SCHOOL OF NUCLEAR AND ALLIED SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA-ATOMIC

1 ACCREDITATION

The School is accredited by the National Accreditation Board (Ghana) for the following
programmes leading to Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes in
the following areas of specialization:

The School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS), a graduate school, was jointly established
by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the University of Ghana (UG) in co-
operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria, in 2006. The
School was designated as AFRA/IAEA Regional Centre of Excellence for Professional and
Higher Education in Nuclear Science and Technology in September 2009 and Radiation
Protection in October 2011.

The School currently has five academic departments that offer twelve accredited Master of
Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes, and a 5 month IAEA post
graduate Education Course (PGEC) in Radiation Protection. The areas of specialization are as
follows:
1. Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
i. Applied Nuclear Physics (Code ANPH)
ii. Nuclear Earth Science (Code NUES)
iii. Nuclear and Radiochemistry (Code NURC)
iv. Nuclear and Environmental Protection (Code ENVP)

2. Department of Nuclear Safety and Security

i. Radiation Protection (Code RADP)
ii. IAEA Post-Graduate Education Course in Radiation Protection (5 months).
(Code PGEC)

3. Department of Nuclear Engineering

i. Nuclear Engineering (Code NENG)
ii. Computational Nuclear Sciences and Engineering (Code CNSE)
iii. Nuclear Technology Applications in Petroleum and Mining Industries.

4. Department of Nuclear Agriculture and Radiation Processing

i. Nuclear Agriculture (Code NUAG)
ii. Radiation Processing (Code RAPR)

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5. Department of Medical Physics
i. Medical Physics (Code MPHY)
ii. Nuclear Science and Technology (IAEA, For Foreigners only) (Code NSTP)

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 DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR SCIENCES AND
APPLICATIONS

M. PHIL. APPLIED NUCLEAR PHYSICS

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
i. The minimum qualification is a good first degree (at least a second class lower
division) in any of the following fields: Physics, Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Engineering Science from any approved University.
ii. In the case of a candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate
field of study but is otherwise adjudged suitable, other equivalent qualifications
with appropriate experience will be considered.
YEAR 1.
CORE COURSES
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAP 601: Principles of Nuclear Physics 3

NENG 601: Basic Reactor Physics 3
NENG 603: Types of Reactors 2
NENG 607: Health Physics and Radiation Protection 3
NENG 611: Computational Methods in Nuclear Engineering 3
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communication 2
NSAP 602: Nuclear Instrumentation and Electronics 4
NSAP 604: Radiation Dosimetry 4
NSAP 612: Practical Exercises 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

ELECTIVE COURSES
NSAP 603: X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) 3
NSAP 605: Accelerator Physics 3
NSAP 606: Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) 3
NSAP 608: Solid State Nuclear Track Detection (SSNTD) 3

The 4 electives will consist of both lectures and laboratory work.

Candidates are expected to choose three (3) elective courses.

NSAP 610: Seminar 1 3

YEAR 2
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

3
NSAP 600 Thesis 30
NSAP 620 Seminar 2 3

The second year is devoted to research project. The research projects may be chosen from the
following fields:
i Nuclear Instrumentation and Electronics
ii. Reactor Physics
iii. Radiation Dosimetry
iv. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
v. X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF)
vi Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)
vii. Solid State Nuclear Tract Detection (SSNTD)

Number of credits in year 1: 40

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 73

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NSAP 601: PRINCIPLES OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS (3 Credits)

Radioactive Decay and Decay Processes: Radioactive Equilibrium; Alpha Decay; Beta Decay;
Gamma Decay. Interaction of Radiation with Matter: Mechanisms; Elastic Collisions; Non-
elastic Collisions; Stopping Power; Energy Losses by Collision; Radiation Loss of Energy.

NSAP 602: NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION AND ELECTRONICS (4 Credits)

Power Supplies: Half wave, full wave bridge rectifier circuits; Regulated power supplier using
zener diode operational amplifier and 7800 series regulators; High voltage supplier; AC-DC
converters; Constant current source; Line conditioners; Switching regulators. Analog Circuit:
Discriminations; Inverting and non-inverting amplifiers; Integrators; Signal and pulse generator
circuits; Sample and hold circuits; Differentiators and pole cancellation; Complex pole filtering;
Base line restoration circuits; Simple spectroscopy amplifier; Selecting an FET; Preamplifier;
Noise measurement; Time interval to amplitude conversation; Coaxial cables and delay lines.
Digital Circuits: Standard input characteristics and interfacing of logic gates; Special input and
outputs of logic gates; Combinational logic; Timing circuits and oscillators; Latches and flip
flops; Counters and shift registers; Memories; Design of sequential circuits; Logic analyzers,
Rate Meters and Multi-channel Analysis: Pulse stretcher; Wilkinson type analogy to digital
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converters (ADC); Successive approximation ADC; Flash ADC; Voltage to frequency
converters; Rate meters; Scalars; Multi-channel analyzers. Radiation Detectors: Overview of
radiation detectors; Charged particles spectroscopy; Scintillation detectors; High resolution
gamma detectors; High resolution x-ray detectors; Neutron detection; Coincidence circuits.
Special Topics: EURO bin and power supply; High voltage power supply:0-2000 V, negative;
Geiger Muller rate meter; Single channel analyzer; Staircase generator; Spectroscopy amplifier;
Negative feedback* NIM BIN*

NSAP 604: RADIATION DOSIMETRY (4 Credits)

Radiation and Radiation Fields: Introduction; Radiation sources, Radiation Field‘s quantities and
units; Interaction of Ionizing Radiation With Matter: Interaction cross sections and coefficient;
Interaction of photons with matter; Interaction of neutrons with matter; interaction of charged
particles. Theory of Radiation Detection and Measurement: Detection by ionization in gases;
Ionization chambers with current measurements; Condenser chambers; Pressure ionization
chambers; Extrapolation chambers. Ionization Detectors Counting Pulses: Proportional
chambers; GM tubes quenching; Pulse counting scalars and rate meters; Discriminators; Pulse
height analysis - coincidence and anti-coincidence. Detection by Excitation: Scintillation
counters; Solid and liquid counting and pulse height analysis; Pulse shape analysis. Other Types
of Detectors: Semi-conductor detectors; Photographic emulsions; Thermolumniscent detector;
Track detectors; Neutron detectors by (n.a) or (n.p) reactions or by activation. Dosimetry of
Radionuclide: Classification of radionuclide; Physical radio nuclide characterization;
Radiological control; External exposure; Internal exposure. Radio nuclide and radiation
protection date: Emission data and exemption loads; External exposure; Contamination; Internal
exposure for workers; Determination of absorbed dose via air karma; Determination of absorbed
dose from cavity theory

NSAP 606: NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS (3 Credits)

Overview of Nuclear Activation Analysis: General aspects of trace analysis; Methods suitable
for trace analysis; Properties of neutron activation analysis; Cross Section in Neutron Activation
Analysis: Definition; Practical consideration; Calculations of reaction rates for reactor and
accelerator irradiations. Some Application of Neutron Induced Reactions: The cadmium ratio
(CR); Neutron spectra; Determination of activation cross sections; Neutron Sources: The nuclear
reactors; Neutron from accelerators; Isotopic neutron sources. Growth and Decay of
Radioactivity during and after Irradiation: Laws of radioactive decay; Laws of radioactive
daughters; Transformation in a neutron flux. Preparation of Samples and Standards: Preparation
of samples; Preparation of standards; Choice of a suitable irradiation facility. Principles of
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Nuclear Activation Analysis: Overview of nuclear activation analysis-general theory;
Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear activation analysis; Interferences in activation analysis.
Principles of Neutron Activation Analysis: Overview of Neutron Activation Analysis
Procedures; Thermal neutron activation analysis (TNAA); Epithermal neutron activation analysis
(ENAA); Fast neutron activation analysis (FNAA); Methods of qualification. Prompt Gamma
Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA): Charged particle activation analysis (CPAA); Principles
of CPAA; Calculations of CPAA; Application of CPAA; Particle induced gamma ray emission
(PIGE). Instrumental Photon Activation Analysis (IPAA): Specialized Activation Analysis
Techniques; Derivative Activation Analysis; Cyclic Activation Analysis; Localisation methods
in activation analysis. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis: General principles; Techniques
based on nuclear properties; Analysis of complex decay curves; Coincidence techniques;
Spectrum Stripping; Mixed Gamma Spectrometry; Use of computers; Use of special detection
systems; Automated Activation Analysis. Radiochemical Neutron Activation Analysis:
Systematic Errors in Activation Analysis; General considerations; Sources of error using the
comparator method; Anomalous isotopic abundance; Errors due to different fluxes in samples
and standards; Interfering nuclear reactions; Different counting efficiency; Dead time
corrections; Other errors. Limits for Qualitative Detection and Quantitative Determination in
Activation Analysis: Introduction; Definitions-signal detection; Lower limit of detection of
quantitative determination for coincidence counting

NSAP 603: X-RAY FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY (3 Credits)

X-Ray Physics: General Features; Emission of Continuous Radiation; Emission of Characteristic

X-Rays; Intensity of Characteristic X-Rays. Wavelength-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence
(WDXRF): Fundamentals of Wavelength Dispersion; Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis;
Chemical Shift; Instrumentation. Energy Dispersion X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF):
Fundamentals of Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy; Semiconductor Detectors for EDXRF;
Typical X-Ray Tube Excitation Systems for EDXRF; Applications of Tube-Excited EDXRF.
Spectrum Evaluation: Fundamentals Aspects; Spectrum Processing; Background Evaluation;
Simple Net Peak Area Determination; Least Square Fitting using Reference Spectra and
Analytical Functions; Monte Carlo Methods; Various Computer Algorithms. Qualification by
Infinitely-Thick and Intermediate-Thickness Samples: Correlation between Intensities and
Concentration; Factor Influencing the Accuracy of Intensity Measurement; Emission
Transmission Method; Absorption Correction Methods using Primary Scattered Radiation;
Converting Intensities to Concentration. Other types of X-Ray Analysis: Radioisotope X-Ray
Analysis; Synchrotron Radiation-Induced X-Ray Emission; Total Reflection XRF; Polarised
Beam XRF; Particle-Induced X-Ray Emission Analysis; Electron Induced X-Ray Emission
Analysis. Sample Preparation: Fundamentals of Sample preparation; Solid Samples; Fused
Specimens; Liquid Samples; Biological Samples; Atmospheric Particles; Sample Support
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Materials. Errors and Limit of Detection: General Sources of Errors; Error Propagations and
Computation; Lower Limit of Detection

NSAP 605: ACCELERATOR PHYSICS (3 Credits)

Historical development of accelerators; Ion beam sources: duoplasmatron, negative ion sputter
sources, radiofrequency ion source, radioactive ion beam source; Ion beam interactions with
matter: ionization, scattering, nuclear reactions; Types of accelerators: electrostatic accelerators,
linear accelerators, cyclic accelerators; Accelerator subsystems: bending and focusing magnets,
electrostatic deflectors, beam diagnostics and radio frequency accelerating structures; Particles
dynamics in EM Field; Ion beam analysis and applications: proton induced x-ray emission
(PIXE) analysis, Rutherford backscattering (RBS) spectrometry; proton induced gamma
emission (PIGE) analysis; electronic recoil detection analysis (ERDA); applications in nuclear
physics, material science, industry, medicine, art and culture, and environment.

NSAP 608: SOLID STATE NUCLEAR TRACK DETECTION (3 Credits)

Introduction: Heavy Ion Interaction with Matter: Characteristic of a Track Detector; Nature of
the Material; Etching Techniques; Track Evaluation; Sensitivity to Environmental Effects:
Thermal; Gases; Radiation; Available Detectors. Applications; Elemental Mapping; Uranium
Determination; Fission Track Dating; Geology and geochemistry; Radiography: charged particle
and neutron; Dosimetry: radon and neutron

NSAP 612: PRACTICAL EXERCISES (3 Credits)

NSAP 613: RESEARCH METHODS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION

((2 Credits)
Research Project Formulation/Management, Research Methods, Data Analysis, Technical Report
Writing, Research Proposals (for competitive research grant), Format of Research Proposal,
Reporting & Communicating Scientific Research Results, Case studies.
Research project formulation/management: Goal & priority setting, Logical frame matrix, Gnatt
chart, Risks & Assumptions; Research methods: Literature review, Theoretical/ computational
analysis, Models & soft-ware, Experimental work/Methods & Materials, Equipment
(calibration), Sampling (sample preparation, laboratory control), Data acquisition (interfacing),
Results (Data presentation - tables & graphs, legends, calculations), Discussion, Conclusions &
References; Data analysis: Accurate & Precise results, Errors in experiment-ation, Statistics &
Probability (cumulative frequency, variance & standard deviation, correla-tion), Graphics (Excel,
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Matlab, Text art); Technical report writing: Contents, Paging, Executive Summary/Abstract,
Introduction, Body (subject matter), Findings, Discussion, Conclusions, References,
Acknowledgement, Appendix; Technical tools (MS equation editor, Importing graphics, Scanned
images); Presentation of reports (Power point presentation, Poster section, Conference papers,
Technical reports, Refereed journal papers); Research Proposals for competitive research grant:
Kinds of research & Objectives, Defining research problems, Identifying stakeholders/Users,
Research methods (Design & Timing, Sampling & Data collection, Statistical survey methods),
Implementation strategies, Dissemination plans, Concept notes, Guidelines of funding agency;
Format of research proposal: Title page (title, investigators, budget, official endorsement),
Abstract, Literature review, Research problem, Objectives, Methods (field work, experiments,
demonstration, models), Expected results, Timetable & Work plan, Complimentary activities,
Mission of organization & Research capacity, Budget details, References, Undertaking, Other
requirements (to be attached); Reporting & Communicating research results: (Dissemination of
findings, Non technical reports for Public, Group briefings for the specialists, Scholarly papers);
Case studies : Sample research proposals, Fundamentals of research survey methods.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

NENG 601 Basic Reactor Physics (3 credits)

Fundamentals of nuclear energy, Uses and classification of reactors, Reactor components and
Moderators, Cross-section for nuclear reactions, Neutron interactions, Neutron transmission in a
slab, Nuclear cross-sections, Corrected absorption cross-sections, Neutron activation,

8
Determination of neutron fluxes using foil irradiation, Neutron moderation (Thermalization of
neutrons), Centre of mass and Laboratory systems, Scatter in centre of mass systems,
Macroscopic slowing down process, comparison of moderating characteristics of materials,
Steady state reactor core, Four factor formula, Fast neutron scatter and slow down, Calculation
of resonance escape probability, Diffusion of neutrons, Calculation of neutron leakage, Neutron
balance equations, Boundary conditions in diffusion theory, Flux distribution (in rectangular
slab, spherical reactor core and cylindrical reactor core), Transient reactor behaviour and control,
Reactor safety, Reactor kinetics and control, multigroup theory.

