi said during an interview at the newly inaugurated Taec complex in Arusha that Tanzania needed to have qualified experts if it was intent on advancing in nuclear science.
"We need more preparations, including formulating a nuclear science policy."
Taec, a state regulatory body established under the Atomic Energy Act. No. 7 of 2003, is mandated to regulate research and supervise the use of atomic energy and nuclear technology in the country.
Its mandate also includes putting in place safety measures to protect people, wildlife and the general environment against the harmful effects of both ionising and non-ionising radiation.
Taec director general Iddi Mkilaha said the Government would put in place a regulatory framework on nuclear safety before the exploitation of uranium, a radioactive metal, began.
"If Tanzania is the seventh largest producer in the world, why should we wait longer to have laws regulating radiation?" he asked when speaking to people living near the Taec premises.
The new headquarters of Taec, which is under the ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, stands on a three-acre plot at Njiro, 12 kilometres southeast of Arusha.
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