NENG 603: TYPES OF REACTORS (2 Credits)

Introduction: Terminologies used in Nuclear Engineering, Components of the core of a reactor,

Reactor Classification, Uses of reactors. SPECIFIC REACTORS: Water Water Energy Reactor
(WWER), Main system components of the WWER, Schematic of the Primary circuit of the
WWER, Coolant circulation in the primary and Secondary circuits of the plant, Design and
composition of the reactor's core, Fuel Design, Core configuration and Fuel Assembly configuration,
WWER control and protection system. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), Evolution of the BWR,
Generic features of the BWR, Core and fuel assembly setup of the BWR, BWR coolant circulation
and steam generation scheme, BWR control mechanism, BWR- 1300 major characteristics.
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), Prominent characteristics of PWR, PWR coolant flow cycle,
PWR control systems and Protection System, Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCs). Heavy
Water Reactor, Candu Reactor Assembly and functional requirements, The calanria and fuel channel
assembly, Main features of the fuel bundle, Reactivity control devices. Fast Breeder Reactors,
General Overview of Fast Breeder Reactors, The Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR),
Components of the LMFBR, LMFBR configuration, Gas-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCBFR).
Main components and configuration of GCBFR.Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR),
General Overview of the MNSR, MNSR Fuel design, Advantages and Disadvantages of MNSR,
Mechanical and thermal properties of the fuel, Corrosion, Reflectors, Corrosion of Beryllium, MNSR
water chemistry, MNSR pool water. • Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment (SLOWPOKE),
Basic design, Current Application, Difference between MNSR and SLOWPOKE, SLOWPOKE fuel
design.

NENG 607: HEALTH PHYSICS AND RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

1. Health Physics Activities, effects of different types of radiation, External and Internal
Radiation Sources, Radiation Quantities, Units and Measurements. 2. Biological effects of
Radiation; Radiation Safety Guides; Organizations that set Standards, Philosophy of Radiation
Protection. 3Health Physics Instrumentation: Radiation detectors, Dose measuring Instruments,

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Neutron Measurements, Calibration, Counting Statistics. 4. External and Internal Radiation
Protection Computation of exposure and dose, Optimization. 5. Criticality: Criticality Hazard,
Nuclear Fission, Fission Products, Criticality; multiplication factor, the four-factor formula;
Nuclear Reactor: reactivity, inventory, control. 6. Radiation Shielding principles, Radiation
Attenuation Calculations

NENG 611: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING

3 credits
Numerical Analysis (Iterative methods for solving non-linear equations, linear difference
equations and polynomial equations, differentiation and integration formulae), Interpolation
methods, Numerical Solution of differential equations, Numerical Analysis of linear systems,
Matrix representation, Eigenvalue and Eigenvector problems, Specialized Partial Differential
Equations and Solutions by Finite difference methods, Errors associated with scientific
computing, Programming skills, Algorithms & Software applications (FORTRAN 99, C++,
MATLAB.

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 M. PHIL.NUCLEAR AND RADIOCHEMISTRY
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree (at least a
second class lower division) in any of the following fields: Chemistry, Chemical
Engineering and Engineering and appropriate areas of Applied Science from
any approved University.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study
as above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience
will be considered.

NSAP 627: INTRODUCTION TO NUCLEAR AND RADIOCHEMISTRY (3 Credits)

Periodic system, stable and radioactive nuclides;, Radioactivity and evolution of Nuclear Theory;
Characteristics of nuclear radiations, Nuclear transitions; Isobaric transitions, Isomeric transitions,
Forces in Matter and subatomic particles; Nuclear mass and stability, Mass defect and binding
energy, Nuclides and Natural Decay Chains; Decay schemes, Nuclear Chemistry, Radiochemistry
and Radiation Chemistry

NSAP 629: TYPES AND CHEMISTRY OF RADIOACTIVE DECAY (3 Credits)

Types of Radioactive Decay: Radioactive nuclides; Decay rules; - particle Decay; - particle
Decay; - particle Decay; K-capture/electron capture; Branching Decays and Decay Schemes; Less
Common Decay Modes. Nuclear Chemistry and Mass Energy Relationships (Nuclear Structure);
Properties of the nucleus, nuclear forces, nuclear particles and decay rules. The nuclear structure,
Rutherford‘s discovery of the nucleus; Models of the nucleus: the Shell model; Mass-Energy
Relationships; Absorption of nuclear particles (excitation and de-excitation) with the emission of
particles. Nuclear reactions: mechanisms and models, theory of decay; Nuclear Reaction :
Mechanisms and Models; Theory of decay and Types of Nuclear Reactions; Laws of conservation
of energy and momentum, compound nucleus formation, effective nuclear cross-section;
Energetics of nuclear reactions; Reaction Mechanisms, direct interaction and compound formation;
Special Nuclear Reactions; nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, heavy ion and photonuclear reaction.
Rates of nuclear decay (production of radionuclides): Rates of Nuclear Decay (Production of
Radionuclides): Rates of Radioactive Decay; Units of Radioactive Decay; Detailed Mathematics of
radioactive decay; Experimental Methods for Determination of Half-Life ( long, medium, short,
very short); Estimation of Half-Life from Theory and Systematic; Growth of Radioactive Products
in a Decay Chain-parent with a single radioactive daughter and parent; Growth of Radioactive
Products in a decay chain and Neutron Flux; Decay energy, equilibrium constant kinetics, isotopic
exchange and its mechanisms.

NSAP 631: INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER (3 Credits)

Gamma-Ray Interaction;, Photoelectric effect, Compton Scattering, Pair-production, Mathematics
of gamma ray interactions, Absorption, Elastic and inelastic scattering; Heavy charged-particle
interaction, range, stopping power, relative stopping power, etc; Beta-particle interaction, range
relationships for beta particles, the feather method, Bremsstrahlung radiation, Cerenkov radiation,
beta backscatter, Positron interactions, Neutron interaction; General physical effects of radiation
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on matter; Energy transfer and radiation dose; Linear Energy Transfer; Effects of radiation on
matter, Radiation induced synthesis; Special Applications.

NSAP 633: RADIOISOTOPE PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES: (2 Credits)

Types of research reactors-Fissionable material, moderating substance, shielding materials, heat
exchangers etc; Operation of research reactors, critical size etc and applications of reactors.;
Emphasis on production of useful radionuclides using neutron-gamma reactions, ie thermal
neutrons; Requirements for radioisotope production: target preparation, determination of neutron
flux in reactor, estimation of activities prior to irradiation using decay mathematics, radionuclide
purity, half-life determination; Radionuclide purity and radiochemical purity.; Processing of
radioisotopes in the laboratory: use of hot-cells separation techniques(solvent-solvent extraction,
co-precipitation, ion exchange, distillation etc, use of hot-atom chemistry to produce short-lived
radioisotopes; Production of commercially important radionuclides eg, C-14, P-32, S-35, Na-24,
K-39 and I-131. Synthesis of labeled H-3, C-14, P-32, S-35 compounds.

NSAP 635: CHEMISTRY AND ANALYSIS OF RADIONUCLIDES (2 Credits)

Chemistry and analysis of radionuclides: Special features in the chemistry of radionuclides; Need
for radiochemical separations; Most important radionuclides and their chemical properties;
Physical and chemical forms of radionuclides and methods for their speciation; Separation
methods for radionuclides; Yield determination in radiochemical analysis; Sampling and
pretreatment methods for environmental samples

NSAP 637: RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY (2 Credits)

Uses, benefits of radiation sources and ionizing radiation in medicine, industry, research and
teaching; Radiation quantities and units, external and internal radiation exposure, radiation effects
and risks; Principles of radiation protection; Occupational radiation protection, good laboratory
practices in the radiochemistry laboratory; Principles of nuclear safety as applied to radiation
sources and relevant installations. Practical demonstration: measurements of radionuclides in food
samples.

NSAP 626: DETECTION AND MEASUREMENT OF RADIATION AND

RADIOISOTOPE METROLOGY (2 Credits)
Instrumentation and Ion beam Analysis: Definitions of Operating characteristics; Gas-filled
Detectors; Ionization chambers, Proportional counters, Geiger-Muller (G-M) Counters,
Scintillation Detectors; Inorganic and Organic scintillation detectors, The photomultiplier tube,
Liquid Scintillation Detectors; Solid-state Semiconductor Detectors; Theory of semiconductor
detectors, surface barrier detectors, Lithium-drifted semi-conductor detector, Intrinsic Germanium
detectors, Components of electronic detector systems, Non-electronic Detection Systems;
Photographic plates, Chemical detectors, Cloud and bubble chambers, Thermoluminescence
detectors (TLD), Special Neutron Detector; Hot Atom Chemistry

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NSAP 628: NUCLEAR ACTIVATION ANALYSIS AND ALLIED ANALYTICAL
TECHNIQUES (2 Credits)
Nuclear Activation Analysis (NAA): Principles of Activation analysis; Neutron Activation
analysis (NAA), eg Instrumental NAA, Epithermal NAA, Radiochemical NAA, Preconcentration
NAA; Prompt-Gamma Neutron Activation analysis; Charged-Particle Activation analysis,
principles and applications; Particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE); Instrumental Photon-
Activation analysis (IPAA); Special Activation Analysis Techniques; Derivative Activation
Analysis, Cyclic activation analysis, secondary particle activation analysis, coincidence and anti-
coincidence techniques in activation analysis; Ionization methods in activation analysis; QA/QC in
nuclear activation analysis. AAS, ICPMS, HPLC. Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE),
including XRF; Rutherford backscattering spectrometry; Mossbauer spectrometry;

NSAP 632: RADIATION CHEMISTRY AND DOSIMETRY (2 Credits)

Radiation Chemistry and Dosimetry: Terms and units; Radiation chemistry of water and aqueous
solutions-radiolytic products of water, radiation-chemical yield (G-value), radical scavenger
concept; Ionization measurements; Chemical dosimetry systems (Fricke dosimeter, aqueous ceric
sulphate dosimeter); Industrial applications of ionizing radiations; in the preservation of foodstuffs,
vegetables, sterilization of medical supplies, sterilization of insects and also in radiation therapy;
Pulse radiolysis, use of linear accelerator, van de Graaf accelerator, Febetron to produce pulse of
high energy; Cyclotron- principles and applications; Solid state dosimetry systems eg polymethyl
methylacrylate (PMMA)

NSAP 634: NUCLEAR DATING METHODS (2 Credits)

General principles of radioactive decay and their applications. Emphasis on the radionuclides
used in nuclear dating and their applications in the field of science. Students will be familiar with
the nuclear methods applied in archaeological, geochronogical, mineralogical and
hydrogeological studies. The students will know about the methods used in dating artifacts,
minerals, rocks, and groundwater. Radionuclides in nature/environmental radionuclides (i.e.,
Cosmogenic and Primordal radionuclides), Transuranic elements in nature and the Np decay
series, Basic principles of radioactive decay and growth, Decay systems and their applications
(e.g., Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, Lu–Hf, Re–Os, U–Th–Pb and K–Ar methods); Nuclear methods used in
dating artifacts, rocks and minerals; Radiocarbon dating, Tritium dating, Cosmogenic nuclides in
hydrogeologic studies; Cosmogenic surface exposure dating; Fission track methods; Electron
Spin Resonance (ESR) dating, Thermoluminescence (TL) dating, Disequilibrium dating.

NSAP 636: ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY AND ISOTOPE GEOLOGY (2 Credits)

Kinds of isotopes, Physics of the nucleus , Radioactive decay, Introduction to Isotope Geochemistry and
Isotope Geology, Equilibrium Isotope Effects, Kinetic Isotope effects, Standards and notation, Carbon in
low temperature environment , Low temperature minerals, Igneous petrology, metamorphic geology,
Biogenetic carbonates, Thermometry, Paleoclimatology, Geothermal systems, tracers. Application of
stable and radioactive isotopes in hydrogeology, Isotopes of Oxygen and Hydrogen in precipitation,
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Environmental Isotopes in Hydrology, Geochronology, Carbon–14 dating , Rb–Sr method, K–Ar method ,
Re–Os method, Sm–Nd method, Dating igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Uranium
disequilibrium in hydrologic studies.

NSAP 638: MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE (2 Credits)

Principles for Radioactive Waste Management; Description of Main Sources and Types of Radioactive
Waste, Waste Arising and Characterization of Radioactive Waste, Basic Steps in the Management of
Radioactive Waste (pre-treatment, treatment, conditioning, storage, transport, disposal). Waste
Processing; Pre-Treatment of Waste, Collection and Segregation, Chemical Adjustment and
Decontamination. Treatment of Waste; Waste Minimization (Basic Principles, Minimization during
waste generation), Treatment of Aqueous Wastes, Treatment of Organic Wastes, Treatment of Solid
Waste, Treatment of Gaseous Waste. Conditioning of Waste; Immobilization (cementation and
bituminization), Encapsulation (Packaging), Provision of Additional Packaging (Overpack).
Management of Disused Sealed Radiation Sources; Characteristics of Sealed Sources, A general
description of types of sealed sources (gamma-, beta-, alpha- and neutron sources, Typical
equipment in which sources are used, Risks from Different Source Types, Handling of Disused
Sources, Storage of Disused Sources, Disposal of Disused Sealed Sources (link to disposal
modules, emphasis on borehole concept), Specific Aspects of Conditioning of High Activity
Disused Sources. Waste Storage and Transportation, Principles and criteria for radioactive waste
disposal; Features of the Repository System, Radioactive Waste Characteristics Related to Long
term Safety, Repository (Engineered Barriers), Repository Design, Radioactive Waste Disposal
Facilities Life Cycle, Siting, Design, Safety assessment- Closure, Post-Closure (Active
Institutional Control and Passive Institutional Control)

NSAP 642: PRACTICALS ON RADIONUCLIDE ANALYSIS (3 Credits)

Practicals on radionuclide analysis: Determination of Fe-55 from nuclear waste solution.
Determination of Pu and Am from sediment. Determination of U from ground water.
Determination of Sr-90 from milk powder. Determination of P-210 from vegetation. Speciation
calculations. Guide classification of short lived radionuclides (eg. F-20, Se-77m, Ag-110, O-18,
Al-28, Br-80, Ca-49, Co-60m, Cu-66, Ti-51, Mg-27, V-52,) medium-lived radionuclides (eg.Ba-
139, Cl-38, I-128, Mn-56, In-116m, Sr-87, Hg-199m, Ni-65, Se-81m), and long-lived
radionuclides (egCr-51, Fe-59, Hg-203, Hf-181, Rb-86, Th-233, Sb-124, Sc-46, Ce-141).
Qualitative and Quantitative analyses of short, medium and long-lived radionuclides in soil, food,
water, sediment, gold tailings etc. Absolute and Comparator methods.

NSAP 644: RADIOTRACER METHODS (2 Credits)

Radiotracer Methods in Chemistry: General Aspects of radiotracer application-assumptions,
factors in the choice of a radiotracer, advantages and disadvantages of radiotracer use; Isotope
Dilution analysis and Direct Isotope Dilution Analysis; Theory and Applications, as well as simple
calculations on IDA.; Tracers in the study of Chemical Processes, eg equilibrium processes,
14
studies of reaction mechanisms, rates of chemical reactions etc.; Nuclear Medicine and Pharmacy:
general aspects of radiopharmaceutical use, nuclear properties of indicator nuclides in vivo
diagnostic procedures, in vitro diagnostic testing (Radioimmunoassay and Enzyme Linked
Immuno-sorbent Assay), therapeutic uses of radiation etc; General application of radioisotopes in
Agriculture eg. Uptake of P-32 or use of C-14 in elucidating the mechanism behind the
photosynthesis process. Also in industry to detect leakages in pipes, in determining mixing
efficiency, residence times in storage tanks etc.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of ensuring
the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel; International
Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage: Nuclear liability
principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation
damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles; Liability for
nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage. Non-
proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls; Convention on
the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply agreement; Key
elements of physical protection legislation.

NSAP 613: RESEARCH METHODS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION (2 Credits)

Research Project Formulation/Management, Research Methods, Data Analysis, Technical Report

Writing, Research Proposals (for competitive research grant), Format of Research Proposal,
Reporting & Communicating Scientific Research Results, Case studies. Research project
formulation/management: Goal & priority setting, Logical frame matrix, Gnatt chart, Risks &
Assumptions; Research methods: Literature review, Theoretical/ computational analysis,
Models & soft-ware, Experimental work/Methods & Materials, Equipment (calibration),
Sampling (sample preparation, laboratory control), Data acquisition (interfacing), Results (Data
presentation - tables & graphs, legends, calculations), Discussion, Conclusions & References;
Data analysis: Accurate & Precise results, Errors in experiment-ation, Statistics & Probability
(cumulative frequency, variance & standard deviation, correla-tion), Graphics (Excel, Matlab,
Text art); Technical report writing: Contents, Paging, Executive Summary/Abstract,
15
Introduction, Body (subject matter), Findings, Discussion, Conclusions, References,
Acknowledgement, Appendix; Technical tools (MS equation editor, Importing graphics, Scanned
images); Presentation of reports (Power point presentation, Poster section, Conference papers,
Technical reports, Refereed journal papers); Research Proposals for competitive research grant:
Kinds of research & Objectives, Defining research problems, Identifying stakeholders/Users,
Research methods (Design & Timing, Sampling & Data collection, Statistical survey methods),
Implementation strategies, Dissemination plans, Concept notes, Guidelines of funding agency;

Format of research proposal: Title page (title, investigators, budget, official endorsement),
Abstract, Literature review, Research problem, Objectives, Methods (field work, experiments,
demonstration, models), Expected results, Timetable & Work plan, Complimentary activities,
Mission of organization & Research capacity, Budget details, References, Undertaking, Other
requirements (to be attached); Reporting & Communicating research results: (Dissemination of
findings, Non technical reports for Public, Group briefings for the specialists, Scholarly papers);

Case studies : Sample research proposals, Fundamentals of research survey methods.

16
M. PHIL. NUCLEAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree( at least a
second class lower division) in any of the following fields: Chemistry, Physics,
Biochemistry, Agricultural Science or Geology from any approved University.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study
as above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience
will be considered.
YEAR 1.
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS
NSAP 627: Introduction to Nuclear and RadioChemistry 3
NSAP 637: Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety 2
NSAP 653: Hazardous Chemicals 3
NSAP 655: Human Toxicology 3
NSAP 657: Environmental Toxicology 2
NSAP 659: Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals 3
NSAP 661: Occupational Health and Safety 2

NSAP 652: Radioactive and Urban Waste Management. 3

NSAP 654: Environmental Impact Assessment 3
NSAP 656: Measurement of Organic Chemical Residues in the
Environment 3
NSAP 658: Multi Elemental Analysis 3
NSAP 662: Radionuclide Measurements 2
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communication 2
NSAP 664: Environmental Hydrogeology 2
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NSAP 610: Seminar 1 3

YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAP 600 Thesis 30

NSAP 620 Seminar 2 3

17
Number of credits in year 1: 43

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 76

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NSAP 627: INTRODUCTION TO NUCLEAR AND RADIOCHEMISTRY (3 Credits)

Introduction to Radiochemistry; Types of Radioactive Decay; Nuclear Chemistry and Mass Energy
Relationships (Nuclear Structure); Nuclear Reaction – Mechanisms and Models; Rates of Nuclear
Decay (Production of Radionuclides); Interaction of radiation with Matter; Radiation Dosimetry

NSAP 653: HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS (3 Credits)

Naturally Occurring Chemicals in the Environment: Sources of toxicants; Naturally occurring
elements in the environment; Fluoride, Arsenic, Lead, cadmium, Radon. Industrial Sources of
Chemicals. Minamata and environmental toxicity of mercury; Sources f mercury; Symptoms of
methyl mercury poisoning; Treatment of Poisoning; Textile manufacturing industry; Sources,
exposure and effects; Asbestos and other fibers; Petroleum, Solvents. Agricultural sources of
chemicals; Pesticides Classification and formulations; Uses of Pesticides, Contamination of air,
soil, and water due to pesticides; Exposure of humans to pesticides; Veterinary Pharmaceuticals
and Growth Regulators; Environmental Contamination with Veterinary Pharmaceuticals;
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Dioxins and Furans: Chemical structure and
characteristics; Historical introduction; Sources and formation; Sources and inventory
development; Chemical properties; Environmental properties; Human Exposure and expression
of toxicity; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Chemical properties; Distribution; Health and
Environmental Effects; Investigation of historical sources of PCBs; Stockholm Convention.
Urban sources of chemical contamination; Natural sources of air pollution; Fossil fuels as source
of air pollution; Ozone as source of air pollution; Variation in air pollution; Liquid and solid
wastes; Accidental releases of toxic chemicals

NSAP 655: HUMAN TOXICOLOGY (3 Credits)

Introduction; Dermal route of exposure; Inhalation route of exposure; Ingestion route of
exposure; Food; Water, Multi-media exposure, Exposure to chemical mixtures, Adverse Effects
of Chemicals on Humans, Introduction, Effects on the respiratory system, How the respiratory
system works; How chemicals affect the respiratory system; Respiratory diseases caused by
chemicals; Effects on the liver; Effects on the kidneys; Effects on the nervous system; How the
nervous system works; How chemicals affect the nervous system; Immunotoxicity; Reproductive
toxicity of chemicals; Cancer-causing chemicals

18
NSAP 657: ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY (2 Credits)
Chemicals and the aquatic environment; Chemicals and freshwater ecosystems; Effects on
terrestrial ecosystems; Global environmental impacts of chemicals; Acid rain; Sources of SO 2
and NOX; Reaction important in formation of acid rain; Effects of acid rain; Solutions to acid
rain; Stratospheric ozone depletion; Effects of ozone depletion; Causes of ozone depletion; The
Montreal Protocol; Tropospheric oxidants; Climate change and the greenhouse effect.

NSAP 659: ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF TOXIC

CHEMICALS (3 Credits)
Introduction; Prevention; Control Technologies; Regulations, incentives and standards;
Pesticides- a regulatory definition; Pesticides control and Management in Ghana (Act 528,
1996); Registration; Labeling; Education, training and workers protection; Transportation,
storage and disposal; Integrated pest Management (IPM); Licensing

NSAP 661: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (2 Credits)

General principles in evaluating the Occupational Environment; Significance of the occupational
environment as part of the total ecological system. Physiology of heat stress; Ergonomic aspects
of Biomedicines; Principles of controlling the occupational environment; Principles of
ventilation; Local exhaust systems.

NSAP 664 ENVIRONMENTAL HYDROGEOLOGY (2 Credits)

Environmental hydrogeology: basic hydrogeology- transmissiviy, storativity, hydraulic
conductivity (k) and porosity; basic ground water flow systems- wells near septic tanks,
cemeteries, sanitary landfills and pit latrines; Water quality standards, solute transport processes.
Tracer dispersion and diffusion. Tracer elements in groundwater, environmental isotopes as
traers of pollution of groundwater.
NSAP 652: RADIOACTIVE AND URBAN WASTE MANAGEMENT (3 Credits)
Basic Principles of Radiation Protection: Radiation protection requirements in the context of
radioactive waste management as background information and as justification for special
requirements applicable to waste management. Principles of radioactive waste management:
internationally endorsed principles for managing radioactive waste; the typical waste
management steps. National, Legal, Institutional and Regulatory infrastructure for radioactive
waste management: introduction of the main elements of the national waste management
infrastructure, the basic requirements for legal and governmental responsibilities, and other
actions to achieve effective regulatory control and operations of facilities and activities. Waste
arisings and waste classification: description of the amounts, types and nature of the wastes. Pre-
treatment & Treatment of radioactive waste: methods of changing the waste characteristics-
volume reduction, removal of radionuclides and change of physical state and chemical
composition. Immobilisation of radioactive waste: converting radioactive waste into a solid and
stable form termed waste-form, preventing the dispersion of mobile contaminants into the
environment. Verification of radioactive waste: melting of waste materials with glass-forming
additives so that the final vitreous product incorporates the waste contaminants in its macro- and
micro structure. Disposal of radioactive waste: the final step of waste management and
19
comprises placing waste in a dedicated disposal facility. This intended to isolate the waste from
human activity and from natural dynamic processes. Performance Assessment.
Urban waste management: Policy and institutional framework for solid waste management in
Ghana: Waste management policies and legislation in Ghana; Role of District, Municipal and
Metropolitan Assemblies in waste management in Ghana; Waste management functions of
Environmental Protection Agency; EPA's strategies for waste management in Ghana; EPA
guidelines and standards; Environmental Assessment Administration. Planning for waste
management in Ghana: Manual for the preparation of district waste management plans in Ghana;
Factors to be considered in the preparation of waste management plans; Steps to be followed in
developing the plan. Composition of wastes: Sources of wastes within a community; Waste
generation; Waste composition; Typical waste compositions from various sources;
Determination of waste composition. Properties of wastes: Physical properties (density, Moisture
content, Particle size and distribution, Field capacity, Porosity); Typical physical properties of
uncompacted wastes; Chemical properties of wastes; Elemental analysis; Energy content;
Essential nutrients; Biological properties of wastes; Transformation of wastes (physical,
chemical and biological transformations). Collection and transport of waste: Integrated collection
strategy; Frequency of collection; Setout locations; Container type; Collection vehicles.
Treatment and final disposal of wastes (Composting, Landfill): Composting of wastes; Landfill
design; Landfill operation and maintenance; Landfill closure and aftercare

NSAP 654: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (3 Credits)

Introduction to Environmental Management and Local/Global Environmental Issues;
Presentation and discussion of global and local environmental issues including urbanization,
greenhouse gases, ozone depleting substances, the need for sustainable development. Summarize
existing information on the environment, their interrelationships with the environmental
compartments (air, water, soil and biota), the importance of local management and sustainable
development. Ghana Environmental Policy and Institutional Arrangements; Presentation of the
existing Ghana environmental management instruments and regulations; Water and drinking
water management Water quantity and quality, acceptable levels of water pollution,
determination of safety levels, management of river pollution. Drinking water: usage, standards,
guidelines, linkages between water supply and sanitation; To introduce the general problems of
water management and the existing approaches for improved management of water resources. To
introduce the general aspects of sanitation and drinking water quality. Ambient air and indoor
air pollution management. History, sources, transport, scales of air pollution (indoor, urban,
regional, global), air quality criteria and standards, impacts of air pollution on health, monitoring,
air pollution management: preventive approaches and end-of-pipe control, control devices. Solid
waste management; Context of solid waste management, environmental problems, resource
recovery/recycling, promotion of recycling, private interventions in service delivery, main issues
for establishment of a community-based project, an integrated approach to solid waste
management planning; Utilization of municipal solid organic waste; Sorting, recycling,
composting of organic waste and economics of waste recycling/reuse; Noise Management;
Environmental impacts: causes and effects; definitions contents and application fields of some
important environmental impact assessment methodologies. EIA process: classification of the
environmental effects, the parties in EIA, types of projects requiring EIA, EIA process chart
(screening, initial environmental examination, terms of reference, EIS, review, monitoring,
20
evaluation, audit). Preparation and contents of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): impact
initiator; methods for identification of effects and impacts. Existing legal framework for EIA in
Ghana; EIA cases studies: local Ghanaian experiences; Exercises on applications of EIA
methodologies.

NSAP 656: MEASUREMENT OF ORGANIC CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN THE

ENVIRONMENT (3 Credits)
Chromatography: Chromatography defined, The principles of separation, Chromatogram, Gas
Chromatography (GC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC); Thin Layer
Chromatography (TLC); Mass Spectrometry (MS); History and Basic concepts; Sample
introduction; Electron impact ionization (EI); Selected ion monitoring; Detection in field
instruments; Time flight detection; Detection of molecular mass; Isotopes.

NSAP 658: MULTI-ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS (3 Credits)

Neutron Activation Analysis: Nuclear Activation Analysis (NAA): Principles of Activation
analysis; Neutron Activation analysis (NAA), eg Instrumental NAA, Epithermal NAA,
Radiochemical NAA, Pre-concentration NAA; Prompt-Gamma Neutron Activation analysis;
Charged-Particle Activation analysis, principles and applications; Particle induced gamma-ray
emission (PIGE); Instrumental Photon-Activation analysis (IPAA); Particle induced X-ray
emission (PIXE), including X-Ray spectrometry (XRF) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
(AAS)

NSAP 662: RADIONUCLIDE MEASUREMENTS (2 Credits)

Chemistry and analysis of radionuclides: special features in the chemistry of radionuclides, need
for radiochemical separations; most important radionuclides and their chemical properties,
physical and chemical forms of radionuclides yield determination; sampling pre-treatment
methods for environmental samples. Radiochemical separation methods: precipitation; solvent
extraction, ion exchange; chromatographic methods (paper, column, thin film layer,
autoradiographic methods) electrophoresis and volatilization). Instrumentation and Ion beam
Analysis: Definitions of Operating characteris-tics; Detectors of all kinds: Principles and
functions -Gas-filled Detectors; Solid Scintillation Detectors; Liquid Scintillation De-tectors;
Solid-state Semi-conductor Detectors; Non-electronic Detection Sys-tems; Special Neutron
Detector; GM Counters, Liquid scintillation counters etc; Nuclear Track Detection technique.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
21
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

22
M. PHIL. NUCLEAR EARTH SCIENCES
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
i. The pre-requisite for this programme is a good first degree (at least a Second Class
Lower Division) in the Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Physics or equivalent from any
approved or recognised University.
ii. Applicants with qualifications in appropriate areas of applied science, and those with
other qualifications together with suitable practical experience may also be
considered.
iii. Candidates with little or no background in Geology may be required to audit some
undergraduate courses in Geology.

YEAR 1

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communication 2

NSAP 631 Interaction of Radiation with Matter 3
NSAP 633: Radioisotope Production Techniques 2
NSAP 637: Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety 2
NSAP 677 Nuclear Geochemistry 2
NSAP 679 Nuclear Geophysics 2
NSAP 681 Current Topics in Nuclear Earth Science 2
NSAP 683 Stable Isotope Geochemistry 2
NSAP 685 Research and Field Methods in Nuclear Earth Science 2
NSAP 628 Nuclear Activation Analysis and Allied Analytical
Techniques 3
NSAP 676 Nuclear Applications in Hydrology and 3
Hydrogeology
NSAP 678 Geology of High-level Nuclear Waste Disposal 3
NSAP 602 Nuclear Instrumentation and Electronics 4
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
NSAP 610 Seminar 1 3

ELECTIVE COURSES (Select one course only per semester)

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

GEOL 607 Trace Element Geochemistry 2

GEOL 615 Aqueous Geochemistry 2
NENG 653 Computational Mathematics 2
GEOL 678 Environmental Geophysics 2
NSAP 634: Nuclear Dating Methods 2
23
YEAR 2

NSAP600 Thesis 30
NSAP 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 43

Number of credits in year 2: 33
TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 76

COURSE DESCRIPTION

NSAP 677: NUCLEAR GEOCHEMISTRY (2 Credits)

Physical properties and chemical characteristics of radionuclides; Chemical properties and
minerals of uranium and thorium; Geochemistry of uranium and thorium in (i) magmatic
process, (ii) pegmatitic process, (iii) metamorphism, (iv) during hydrothermal-metasomatic ore
formation (v) exogenic processes, (vi) the biosphere; Geochemical methods employing primary
radionuclides and their stable decay products: basic methodological principles, K-Ar-Ca method,
Rb-Sr method, Sm-Nd method, U-Th-Pb method, Re-Os method, Lu-Hf method; Radionuclides
in the natural decay series; Cosmogenic nuclides; Fission track dating, analytical methods;
Interpreting geochronological data; Cosmochemistry and Cosmochronology. Radionuclides and
the earth‘s heat. Radionuclides as the product of natural nuclear reaction. Radionuclides of
anthropogenic origin: the environment and its pollution, pollution of the environment by natural
and artificial radionuclides, migration of artificial radionuclides; the influence of radioactive
radiation on the geological medium. Field radiometric methods for geological mapping; field
radiometric techniques for prospecting for radioactive ores and other mineral deposits.

NSAP 683: STABLE ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY (2 Credits)

Rayleigh distillation; Stable Isotope Theory; Stable isotope fractionation; Isotope fractionation in
the Biosphere; Stable Isotope Theory applied to the Hydrosphere; Stable Isotopes in Igneous
Systems, Indicators of Assimilation, Subduction Systems; Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and
sulphur isotopes; Stable isotope applications: geotermometry, igneous petrogenesis,
hydrothermal activity, metamorphism and ore deposits, paleontology and archaeology, and
paleoclimatology; the carbon cycle. Stable Isotopes and Hydrocarbons; Paleoclimatology, Global
Energy Balance and Faint Young Sun, CO2-Weathering Climate regulation, Greenhouse Earth:
Cretaceous Climate, Cenozoic Cooling and Glaciation, Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation,
Ice Core Records of Atmospheric Composition; Rapid Climate Change – Records from Ice
Cores and Land; Carbon Isotopes (13C, 14C) in paleoclimate studies, Tracers of past ocean
circulation; Carbon Cycle and Climate; Last Glacial Maximum: Temperature reconstructions;
Paleoceanography;; Oxygen isotopes and paleo-hydrology. Mass spectrometry techniques in
24
stable isotope geochemistry. Design and construction of sample extraction lines. Laboratory
preparation techniques for hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur. Preparation and maintenance
of laboratory working standards.

NSAP 679: NUCLEAR GEOPHYSICS (2 Credits)

Principles of Gamma and neutron methods and their utility in geophysical exploration, nuclear
methods generally used for geophysical investigations – Gamma-gamma method, X-ray
fluorescence method, gamma-neutron method and neutron-neutron method and interpretation of
these survey results. Nuclear systematics, naturally occurring radioactive isotopes and series,
instrumental techniques for detection and measurement of radioactivity, counting statics, Poisson
distribution and error analysis, radiometric methods for prospecting and assaying of mineral
(radioactive and non-radioactive) deposits, radiometric prospecting for beach placers, titanium,
zirconium and rare-earths, recent advances in portable gamma ray spectrometry and radon
emanometry, modeling of radiometric data, iso-rad mapping and its interpretation, applications
of radioactivity and radon in prospecting for oil and hydrocarbon deposits, applications of
radiometric studies to paleoseismology, modeling of ground water and coastal geo-environment
using radioactive tracers, nuclear fallout and waste disposal, nuclear logging and its applications,
principles of various radiometric techniques for dating of rocks. General principles of
radiometric survey; Instrumentation and methodology; Airborne and ground surveys; Uranium
exploration methods; Applications of radiometric surveys; radiometric assaying.

NSAP 676: NUCLEAR APPLICATIONS IN HYDROLOGY AND HYDROGEOLOGY

(3 Credits)
The hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater Environments, Principles of Groundwater Flow,
Hydraulics of Wells and Coastal Aquifers, Pumping test data analysis and Aquifer
Characteristics, Regional Groundwater Flow, Groundwater Models, Geology of groundwater
occurrence, Groundwater Exploration Methods, Groundwater Quality, Groundwater
management, Case studies of Groundwater Exploration, exploitation and management in Ghana.
Practicals: Pumping test measurements in the Buokurom monitoring wells and water quality
measurements. The environmental Isotopes; Tracing the hydrological cycle; Isotopes in
precipitation, Groundwater; Tracing the Carbon cycle; Groundwater quality; Identifying and
dating modern groundwaters; Age dating old groundwaters; Water-rock interaction; H-O
isotopes in the hydro cycle; Isotopes in karst hydrology; C-O isotopes in ancient aquifers;
Modeling fluid-rock interaction Field methods for sampling; Groundwater evolution and
paleoclimate; Sr in the hydrologic cycle: Evolution of surface water; Tracing dissolved ions in
deep and shallow groundwater; Modeling of fluid-rock interaction; Karst aquifers, soils,
ecosystems; H-O in vadose zone, evaporation, diffusion, residence time, paleorecharge;
Nitrogen; contamination sources, denitrification; 36Cl, recharge rate, transport processes
(diffusion, dispersion), liquid vs. vapor flow, preferential flow, uncertainty in age; Groundwater
tracers; 3H, 3H/3He, 14C; age dating of groundwater, recharge estimation; Rare earth elements and
Sm-Nd isotope system: applications to the hydrologic and sedimentary cycles; U-series isotopes:
Testing models for climate change, groundwater evolution; Principles of nuclear well logging.

25
NSAP 678: GEOLOGY OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL (3 Credits)
An introduction to high-level nuclear waste and the concept of geological disposal: classification
of nuclear waste, origin of Class I and Class II waste, the concept of geological disposal of
radioactive wastes, the nature of HLW and SURF, criteria for HLW geological repository, non-
geological methods of HLW disposal; The suitability of evaporates as HLW repositories:
mineralogy and variability of evaporates, physical properties of evaporates, hydrogeology of
evaporates, the rate of movement of salt diapers; The suitability of crystalline rocks as HLW
repositories: mineralogy of granitic rocks, physical and chemical properties of granites,
hydrogeology of granites, effects of radiation on crystalline rocks; The suitability of argillaceous
rocks as HLW repositories: origin and composition of argillaceous rocks, effect of heat on
argillaceous rocks, hydrogeology of clays, ability of clays to retard the passage of radionuclides;
The containment of radionuclides within repositories: physicochemical processes involved in
radionuclide retardation, the study of natural analogous; stabilizing waste forms, the waste
canister, buffer and backfill materials; Repository options, design and construction: repository
site selection guidelines, thermal loading in repositories, subsurface excavations, geothermal
gradients; examples of repositories, backfilling and sealing repositories; Seabed disposal of high-
level radioactive waste: London Dumping Convention, criteria for selection of seabed disposal
sites, nature of the seabed sediments, emplacement techniques, the waste form and the canister,
thermal effects on the seabed, the transportation of radionuclides from the seabed-water interface
to the food chain; Groundwater and its environments: the nature of groundwater and its ability to
dissolve geochemical materials and radionuclides, movement of groundwater, problems in
defining the relevant hydrogeological parameters; Risks assessment and release scenarios for
rock repositories.

NSAP 685: RESEARCH AND FIELD METHODS IN NUCLEAR EARTH SCIENCE

(2 Credits)
Sample collection and general sampling guidelines, quality control/quality assurance in the field;
Identification of minerals, identification and classification of rocks, Field geology, Detailed
Mapping and sampling, field work in sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic terrains. Field and
laboratory methods of identification of shock metamorphic features: Megascopic shock-
deformation features (Shatter cones), High-pressure mineral polymorphs; Planer microstructures
and planer deformation features; GIS laboratory, and remote sensing practical work. Surface
water and groundwater sampling and field data collection; nuclear well logging techniques.

NSAP 681: CURRENT TOPICS IN NUCLEAR EARTH SCIENCE (2 Credits)

Discussion of current research topics in nuclear earth sciences, in areas not covered in standard
courses. Topics to be covered include: 1. Nuclear techniques in geochemical mapping. 2.
Nuclear techniques in contaminant hydrogeology. 3. Nuclear techniques in impact geology. 4.
Geochemistry and Nuclear techniques in palaeohydrogeology . 5. Nuclear techniques in
petroleum geology. 6. Determination of erosion and sedimentation rates using radioisotopes. 7.
Isotope techniques in climate studies

GEOL 615 AQUEOUS GEOCHEMISTRY (2 Credits)

Chemical solutions of minerals in rocks; Redox conditions in natural waters, weathering and
water chemistry, phase diagrams, stability diagrams, Acid-base equilibria of the aquatic
26
environment, base exchange, influence of climate, hydrochemical zones, infiltration through
unsaturated zones, chemistry of moving water, Introduction to soil chemistry; advanced nuclear
techniques in hydrogeochemistry; Chemical equilibrium, ion exchange and adsorption, simple
kinetic expressions for rate of precipitation or dissolution of solids phases as function of solution
composition. The aquifer geochemical system; solution, redox and gas exchange processes;
water/rock interactions; geochemical models; geochemistry of contaminant mobility;
geochemistry of restoration; geochemistry and the design of sampling programs. The
applications of geochemistry to specific types of contaminants and contaminated environments:
heavy metal contamination; landfills; environmental geochemistry of mineral deposits;
geochemistry of acid mine waste; geochemistry of organic compound contamination. Modeling
Softwares: WATEQ, WATEQF, HydroGeo Analyst, Aquachem, etc.

NENG 653: COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS (2 Credits)

Numerical Analysis (Iterative methods for solving non linear equations, linear difference
equations and solution of polynominal equations, differentiation and integration formulas),
Numerical Solution of differential equations, Round off errors, Numerical Analysis of linear
systems, Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors of matrices, Error analysis, Numerical Methods for
solving engineering problems, Programming skills, Errors associated with scientific computing.

NSAP 602: NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION AND ELECTRONICS (4 Credits)

Power Supplies: Half wave, full wave bridge rectifier circuits; Regulated power supplier using
zener diode operational amplifier and 7800 series regulators; High voltage supplier; AC-DC
converters; Constant current source; Line conditioners; Switching regulators. Analog Circuit:
Discriminations; Inverting and non-inverting amplifiers; Integrators; Signal and pulse generator
circuits; Sample and hold circuits; Differentiators and pole cancellation; Complex pole filtering;
Base line restoration circuits; Simple spectroscopy amplifier; Selecting an FET; Preamplifier;
Noise measurement; Time interval to amplitude conversation; Coaxial cables and delay lines.
Digital Circuits: Standard input characteristics and interfacing of logic gates; Special input and
outputs of logic gates; Combinational logic; Timing circuits and oscillators; Latches and flip
flops; Counters and shift registers; Memories; Design of sequential circuits; Logic analyzers,Rate
Meters and Multi-channel Analysis: Pulse stretcher; Wilkinson type analogy to digital converters
(ADC); Successive approximation ADC; Flash ADC; Voltage to frequency converters; Rate
meters; Scalars; Multi-channel analyzers. Radiation Detectors: Overview of radiation detectors;
Charged particles spectroscopy; Scintillation detectors; High resolution gamma detectors; High
resolution x-ray detectors; Neutron detection; Coincidence circuits. Special Topics: EURO bin
and power supply; High voltage power supply:0-2000 V, negative; Geiger Muller rate meter;
Single channel analyzer; Staircase generator; Spectroscopy amplifier; Negative feedback

27
NSAP 628: NUCLEAR ACTIVATION ANALYSIS AND ALLIED ANALYTICAL

TECHNIQUES (3 Credits)

Nuclear Activation Analysis (NAA): Principles of Activation analysis; Neutron Activation

analysis (NAA), eg Instrumental NAA, Epithermal NAA, Radiochemical NAA,
Preconcentration NAA; Prompt-Gamma Neutron Activation analysis; Charged-Particle
Activation analysis, principles and applications; Particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE);
Instrumental Photon-Activation analysis (IPAA); Special Activation Analysis Techniques;
Derivative Activation Analysis, Cyclic activation analysis, secondary particle activation analysis,
coincidence and anti-coincidence techniques in activation analysis; Ionization methods in
activation analysis; QA/QC in nuclear activation analysis. AAS, ICPMS, HPLC...etc.

NSAP 631: INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH MATTER (3 Credits)

Interaction/Effect of radiation with Matter; Units of radiation, Roentgen, rad, G-value, sievert etc
and Terms; Models of interaction, ion-pair concept; Effect of ionizing radiations on man,
concept of permissible dose to individual organs.; Safety in the Radiochemistry laboratory; Good
Laboratory Practices in the Radiochemistry Laboratory; Gamma-Ray Interaction, Absorption,
Photoelectric effect, Compton Scattering, Pair-production, elastic and inelastic scattering; Linear
Energy Transfer; Heavy charged-particle interaction, range, stopping power etc; Beta-particle
interaction, range; relationships for beta particles, the feather method, Bremsstrahlung radiation,
Cerenkov radiation and beta backscatter; Neutron interaction; General physical effects of
radiation on matter; Energy transfer and radiation dose; Radiation effects on metals; Radiation
induced synthesis; Special Applications

GEOL 607: TRACE ELEMENT GEOCHEMISTRY (2 Credits)

Distribution of trace elements between co-existing phases; factors governing the value of
partition coefficients; trace element distribution during partial melting and crystallization;
applications of geochemistry to rock-forming processes; Significance and use of trace elements
as tracers of major geological processes.

GEOL 678: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOPHYSICS (2 credits)

This is an introduction course to theory and application of geophysical methods (Geoelectrical
resistivity, seismic, magnetic, gravity, induced polarization, self potential, electromagnetic and
ground penetration radar) for environmental evaluation of development sites. Special emphasis
on waste disposal and contaminated sites, detection and mapping of sinkholes and shallow buried
objects as well as case studies will be given.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

28
Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support.International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

29
DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR AGRICULTURE
AND RADIATION PROCESSING
PROGRAMMES

M.Phil in Nuclear Agriculture

Option 1. Mutation Breeding and Plant Biotechnology
Option 2. Soil Water and Crop Nutrition

10.8.2 M.Phil in Radiation Processing

Option 1. Radiation Processing: Food, Medical Supplies

And polymers
Option 2. Radiation Entomology
Option 3. Food Science and Post-Harvest Technology

10.9 M. PHIL. NUCLEAR AGRICULTURE

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree( at least a second
class lower division) in any of the following fields: Biological Sciences, Agricultural
Sciences, Veterinary Sciences, Biochemistry, Botany and Zoology, Entomology,
Genetics, Molecular Biology, Agronomy, Soil Sciences, Food Sciences, Health Sciences,
and Biotechnology from any approved University.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study as
above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience will be
considered.

The programme offers M.Phil and PhD programmes in the following areas of
specialization.

1. MUTATION BREEDING AND PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

2. SOIL WATER AND CROP NUTRITION

OPTION 1: MUTATION BREEDING AND PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

30
YEAR 1

CORE COURSES
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 601 Radioisotopes, Radiations and Dosimetry 3

NARP 605 Principles of Genetics 2
NARP 607 Plant Genomics and Diversity 3
NARP 609 Plant Physiology and Morphogenesis 3
NARP 631 Soil Fertility and Management 2
NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NARP 602 Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3
NARP 604 Mutagenesis and Mutation Breeding 3
NARP 616 Plant Breeding 3
NARP 622 Design and Analysis of Experiments 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
NARP 610 Seminar 1 3

ELECTIVES
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 633 Sustainable Agricultural Production 3

CROP 641 Plant Virology and Viral Diseases 3
NARP 606 Crop Pests and Vector Management 3
NARP 608 Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering 3
NARP 612 Plant Tissue Culture 3
NARP 614 Post-Harvest Physiology 3
NARP 632 Nuclear Techniques in Crop Nutrition Studies 3

Each student is expected to select a minimum of two elective courses in the year in
consultation with an advisory committee. (Not all electives may be available in any year).

YEAR 2
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 600 Thesis 30

NARP 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 38

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 71

OPTION 2: SOIL WATER AND CROP NUTRITION

YEAR 1
31
CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 601 Radioisotopes, Radiations and Dosimetry 3

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NARP 609 Plant Physiology and Morphogenesis 3
NARP 631 Soil Fertility and Management 2
SOIL 603 Soil Chemistry 3
SOIL 605 Soil Physics 3
NARP 602 Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3
NARP 622 Design and Analysis of Experiments 3
NARP 632 Nuclear Techniques in Crop Nutrition Studies 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and legislation 2
NARP 610 Seminar 1 3

ELECTIVES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 607 Plant Genomics and Diversity 3

NARP 633 Sustainable Agricultural Production 3
NARP 634 Soil Microbial Ecology and Remediation 3
NARP 636 Water Management 3
SOIL 614 Advanced Soil Physics 3

Each student is expected to select a minimum of two elective

courses in a year in consultation with an advisory committee.
Not all electives may be available in any year.

YEAR 2
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 600 Thesis 30

NARP 620 Seminar 2 3
Number of credits in year 1: 36
Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 69

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

32
NARP 601 RADIOISOTOPES, RADIATIONS AND DOSIMETRY (3 Credits)

Structure and components of atoms. Characteristics of low, medium and high x-rays and gamma
ray beams. Types and physical characteristics of ionizing radiations. Penetration mode of
ionizing radiations and the interaction of photons and charged particles, in particular electrons
with matter. Concepts, radiation doses and radioactivity units, quantities and methods of
measuring absorbed doses of radiation. Fundamental principles of dosimetry. Dosimetry
standards, protocols and basic instrumentation and practical consideration of calibration
methods. Dose measurement methods: miscellaneous systems. Autoradiography, probes, thermo-
luminescence dosimetry. Overview of general radioactive substances used by agriculturists,
entomologists and health-care delivery systems (non-radioactive tracing). Phosphorus –32, Iron-
59, Carbon-14, Sulphur-35, Hydrogen-3, Cobalt-60, Cesium-137, Sodium-24, Iodine-131 and I-
125). Radiation counting and dosimetry and radioisotopes in matter. Description and explanation
of commonly used radiation and radioisotope sources. Production of characteristics x-rays and
bremsstrhlung.

NARP 602 RADIOBIOLOGY AND RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Types and physical characteristics of ionizing radiations. Penetration mode of ionizing radiations
and their interaction with substances. Radiation doses and radioactivity units. Direct and indirect
effects of ionizing radiations on cells, molecules, tissues, organs and organisms. Target theory
and Hit Principles. The Stochastic theory. Probabilistic model of radiation damage to cell.
Methods of estimating the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of ionizing radiations and its
relation to Linear energy transfer(LET). Limits of application of the concept. Responses of cells
in different phases of its cycle to irradiation (radiosensitivity, radioresistance, radiation damage
and repair, transient effects, delayed effects, lethal effects and forms of cell death), Survival
curves and models and their interpretations. Modification of radiosensitivity by environmental
factors at irradiation (gases, temperature, humidity, protective agents, synergists, chemicals).
Overview of radioactive substances. Concepts, quantities and methods of measuring absorbed
doses, of radiation and radioisotopes in matter. Detection methods. Fricke (ferrous sulphate)
system, ionizing chambers, autoradiography, probes, thermo-luminescence dosimetry. Basic
instrumentation and calibration methods. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). Application of
radioisotopes in Agriculture.

NARP 604 MUTAGENESIS AND MUTATION BREEDING (3 Credits)

Role of mutations in plant breeding, frequency of natural mutations, induction of mutations,
mutagenic agents, methods of inducing mutations, objects and methods of treatment,
radiosensitivity and modifying factors. Modes of application. Types of mutations, identification
of mutants, segregation analysis of mutant phenotypes. Propagation and evaluation of useful
mutants. Utilization of mutants in plant breeding (self-fertilizing species, cross-fertilizing
species, vegetatively propagated species.)
33
NARP 605 PRINCIPLES OF GENETICS (2 Credits)
Mendelian Genetics: Mendel‘s discovery and its relevance, Types of crosses, Modified genetic
ratios, Gene expression, Cytoplasmic inheritance and maternal influence, Testing genetic ratios;
Cytogenetics: Variation in chromosome number, Variation in chromosome structure;
Quantitative Genetics: Quantitative inheritance, Distribution and measurement of quantitative
traits, Causes of variation in quantitative traits, Heritability, Multiple measurements and
repeatability; Selection of quantitatively inherited traits; population Genetics: Gene pool, Gene
and genotypic frequencies in populations, Hardy-Weinberg Law and its applications, evolution
of populations (changes in gene frequency)

NARP 606 CROP PESTS AND VECTOR MANAGEMENT (3 Credits)

Definition and concepts of crop pests and their vectors; Overview and classification of crop pests
(insects ,birds, rodents,etc); Economic importance of pests and vectors in crop production (yield
losses & transmission of pathogens); Ecology of crop pests, pest populations and forecasting
outbreaks. Major pests and vectors of important crops in Ghana and W. Africa. Integrated
control of major pests and their vectors. Pesticides –classification, formulations, safe and
efficient applications. Equipment calibration and use. Pesticide resistance and residues.
Environmental impact assessment of pesticide applications.

NARP 607 PLANT GENOMICS AND DIVERSITY (3 Credits)

Genes and genomes – Chromosomes: Physical carriers of genes, carriers of genetic information,
chromosome as a linkage group, crossing over and recombination; Chemical nature of the gene:
structure of DNA, Watson-Crick model, Alternate confirmations of DNA, DNA supercoiling;
Structure of the genome: complexity of the genome, DNA denaturation, DNA renaturation,
prokaryotic genomes, eukaryotic genomes, highly repeated DNA sequences, Moderately
repeated DNA sequences, molecular maps of the genome; Genetic polymorphism, molecular
techniques in genome analysis and characterization. Novel techniques for genome assay.
Population diversity, biological processes that produce and maintain diversity (gene flow, out
breeding, mutations, etc), basic measures of population diversity. Population structure, measures
of differentiation and divergence, phylogeny. Data management. Analysis of molecular
population genetic data. Analysis of genetic diversity.

NARP 608 MOLECULAR GENETICS AND GENETIC ENGINEERING (3 Credits)

Gene structure and function: Genetic properties of DNA, Fine structure analysis of the gene, The
genetic code, DNA sequencing and gene structure; Molecular nature of the genome: DNA
replication, Recombination at the molecular level, Chromosomal DNA in eukaryotes; Gene
34
Expression: Transcription, Translation; Cloning and sequencing; Regulation of gene expression:
Control of gene expression in prokaryotes, control of gene expression in eukaryotes, transposable
genetic elements. Generation of recombinant DNA. Plasmid vectors; Synthesis of DNA.
Construction of DNA library. Analysis of recombinant DNA. Alteration of genes by
mutagenesis; expression of foreign proteins in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Applications of
DNA technology. Plant transformations.

NARP 609 PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND MORPHOGENESIS (3 credits)

Plant-soil-water relations. Mineral nutrition, solute transport; photosynthesis (light and dark
reactions), translocation in the phloem, respiration and lipid metabolism, assimilation of mineral
nutrients; plant growth and development, phytochrome and light control of plant development,
blue-light responses, stomatal movements and morphogenesis. Stress physiology. Growth in
higher plants including: differentiation, organogenesis. plant organs. Germination (sprouting)
and growth. Tropisms: phototropism, Gravitropism, thigmotropism. Plant hormones and growth
regulators: their metabolism, mode of action and effect. Physiology of flowering,
photoperiodism, vernalisation, dormancy and senescence in plant organs.

NARP 612 PLANT TISSUE CULTURE (3 credits)

Cell theory and the concept of totipotency,. Plant tissues and organs, meristems, The tissue
culture laboratory, design, equipment and supplies, maintenance, culture media composition and
types of media. Sources of explants. Preparation and sterilization of explants, tools and
workstation. Types of cultures: Callus induction, organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis,
protoplast culture and somatic hybridisation haploid cultures, suspension cultures, embryo
rescue. Somaclonal variation: merits and demerits. Selection of plant cells for desirable
characteristics. Micropropagation and bioreactors. Production of secondary metabolites by cell
suspension culture. In vitro conservation of germplasm. Management of commercial tissue
culture . Tissue culture of tropical food and tree crops.

NARP 614 POST HARVEST PHYSIOLOGY (3 credits)

Definitions; developmental cycle of plants, dormancy and germination of seeds and storage
organs; vegetative and reproductive growth; seed development and fruit ripening); physical,
chemical and biological properties of agricultural produce, environmental factors; physiological
disorders; physiological effects on horticultural crops of controlled temperatures and
supplemental environments or treatments. Low temperature and mineral deficiency disorders;
commodity treatment e.g. controlled ripening, and degreening; sprout inhibitors, growth
regulators, irradiation, ventilation, waxing, cooling, fungicide application, quality assessment,
simple and complex methods including development of abscission layer, visual or appearance;
texture firmness, composition; density, impact, force deformation, sonic vibration, ultrasonic
techniques and electrical properties; optical properties, near infrared analysis; x-rays and gamma
rays; nuclear magnetic resonance, machine vision and aroma.
35
NARP 616: PLANT BREEDING (3 Credits)

Definition of plant breeding; Historical development, scope, steps, objectives of plant breeding ;
Important milestones in plant breeding; Achievements of modern plant breeding; Future of plant
breeding in society; Origin and evolution of crops; Crop genetic resources for plant breeding;
Conservation of germplasm; Reproductive systems in plants; Conventional plant breeding
methods, methods for breeding self-pollinated crops, methods for breeding cross-pollinated
crops; Breeding for resistance against biotic and abiotic stress factors; Successes and limitations
of conventional plant breeding methods; Use of mutations in plant breeding; Heterosis and wide
hybridisation; Production and use of haploids, di-haploids and double haploids in plant breeding;
Bio-engineering techniques in plant breeding; Issues with transgenic crops; Emerging concepts
in plant breeding; Development, release and maintenance of new (improved) varieties;
International plant breeding efforts.

NARP 622: DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS (3 Credits)

Basic concepts: mean, variance, standard deviation; Elements of experimentation: replication,

randomization, control of errors (blocking, proper plot technique, data analysis); Interpretation of
results; Probability distributions; Sampling from a normal distribution, Statistical hypothesis and
test of significance; Comparison between two sampling means, Experimental designs and
analyses: single-factor experiment, multi-factor experiments, mean separation, contrasts, missing
data; Covariance; Data transformations; Chi-squared (analysis of count data); Linear correlation
and regression; Statistical software packages.

NARP 631 SOIL FERTILITY AND MANAGEMENT (2 credits)

Essential elements for plant growth and development and their ionic forms 2.Acid, alkaline,
sodic and saline soils: characteristics and remediation 3. Soil and fertilizer N: importance of N in
crop growth and development, N cycle in soils, forms of N in plants and soils and their mobility,
loss (eg. denitrification and volatilisation) 4. Soil and fertliser P: importance of P in crop growth
and development, forms of P, availability as related to soil pH 5. Soil and fertilizer K:
importance of K in crop growth and development, forms of K in soils, interrelationship between
non-exchangeable K, exchangeable K and soluble K. 6. Sulphur and Micronutrients: 7.
Fertilisers – Use and Management: type of fertilizer products and use, application techniques and
timing, factors regulating fertilizer requirement of a crop, fertilizer recommendations based on
soil and plant tissue analysis, use plant organic and sewage materials in soil fertility management
programme – problems, advantages and disadvantages 8. fertilizers and pollution: economic and
environmental considerations of organic and inorganic fertilizers

NARP 632 NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES IN CROP NUTRITION STUDIES (3 Credits)

36
Isotopes for crop nutrition studies; Fertiliser recovery: definition and quantification;
Measurement of fertilizer recovery: difference method, isotopic method – concept and
quantification for N and P fertilizers (using N15 and P32/33); Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF):
concept and different methods of quantification;; Quantification of BNF using N15: isotope
dilution method, enriched fertilizer method, A-value method; Isotopes in organic residue studies:
direct and indirect labelling techniques; Analysis of N15 in samples: sample preparation, mass
spectrometer, emission spectrometer; Analysis of P32/33 in samples: sample preparation, liquid
scintillation counter/analyzer.

NARP 634 SOIL MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND REMEDIATION (3 Credits)

Major groups of microorganisms occurring in soils: bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, viruses, etc;
Biotic and abiotic factors affecting soil microbial activity, Identification and enumeration of
microorganisms: nucleic acid probes, fluorescent antibodies and viable count; Transformation of
N, C, S, P, Fe and Mn; Plant-microbe interactions: lichens, mycorrhizae and azolla; Root nodule
bacteria and symbiotic relationship with legumes, Problems of environmental pollution and basic
principles of pesticide microbiology; Bioremediation and biotechnological aspects of microbial
ecology, management of agricultural soils, composting, landfills/land reclamation etc.

NARP 636 WATER MANAGEMENT (3 Credits)

Field measurement of soil moisture content: neutron probe – principle, installation of access
tubes and calibration, time domain reflectrometer (TDR) and Sentek Diviner; Water storage in
soils: calculations; Tensiometers: installation and calculations; Potential evapotranspiration:
different methods of computation; Actual evapotranspiration: water balance approach, use of
potential evapotranspiration and crop coefficients; Simple field lysimeter; Crop water use
efficiency; Irrigation: sprinkler irrigation; drip irrigation, fertigation; Irrigation water
management: irrigation water requirement, scheduling and management, Erosion: control, use of
radio-nuclides in erosion studies

CROP 641 PLANT VIROLOGY AND VIRAL DISEASES (3 Credits)

Introduction to viruses, Mechanism and Evolution of plant viruses. Virus purification and
characterization. Virus classification, Structural organization of RNA viruses, Structural
organization of DNA viruses., Expression and Analysis of viral genes. Replication of viruses.
Movement of plant viruses. Transmission of viruses. Important viral diseases of crops in West
Africa.

37
CROP 692 BIOMETRY (3 Credits)

Parametric statistical methods commonly used in agricultural research and experimental biology.
Hypothesis testing. Principles of experimental designs. Analysis of simple and complex
experiments. Covariance analysis and alternatives. Simple and multiple correlation and
regression. Non-parametric methods in lieu of analysis of variance and for character association.

SOIL 603 SOIL CHEMISTRY (3 Credits)

Characterisation and soil system: SOLID PHASE – Structure and composition of silicate
minerals, layer silicate groups, amorphous silicates, oxides and hydroxides. Electrical
characteristics of soil/water interface, origin and distribution of charges on soil colloid surface,
double layer theory, surface activity, point zero charge, ions exchange. LIQUID PHASE:
Composition, concentrations, activities and activity coefficients, solid phase/liquid interphase,
oxidation and reduction in submerged soils, redox potentials. Principles and practice of Soil
Science, nutrient supply, soil acidity: active and potential acidity, production and development of
soil acidity, lime requirement, mechanism of cation and anion fixation in soils, ammonium,
potassium and phosphorus sorption and desorption, solubility product principle. Nutrient
potentials: lime, phosphate and potassium potentials, intensity, capacity and rate factors of
nutrient availability and uptake. Salinity, drought tolerance, nutrient uptake under stress
conditions and genotypic differences.

SOIL 605 SOIL PHYSICS (3 Credits)

Composition of soils, interaction of soil and water, soil water potentials, potential diagrams and
soil water retention; Principles of water movement in soils: Darcy‘s Law, distribution of water in
soils, infiltration; Soil structure, physical, chemical and biological agents in soil aggregation, soil
consistency and strength, effect of soil physical properties on root growth; Management of soil
water: water storage in soils, soil water balance, concepts of water extraction by plant roots;
Chemical transport in soils: leaching of chemicals (sorbed and non-sorbed) through soils, mass
flow and diffusion, irrigation water quality, soil salinity and its control.

SOIL 614 ADVANCED SOIL PHYSICS (3 Credits)

Soil water: water and soil in equilibrium, structure of water forces and energy; Movement of
water in soils- saturated: Darcy‘s Law and Laplace equation, fundamental concept of unsaturated
flow, differential equations of unsaturated flow and their solutions, diffusivity, infiltration,

38
Philip‘s solution for horizontal and vertical infiltration; Onsager‘s relation and coupled flow
processes; Solute movement in soils; Gaseous diffusion in soils: Fick‘s law and the differential
equation of gaseous diffusion, transient state diffusion of oxygen in soils; Soil temperature:
Fourier‘s heat flow law, determination of heat flux in soils, thermal conductivity in soil,
simulation of heat, water and solute transport in soils

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 Credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation
damage.Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

39
M. PHIL. RADIATION PROCESSING
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

i. A good first (at least second class lower division) in the appropriate field of study at any
recognized university. For further admission requirements to a specific program, refer to
that programme.
ii. For a candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study but
is otherwise adjudged suitable, the relevant Faculty may be required to draw up a
programme that may include some undergraduate courses and examination to remedy any
deficiencies.
iii. Computer literacy is required of all postgraduate students in the Department.

OPTIONS OF SPECIALISATION

1. RADIATION PROCESSING (FOOD, MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND POLYMERS)

2. RADIATION ENTOMOLOGY

3. FOOD SCIENCE AND POST-HARVEST TECHNOLOGY

OPTION 1. RADIATION PROCESSING (FOOD, MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND

POLYMERS)

YEAR I

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 601 Radioisotopes, Radiations and Dosimetry 3

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NARP 663 Stored Products Entomology 3
NARP 651 Radiation Applications in Post-Harvest systems 3
NARP 653 Food Microbiology 3
NARP 655 Radiation Processing of Food and Medical Products 3
NARP 657 Food and Industrial Biotechnology 3
MPHY 607 Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3
NARP 622 Design and Analysis of Experiments 3
NARP 652 Radiation Processing of Industrial Products/Polymers and
Environmental Waste 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NARP 610 Seminar 1 3

40
ELECTIVES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 675 Agricultural Finance 3

NARP 659 Marketing of Agricultural Produce and Trade Regulations 3
NARP 671 Seed Preservation and Management 3
NARP 656 Micro-enterprise Development and Management 3
NARP 658 Packaging of Irradiated Products and Environmental Issues 3
NARP 662 Applied Entomology 3

Students are expected to take a minimum of 6 credits in the year

YEAR TWO

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 600 Thesis 30

NARP 620 Seminar 2 3
Number of credits in year 1: 40
Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 73

The research topics in radiation processing may be chosen from

the following fields:
a. Food irradiation
b. Radiation sterilization of medical products
c. Radiation processing of industrial products/polymers and environmental waste

Practicals for Food Irradiation/Medical Sterilization Courses

1. Determination of the D10 radiation dose of Escherichia coli

2. Determination of the D10 radiation dose of spores of Aspergillus niger
3. Effect of radiation on microbiological quality of minced meat/fish
4. Evaluation of extension of shelf-life of fish/ready meal by irradiation
5. Effect of irradiation on sprouting of yams/sweet potatoes
6. Evaluation of delay in ripening of mangoes/banana bi irradiation
7. Determination of effects of irradiation on ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) in food
8. Effect of radiation on inactivation or killing insects

41
OPTION 2. RADIATION ENTOMOLOGY
YEAR 1
CORE COURSES
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 601 Radioisotopes, Radiation and Dosimetry 3

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NARP 651 Radiation Applications in Post-Harvest Systems 3
NARP 661 General Entomology 2
NARP 663 Stored Products Entomology 3
NARP 673 Radioisotope and Radiation Techniques in Entomology 3
MPHY 607 Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3
NARP 622 Design and Analysis of Experiments 2
NARP 664 Integrated Insect Pest and Vector Management 3
NARP 668 Genetic Control of Insect Pests Using Sterile Insect
Techniques (SIT) 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NARP 610 Seminar 1 3

ELECTIVES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

GEOL 649 Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System 3

NARP 665 Medical and Veterinary Entomology 3
NARP 655 Radiation Processing of Food and Medical Products 3
ENTO 604 Insecticide Science 3
NARP 608 Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering 3
NARP 656 Micro-enterprise Development and Management 3
NARP 662 Applied Entomology 3

Students are expected to take a minimum of 12 credits in the year

YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 600 Thesis 30

NARP 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 42

42
Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 75

OPTION 3. FOOD SCIENCE AND POST-HARVEST

TECHNOLOGY

YEAR I

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 601 Radioisotopes, Radiations and Dosimetry 3
NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NARP 651 Radiation Applications in Post-Harvest Systems 3
NARP 653 Food Microbiology 3
NARP 667 Chemistry of Irradiated Foods 3
NARP 669 Food Safety and Quality Assurance 2
NARP 657 Food and Industrial Biotechnology 3

MPHY 607 Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3

NARP 622 Design and Analysis of Experiments 2
NARP 672 Food Analysis and Sensory Evaluation 3
SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NARP 610 Seminar 1 3

ELECTIVE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 608 Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering 3

NARP 659 Marketing of Agricultural Produce and trade regulations 3
NARP 661 General Entomology 3
NARP 656 Micro-enterprise Development and Management 3
NARP 658 Packaging of irradiated products and Environmental Issues 3
NARP 675 Agricultural Finance 3

Students are expected to take a minimum of 9 credits in the year

43
YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NARP 600 Thesis 30

NARP 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 41

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 74

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NARP 601: RADIOISOTOPES, RADIATIONS AND DOSIMETRY (3 credits)

Structure and characteristics components of atoms. The hydrogen atoms. Outline of wave
equation and expressions of energies. Characteristics of Low, medium and high energy x-rays
and gamma ray beams. Elemental chemical processes and excited states. Collisions of first and
second kinds. (Equiv. CHEM.612) Types and physical characteristics of ionizing radiations.
Penetration mode of ionizing radiations and the interactions of photons and charged particles, in
particular electrons, with matter. Radiation doses and radioactivity units. Overview of general
radioactive substances used by agriculturists, entomologists and in healthcare delivery systems
(non-radioactive tracing, Phosphorus-32, Iron-59, Carbon-14, Sulphur-35, Hydrogen-3, Cobalt-
60, Cesium-137, Sodium-24, Iodine-131 and I-125). Shipments of radioisotopes. Radiolabelling
methodologies. Decay modes. Principles of tracer kinetics and radionuclide tracing. Dosimetry:
Labelled Pool Techniques. Isotope dilutions and measurements. Measurement of biological half-
life of radiotracers in organisms. Radiation counting and dosimetry: Concepts, quantities and
methods of measuring absorbed doses of radiation and radioisotopes in matter. Production of
characteristics x-rays and bremsstrahlung. Description and explanation of commonly used
radiation and radioisotopes sources. Fundamental principles of dosimetry and assays of
radioactivity. Dosimetry standards and their dissemination. Radiation detection and measurement
methods. Dosimetry protocols and basic instrumentation and practical considerations of
calibration methods. Dose measurement methods: calorimetry, Fricke (ferrous sulphate) system,
ionizing chambers, semi-conductor diodes, film as a dosimeter, miscellaneous systems,
autoradiography, probes, thermo-luminescence dosimetry, Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA).
Electron beam dosimetry. Choice of dosimetry method. Equipment radiation safety, dosimetry,
isotopic dilutions and measurement. Developmental, physiological and genetic effects of isotopic
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labels. Practical application of radioisotopes and radiation in food and agriculture. Safety rules
for radioisotope and radiation laboratories. (Equiv. MPHY 605 and 607)

NARP 602: RADIOBIOLOGY AND RADIATION PROTECTION (3 credits)

Principles of radiobiology. Cell, radiation damage and repair, Survival curve and models. Effects
of radiation on cells, molecules, tissue, organs. Concepts, quantities and practical methods of
measuring radiation dose, including methods for evaluating dose from radioisotopes taken into
the body. Direct and indirect effects of ionizing radiations on cells, molecules, tissues, organs
and organisms. Target theory and Hit Principles. The Stochastic theory. Probabilistic model of
radiation damage to cell. Methods of estimating the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) of
ionizing radiations and its relation to Linear energy transfer (LET). Limits of application of the
concept. Responses of cells in different phases of its cycle to irradiation (radiosensitivity,
radioresistance, radiation damage and repair, transient effects, delayed effects, lethal effects and
forms of cell death), Survival curves and models and their interpretations. Modification of
radiosensitivity by environmental factors at irradiation (gases, temperature, humidity, protective
agents, synergists, chemicals). Legal administrative and practical radiation protection issues in R
& D, medicine and industry. The impact of these situations on workers, the public and
environment.

NARP 651: RADIATION APPLICATIONS IN POST-HARVEST SYSTEMS

(3 credits)
Introductory lectures on qualitative, quantitative, nutritional and socioeconomic losses of
agricultural produce. Physiology:- biochemical, nutritive, biophysical and physiological changes
in harvested perishable crops during storage. Factors responsible for causing food spoilage and
agricultural products losses. Interrelationship of temperature, moisture, molds and insects in
cereals and grain legumes in storage. Loss assessment and estimation techniques and their
limitations. Facilities layout management. containers, handling and transportation Systems:
Perishables:-. Consideration of storage methods and preservation techniques appropriate for
reducing losses - drying, canning, pasteurization, bioprocessing, and irradiation- to prolong life
and maintain quality of perishable commodities Standardization and quality control. Emphasis
on the effects of storage facilities and techniques, quality evaluation as related to physiological
mechanism controlling the maturation, ripening and senescene of perishable commodities.
Current biological, morphological and anatomical principles and technological procedures used
in harvesting, packaging system, packing house operations and its environment and
transportation and distribution system of fresh produce. Durables:- Storage conditions and
methods for handling, drying and storage operations. Storage pests and their control. Food
processing/preservation using irradiation. Introduction to irradiation: concepts, types and
sources of radiation, effects of radiation on living things, purpose and reasons for irradiation:
stored products for long term storage, for phytosanitary/quarantine purposes. Effective dose
determination: dose- and time-response bioassays. Post-harvest insect pests of major agricultural
produce: cereals and pulses, roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables. Pest Risk Assessment (PRA)
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of agricultural produce. Protection of irradiated produce against re-infestation: packaging,
chemical treatment, controlled atmosphere. Combining irradiation with other methods: chemical
treatment, heat/cold treatment, controlled atmosphere etc. Effect of irradiation on the treated
commodity: physical, biochemical, physiological, sensory quality, susceptibility to microbial
spoilage/damage. National and International sanitary and phytosanitary regulations: WTO, IPPC,
UEMOA, Codex Alimentarious Commission. Socioeconomic aspects of irradiated foods.
Practicals: rearing insects pests; irradiation of insects; dose response and time—response
bioassays, dosimetry and pest risk assessment. Field trips: GIF, PPRSD, CEDPS Quarantine
Section, Aviance, Tema Port, Shed 9, Maresk/Safmarine Shipping; food storage facilities;
Nestles warehouse, Cocobod Warehouses and QCD, CPC warehouses.

NARP 652: RADIATION PROCESSING OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS /POLYMERS

AND ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE (3 credits)
Introductory lectures on radiation processing of industrial products/polymers. Effects of
radiation on natural and synthetic polymers. Effects of radiation on paints, ink, glass, diamond
etc. Radiation-induced cross-linking, curing and grafting. Radiation-induced nanostructures/
nanocomposites. High temperature irradiation. Economics of industrial radiation processing.
Applications of radiation-processed natural polymers in healthcare and cosmetic industries.
Applications of radiation-processed natural polymers in agriculture and food preservation.
Environmental applications of radiation processing. Radiation treatment of sewage, sludge,
industrial waste water, ground water, flue gases (SO2, NOX). Radiation processing of agricultural
waste. Economics of radiation treatment of waste water.

NARP 663 STORED PRODUCTS ENTOMOLOGY (3 Credits)

Human population growth and global food problem. The concept of stored products; The post-
harvest system; storage systems; components and the environmental factors that affect the stored
products and interrelationship of temperature, moisture, molds and insects in cereals and grain
legumes in storage. Damage and food losses in the post-harvest system; types and causes of loss;
the role of causal agents. Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) of agricultural produce; Loss assessment
and estimation techniques and their limitations. Origin of stored product pests. Survey of stored-
product pests. Biology and control of major stored-product insect pests of major agricultural
produce: cereals, pulses, roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables. Review of storage systems of the
tropics. Control of stored products insect pests. Modern trends in pest control in the post-harvest
system. Practicals: rearing insects pests; irradiation of insects; dose response and time—response
bioassays, dosimetry and pest risk assessment

NARP 653 FOOD MICROBIOLOGY (3 Credits)

Food microbiology: Importance. Micro-organisms important in foods: Molds, yeasts, bacteria,
viruses - general, morphological, cultural and physiological characteristics. Contamination of
foods: sources, micro-organisms Microbiology of food and food products. Food borne infections
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and intoxications. Fungal food poisoning. Control of microorganisms: Physical, chemical,
thermal and radiations. Physiology and biochemistry of food borne micro-organisms, microbial
metabolism and genetics. Culture Types: Collection and maintenance of various microbial
cultures. Detection of micro-organisms in foods, Principles and techniques, rapid vs conventional
methods, estimation of microbial toxins, metabolites, inhibitory substances and pathogens.
Differentiation of bacterial strains by electrophoretic protein profiles. Probiotic and proteolytic
properties of important bacteria. Traditional and current approaches to microbial food safety and
quality. Microbiology of effluents from food industry; Principles of waste management.
Microbiology in environmental management in food industries. Advances in Food Microbiology.

NARP 673 FOOD AND INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY (3 Credits)

Food Biotechnology: General principles in food biotechnology and bioprocessing - Introduction,

importance, advances and trends, techniques and applications. Genetic Engineering and the food
industry. The role of microorganisms in biotechnology. Industrial micro-organisms – their
isolation, preservation and improvement. Principles of industrial fermentation. Yeast
biotechnology. Food Fermentation: Types, equipment, factors affecting, fermentation control
conditions. Brewery technology(alcoholic beverages, industrial alcohols). Yeast based products,
baker‘s yeast, bread and related products. Bacteria based fermented products: Dairy, meat, fish,
vegetable products; production of vinegar, organic acids, bacterial biomass. Mold based
products: Enzymes, antibiotics. Other microbial based products: Sweeteners, flavours,
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), amino acids, vitamins. Safety evaluation of novel food
products, genetically modified foods. Environment, ethical, legal and other issues in
biotechnological applications. Application of biotechnology to product testing/assaying (ELISA,
etc), biosensors: principles and applications

NARP 655: RADIATION PROCESSING OF FOOD AND MEDICAL PRODUCTS

(3 credits)
Types of radionuclides and radiations. Radiation sources used in agriculture, health and
industrial sectors. radiation detection and measurement, effects of radiation on living organisms,
radiation preservation of foods, limitations of food irradiation, regulations and safety.
Commercial aspects of food irradiation. (Pre-requisite: FDSC 415 – Food irradiations). Methods
of treating products.. Effects low and high levels of radiation on treated products. Introductory
lectures on radiation processing of food products and medical supplies and industrial products.
The hypothesis of lipid radiotoxins and chain reactions of Irradiated molecules. The structural
and metabolic theory. Lethal effects of radiation on dried food products (cereals, spices,
medicinal herbs etc) (food preservation by disinfestation). Food quality and acceptance. Stored
products disinfestation measures (sources, conveyor systems, detection and damage assessment).
Quality assurance and Sterility assurance levels. Post-irradiation detection methods. Safety and
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nutritional adequacy of irradiated foods. Applications in tissue banking and production of
biomaterials for plastic surgery. Combination processes. Scientific and technological economics
aspects of radiation processing of food products and sterilization of medical devices. Consumer
attitude, acceptance and trade concerns e.g. labeling of irradiated foods etc. (Pre-requisites:
FDSC 305; BIOL 201-204, CHEM 201, 202, 211, 212, 231, 232; FDSC 308: BIOL 201-204).
Food processing demonstration and industrial visits.

NARP 671 SEED PRESERVATION AND MANAGEMENT (2 Credits)

Definition: seed versus grain; Seed biology: development, structure, germination, dormancy, and
longevity; Seed quality, seed classes; Seed production systems: formal and informal; Post-
production processing and storage, storage structures; Role of irradiation: merits and demerits;
Seed Health Testing and Quality Management; Control of inherent, abiotic and biotic factors;
National and International seed laws; Role of seeds in food security.

NARP 675: AGRICULTURAL FINANCE (3 credits)

Issues of financing the agricultural sector; financial management on farms, including savings
mobilization, liquidity management, financial evaluation of agricultural investment; credit
appraisal and management, financial reporting, domestic and foreign lending policies,
agricultural credit institutions and rural finance institutions; characteristics of agriculture in
relation to its funding: costs, risks and returns in agricultural finance, organization and practice
of agricultural credit institutions. Monetary issues at the national and international level which
relate more directly to agriculture and the problems of financing a rural economic development.
Special attention to determinants of savings and investment; role of credit institutions in both
developed and developing countries; ownership and business forms; taxation and tax planning

NARP 610 SEMINAR 1 (3 credits)

In year 1, students are expected to attend all seminars organized in the department and are to
make their own presentations on selected topics to an audience to earn credits. Each student is
expected to make at least one oral presentation (Statements of problem, Objectives of study,
Literature review and methodology) to be assessed each semester and then present a full write-up
of the presentation on research proposal on a specific area of specialization soon after the Year 1
examinations for approval and carry out the independent directed research project under the
supervision of lecturers.

NARP 620 SEMINAR 2 (3 credits)

In year 2, each student will be required to make a thesis research proposal seminar based on
General introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations)
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soon after the Year 1 examinations) and a thesis research update/review seminar midway into the
second year. These will be assessed for credits.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.

Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

NARP 664: INTEGRATED INSECT PEST AND VECTOR MANAGEMENT (3

credits)

Principles: Definitions of pest and vectors. Formulation of pest problems; economic assessment
of losses due to pests and vectors, making decision to control. Ecological basis of pest and vector
management; pest forecasting. Methods of pest and vector control. Integrated pest and vector
management. Biological Control: Principles of biological control. Ecological basis of biological
control. Taxonomy, identification and mode of action of entomogenous insects, bacteria, fungi,
viruses, protozoa and nematodes. Use of insects in weed control. Collection of entomogenous
insects in weed control. Mass rearing and culturing of biological control agents. Case studies in
biological control. Novel methods: Farming systems. Use of insect growth regulators, repellents
and attractants, biopesticides including pheromones. Use of genetic methods for insect pest and
vectors control. Use of computers in pest management. (Equiv. ENTO 612; Pre-requisite: Zool.
402 Applied Entomology).

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NARP 608: MOLECULAR GENETICS AND GENETIC ENGINEERING (3 Credits)
Gene structure and function: Genetic properties of DNA, Fine structure analysis of the gene, The
genetic code, DNA sequencing and gene structure; Molecular nature of the genome: DNA
replication, Recombination at the molecular level, Chromosomal DNA in eukaryotes; Gene
Expression: Transcription, Translation; Cloning and sequencing; Regulation of gene expression:
Control of gene expression in prokaryotes, control of gene expression in eukaryotes, transposable
genetic elements. Generation of recombinant DNA. Plasmid vectors; Synthesis of DNA.
Construction of DNA library. Analysis of recombinant DNA. Alteration of genes by
mutagenesis; expression of foreign proteins in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Applications of
DNA technology. Plant transformations.

NARP 673 RADIOISOTOPES AND RADIATION TECHNIQUES IN ENTOMOLOGY

(3 Credits)

Radioisotopes (P32, Fe59, C14, S35, H3, Co60, Na24, Cs137, I125, I131) and radiations (alpha, beta,
gamma, x-ray, photons, and neutron) used in entomological studies for solving ecological,
(insect population sizes and movements, fate of applied insecticides) and biological problems.
Introduction to radiation applications for insect control. Basic laboratory and field nuclear and
non-radioactive tagging and tracing techniques. Safety in the use of radioisotopes and radiation
in entomological research. Interaction processes of radiations with insects: Effect of radiation on
developmental stages (mortality, deformities, non-emergence) reproductive biology, mating
behaviour, fecundity, fertility and sexing of insects. Potential use of isotopes and radiation in
IPM for solving insect pests IPM with special reference to SIT and other genetic manipulations
and alterations of insects. Practicals: Insect sterilization using gamma rays; effect of radiation on
chromosomes, reproductive potential and sexual competitiveness of houseflies, tsetse flies,
mosquitoes and stored product pests.

NARP 661: GENERAL ENTOMOLOGY (2 credits)

Basic organization, function and modifications of insects: head, thorax, abdomen. The
integument: moulting process and development. Differential growth and post-embryonic
development. Life activities in insects: locomotion with emphasis on flight, feeding, excretion,
circulation, respiration, reproduction, nervous system and endocrine system. Defensive
mechanisms: mimicry camouflage, semiochemicals etc. classification and nomenclature.
Identification of major insects of agricultural, medical and veterinary importance. Insect
collection and preservation. Insect ecology: properties of population, methods of estimating
population size and dispersion, measurement and description of factors regulating populations.
Biotic associations and community structure. Seasonal phenomena in tropical insects. Social
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systems and behaviour in insects. Insect activity patterns. Economic importance of insects:
beneficial and harmful insects, pests, disease vectors etc.

(Equiv. ENTO 601)

NARP 665: AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST INSECT PESTS (2 credits)

Survey of agricultural pests of crops including important non-insect pests like mites, nematodes,
birds and rodents. Critical review of biology, ecology, damage and control of major pests of
selected important crops from the following: Cereals, Legumes, Vegetables, Fruit crops, Root
and Tubers crops, Beverage crops, Ratoon crops, Palms and Spices. Study of pests of major
economic importance in Africa: locusts, grasshoppers, armyworms etc. Transmission of plant
viruses, phytopathogenic fungi, bacteria and mycoplasma-like organisms by insect and mite
vectors. Pests of important forest plants. Description of major forest insects: defoliators, borers.
Life-history and damage of serious forest insect pests of living plants. Biology and management
of pests of logs, lumber and other forest products. Biology and management of termites (Equiv.
ENTO 616)

NARP 666: MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY (3 credits)

Arthropod vectors of diseases: taxonomy, biology and incrimination of vectors; vector capacity,
ecology of vectors. Epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. Parasites transmitted by insect
vectors, life cycle and symptomatology of diseases; animal reservoirs. Vector control methods as
applied to black fly, tsetse fly, mosquitoes, ticks and mites. Introduction to radiation applications
for insect control (Equiv. ENTO 606)

NARP 663: STORED PRODUCTS ENTOMOLOGY (3 credits)

Human population growth and global food problem. The post-harvest system; nature and
components. The concept of stored products; the stored product environment; factors that affect
the stored products environment and their role. Damage and food losses in the post-harvest
system; types and causes of loss; the role of causal agents. Loss assessment methods. Origin of
stored product pests. Survey of stored-product pets. Biology of major stored-product insect pests.
Review of storage systems of the tropics. Control of stored products insect pests. Modern trends
in pest control in the post-harvest system. (Equiv. ENTO 608)

NARP 668: GENETIC CONTROL OF INSECT PESTS USING SIT (3 credits)

Biology, ecology and reproduction of key Diptera and Lepidoptera species. Insect pests
Population suppression techniques. Effect of radiation on developmental stages (mortality,
deformities, non-emergence) reproductive biology, mating behaviour, fecundity, fertility and
sexing of insects. Historical background of the Sterile Insect technique (SIT), Principle of SIT
for area-wide pest population management or eradication, Advantages and disadvantages of SIT
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in insect pest management. Application of SIT for control/eradication of major insect pests:
insect colonization, mass rearing, sterilization, releases and monitoring. Case studies on fruit fly,
screwworm, tsetse flies, housefly, mosquitoes etc. Various ways of using SIT in inset pest
management/eradication. Laboratory colonization, management and quality control of insects
colonies including installation and maintenance of basin equipment, daily routine work,
development/formulation of artificial diet and ensuring quality control systems. Environmental
Impact Assessment: Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes. Tools of impact
assessment. Identification and assessment of demographic, climatic, health, ecological,
environmental, social and economic impacts of insect control and eradication programmes and
their implication on overall decision-making process. Use of computer for data management and
analysis of insect population dynamics and insect control and population modelling. Economic
of area-wide control/eradication programmes.

ENTO 604: INSECTICIDE SCIENCE (3 credits)

Insecticide application: Introduction to pesticide application; ground and aerial application. The
role of chemical in pest management. Types of nozzles, sprayers. Ground spraying, fogging,
dusting and granule applications. Injection and fumigation techniques. Calibration and use of
equipment. Droplets: production, sampling and measurements the biological targets and volume
of spray, spray distribution and coverage. Recent developments in pesticide application
technology. Formulations and choice of equipment. Integration of pesticides in pest
management. Maintenance of equipment. Safety aspects of applications. Toxicology: Pesticides
in pest control. The need, use, manufacture and consumption of insecticides - past, present and
future. Aspects of insect biochemistry and physiology related to toxicology e.g. the nervous
system and excretion in insects. The acetylcholine enzyme systems and GABA systems. Types
of insecticides; formulations and modes of action. The toxicodynamics and selective toxicities of
insecticides. Metabolism of insecticides. Environmental problems associated with insecticides
usage. Insecticide residue determination and analysis. Insecticide resistance and its management.

GEOL 649: REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

(3 credits)
Overview of remote sensing, cameras, films and filters. Principles of airphoto interpretation.
Principles of photogrammetry, acquisition of aerial photographs, electro-optical sensors, satellite
image types, remote sensing data acquisition alternatives, statistics extraction, image
preprocessing, image enhancement techniques, image classification. 3-hour weekly practicals
designed to take student through photogrammetry, aerial photointerpretation, geological
interpretation of satellite image and supervised classification. GIS types, functionality of a GIS,
hardware and software, GIS design, map concepts and data capture, storing geographic data,
data automation data capture by digitizing, spatial and attribute data types, data management,

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spatial data analysis output. 3-hour practicals weekly designed to take student through rudiments
of FIS, spatial analysis and output (Equiv. GEOG 604)

NARP 662: APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY (3 credits)

Beneficial and harmful insects; principles and ecological basis of insect pest control; control
methods; use resistance and semiochemicals in control; integrated pest management; biology,
control and management of insect of field crops, vegetable crops, tree crops and stored produce.

Research topics

 Application of nuclear techniques in post-harvest pest management and phytosanitary

treatment of stored products and export commodities.
 Radio-sterilization studies on biology and reproduction of insects of economic importance
(Agricultural and Storage Pests, Medical and Veterinary insect pests and vectors).
 Cytogenetic studies on normal and irradiated insect chromosomes (somatic and sex
chromosomes)
 Development of specific integrated control strategy for storage insect pests, fruit-borne
insects.
 Development of artificial diet for mass rearing of insects for IPM of selected storage, medical
and veterinary insect pests and vectors using SIT as a major component.

NARP 653: FOOD AND INDUSTRIAL MICROBIOLOGY (3 credits)

Food microbiology: Importance. Micro-organisms important in foods: Molds, yeasts, bacteria,

viruses - general, morphological, cultural and physiological characteristics. Contamination of
foods: sources, micro-organisms Microbiology of food and food products: fruits, vegetables,
cereals, milk, meat, poultry, eggs, fish, snack foods, water and beverages, sugar and sugar
products, Food borne intoxications: Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus
aureus Food borne infections - Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Escherichia
coli, Vibrio sp. Fungal food poisoning: Aspergillus sp.Control of microorganisms: Physical,
chemical, thermal and radiations. Advances in Food Microbiology. Physiology and biochemistry
of food borne micro-organisms, microbial metabolism and genetics. Culture Types: Collection
and maintenance of variance microbial cultures. Detection of micro-organisms in foods:
Principles and techniques, rapid vs conventional methods, estimation of microbial toxins,
metabolites, inhibitory substances and pathogens. Differentiation of bacterial strains by
electrophoretic protein profiles. Probiotic and proteolytic properties of important bacteria.
Traditional and current approaches to microbial food safety and quality. Genetically modified
micro-organisms. Principles of industrial fermentation processes. Brewing technology. Industrial
micro-organisms – their isolation, preservation and improvement. Microbiology of effluents

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from food industry; Principles of waste management. Microbiology in environmental
management in food industries.

NARP 658: PACKAGING OF IRRADIATED PRODUCTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL

ISSUES (3 credits)

Food Packaging: Introduction. Packing technology system, selection and protective test of
packages in relation to handling and transportation and its impact. Effect of packages on product
quality. Types and quality of material for suitable packages. Packing materials: paper and paper
board containers, metal, glass containers, plastic containers. New trends: Retortable packaging,
Aseptic food packaging, Free oxygen scavenging packaging, frozen foods and oven proof trays,
Gas exchange packaging, vacuum packaging and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). Food
Packaging: Fruits, vegetables, fresh meat, meat products, seafood products, fish & meat by
products, dairy products, cake and snack foods. Development of graphic and structural design of
packages. Labelling. Impact of packaging material on environment; Governmental regulations,
public health aspects associated with packaging. Disposal of used packages and Recycling.

NARP 673: FOOD AND INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY (3 credits)

Food Biotechnology: General principles in food biotechnology and bioprocessing - Introduction,

importance, advances and trends, techniques and applications. Genetic Engineering and the food
industry. The role of microorganisms in biotechnology. Yeast biotechnology. Food
Fermentation: Types, equipment, factors affecting, fermentation control conditions. Yeast based
products: Alcoholic beverages, industrial alcohols, baker‘s yeast, bread and related products.
Bacteria based fermented products: Dairy, meat, fish, vegetable products; production of vinegar,
organic acids, bacterial biomass. Mold based products: Enzymes, antibiotics. Other microbial
based products: Sweeteners, flavours, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), amino acids, vitamins.
Safety evaluation of novel food products, genetically modified foods. Environment, ethical, legal
and other issues in biotechnological applications. Application of biotechnology to product
testing/assaying (ELISA, etc), biosensors: principles and applications.

NARP 659: MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE AND TRADE

REGULATIONS (3 credits)

Food laws and legislation: concept, significance. Food standards, laws and legislation of local
and international agencies, e.g, WTO, GATT, Powers of food inspector, sampling techniques,
food standards and specifications. The role of the regulatory agencies: Ghana Standards Board,
Food and Drugs Board, Veterinary Services Directorate (VSD) and Plant Protection and
Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD). Food adulteration and health hazards, adulterants and

54
methods of detection. Food labelling: perspectives on nutrition labelling, education act. Codex
Alimentarius Food Standards.

NARP 667: CHEMISTRY OF IRRADIATED FOODS (3 credits)

Food components: Water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, colours, flavours,
acidulants and others - Structure, chemistry, physicochemical and functional attributes in relation
to food quality. Food hydrocolloids: nature and stabilization of colloidal systems, emulsions,
gels, foams, crystallization and its effects on the texture of foods. Chemical changes occurring
during food processing, storage. Carbohydrates: Nomenclature, classification and structure of
carbohydrates. Sugars: properties, functions in food, structural and functional changes during
processing. Polysaccharides: Starch – structure, properties, gelatinization, retrogradation.
Celluloses/Pectins/Gums – structure, properties, industrial uses. Proteins: structure, classification
and functional properties, denaturation. Lipids: Classification, reactions of industrial importance,
hydrogenation, halogenation, saponification, trans-esterifications. Rancidity: Oxidative and
hydrolytic. Vitamins: Structure, sensitivity to processing conditions. Flavours and aromatic
compounds: Carbonyl compounds, anthocyanins and flavonoids, phenols, alcohols, esters,
terpenes and their interactions with other food constituents, synthetic and natural aroma
compounds.

NARP 672: FOOD ANALYSIS AND SENSORY EVALUATION (3 credits)

Physical analysis: sampling techniques, sample preparation and preservation. Methods for
analyzing physical properties of foods and food products: appearance, texture, specific gravity,
refractive index, rheology. Chemical Analysis: Proximate composition (moisture, ash, protein,
fat, fibre, NFE), acidity, pH, sugars, mineral elements and vitamins. Instrumental analytical
techniques: Chromatography, spectroscopy, N.M.R, ESR, IR, UV, Electrophoresis, microscopy
(light, transmission and electron scanning), AAS, FTIR, use of radioisotopes and NAA. – scope,
theory, applications. Sensory evaluation: Requirements and methods. Sensory parameters:
colour, flavour, texture, taste, aroma, overall acceptability. Difference test and preference tests.
Organization of sensory evaluation laboratory – method, data analysis.

NARP 669: FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE (2 credits)

Food safety: characterization and risk analysis. Food hazards: Physical, chemical and biological
Systems for food safety surveillance. Food safety operations in processing: Concept of GMP,
GLP and HACCP. Worldwide food safety issues: ISO 9000 related standards, impact on food
safety and WTO; implementation of GAP, FAO/WHO food standards programme. Food
Sanitation. Quality assurance: Theoretical and practical considerations, description of different
systems: GMP, TQM, HACCP, ISO – 9000 series. New approaches to quality assurance:
Deming‘s, Juran‘s and Corsby‘s. Control chart production control Local and international

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approaches to obtain safe foods. Statistical quality control techniques. Sanitation and hygiene in
quality assurance. Good laboratory practices.

NARP 656: MICRO-ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT (3

credits)

Micro-Enterprise Development Evolution and overview of the Micro Finance Industry. Theory
of rural Financial Markets and Policy Implications. Micro Finance methodologies. Contextual
factors affecting the supply of micro-finance, designing financial products: credit product
designs; savings products design, Assessing impact of micro finance, tracking financial and
operational performance of MFIs, Planning for operational sustainability, Institutional financial
self-sustainability; ownership and governance of MFIs, Definition and Classification of
microenterprises (primary: agriculture, fisheries, forestry); secondary (agro-based small scale
industries); tertiary (transport, small business and other services); importance and role of
microenterprise to the socioeconomic development of the country. Identify opportunities in
microenterprise. Small Enterprise Development, capability for enterprise resourcing; enterprise
management skills; human resource development and management; customer care, product
management; salesmanship, financial management, marketing and risk management. Steps in
setting up small enterprise: development, launching and management: Conduct feasibility
studies, prepare business strategic plan (definition, vision, mission statements, types and strategic
objectives, components/elements, implementation plan, type of ownership, legal status,
registration), categories of resources (premises, supply of raw materials, tools, equipment,
machinery etc, technical know-how, technical training, funding; description of product/service,
production plan, marketing plan, financial analysis (analysis of cash flow), sensitivity analysis,
cost-benefit analysis (fixed and variables),. Learning from feedback. (Equiv. FAPH 608). Market
surveys to identify target market and conduct feasibility studies. Entrepreneurship: concepts,
nature, needs. Entrepreneural values: attitudes, skills, competencies and quality.
Entrepreneurship development process: development of a business plan. Steps in setting up small
enterprise, development of strategic plan (vision, mission statements, strategic objectives,
resources, components/elements, implementation plan, train others to acquire knowledge, skills
and competencies). Small enterprise development, launching and management. Monitoring and
evaluation. Enterprise Management skills: Human Resource Management and Motivation,
Customer care. Product development and management. Salesmanship. Financial management.
Marketing and Risk management. technical know-how, technical training, sourcing funding;
description of product/service, production plan, marketing plan, financial analysis (analysis of
cash flow), sensitivity analysis, cost-benefit analysis (fixed and variables). Learning from
feedback. Challenges: concepts and scope of challenges, challenges of working capital, quality
standards, management

56
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL PHYSICS
PROGRAMME

M.Phil in Medical Physics

M.Phil in Nuclear Science and Technology

M. PHIL. MEDICAL PHYSICS

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree( at least a
second class lower division) in Physics from any approved University.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study
as above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience
will be considered.

YEAR 1.

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 601: Selected topics in Anatomy, Physiology and Chemistry 4

MPHY 605: Radiation Physics 2
MPHY 607: Radiobiology and Radiation Protection 3
MPHY 609: Electronics, Instrumentation, Signal Analysis, Imaging and
Display 3
MPHY 611: Dosimetry for Photon and Electron Beams 4
MPHY 613: Practicals in Radiation Dosimetry 3
MPHY 615: Practicals in Radiotherapy 3
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2

MPHY 602: Ultrasonics, Theory, Instrumentation and Practice 2

MPHY 604: NMR Spectroscopy and Imaging 3
MPHY 606: X-Rays and Diagnostic Radiology 3
MPHY 608: Nuclear Medicine 3
MPHY 612: Radiotherapy 4
MPHY 614: Applications of Digital Computers, Lasers and Ultraviolet
Radiation in Medicine 2
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
MPHY610: Seminar 1 3

MPHY 613 AND MPHY 615 are Inter-Semester break practicals

57
YEAR 2.

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 600: Thesis 30

MPHY 616: Clinical Practice in Radiotherapy, Diagnostic Radiology
and Nuclear Medicine at the Hospital II 2
MPHY 617: Clinical Practice in Radiotherapy, Diagnostic Radiology
and Nuclear Medicine at the Hospital I 2
MPHY620: Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: (including practicals) 48

Number of credits in year 2: (including practicals) 37

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS: (including practicals) 85

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

MPHY 601: SELECTED TOPICS IN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY

(3 Credits)

Structure and Function/Haemodynamics: An introductory course on the structure and function of

the main organ systems in the body and their role in maintaining homeostatis; Fluid
biomechanics and flow properties of blood; The vascular network, viscometry and pulsatile flow;
Measurement of blood pressure, flow and volume; Electromagnetic and ultrasonic techniques;
Use and technology of extracorporeal circuits. Chemistry: Theoretical instrumentation and
applied aspects of basic chromatographic methods as used for the qualitative and quantitative
and quantitative analysis of clinical and biological samples; Evaluation of instrumentation
supported by practical experience of thin layer, gas and high performance liquid
chromatography; Techniques commonly used in Analytical Chemistry with Electrochemical
Applications in the Medical and Sociological field; Introduction to theoretical aspects and simple
models, which explain the behavioural esponse of biological cells to external Electromagnetic
(EM) fields.
58
MPHY 602: ULTRASONICS, THEORY INSTRUMENTATION AND PRACTICE (2
Credits)

Ultrasonics: Theory: Physics of ultrasound generation and detection; Ultrasonic wave

propagation; Bio-acoustics and their application to clinical ultrasound; Ultrasound
Instrumentation and Practice; Physical concepts underlying the design and use of modern
ultrasonic equipment, building from elementary principle through to those that are more
demanding (The style is largely non-mathematical and descriptive); Basic concepts of medical
ultrasonics and ultrasonic characterization of materials; Ultrasound imaging display modes (e.g.
A,B, TP and sector scanning),. Image quality (longitudinal lateral and spatial resolution and
contrast), beam properties (Fresnel and Fraunhofer beam zones), Doppler scanning; Techniques
and typical image artifact.

MPHY 604: NMR SPECTROSCOPY AND IMAGING (3 Credits)

NMR Spectroscopy and imaging: Basic physical principles; Magnetization, radiofrequency,

Larmor frequency, Larmor frequency; T1 and T2 relaxatio, pulse sequences, magnet complex,
magnet and cryogens, shim coils, gradient coils, radiofrequency coils; Computer systems;
Control and viewing consoles. NMR imaging: Imaging methods; Sequential point
measurements; Line methods; Planar methods; 3-D techniques; Pulse sequences used in clinical
MRI; Image quality; Image artifacts; Magnet shielding; Relaxation and contrast enhancement in
imaging; Water content and relaxation Contrast enhancement agents; Imaging of flow; Chemical
shift imaging; Imaging of solids and materials; Solvent suppression; Magnetic resonance
dosimetry; Electron Spin Resonance (ESR); Electronic paramagnetism; Classical view of
magnetic resonance; Hyperfine interaction; ESR spectrometer; Quantitative ESR; Magnetic
Resonance Imaging safety; Static magnetic field; Gradient magnetic fields; Radio-frequency
fields; Liquid cryogens or heat dissipation; Metal objects and missiles, magnetic devices

MPHY 605: RADIATION PHYSICS (2 Credits)

Radiation Physics: Detection and Dosimetry; The interactions of radiations with matter, with
particular emphasis on photons; Gamma-ray spectrometry, detection and measurement
techniques; Quantitative tomography; Radioactive substances, radiation counting and dosimetry;
Use of Sources of Radiation in cuclear medicine, Radiotherapy and radiopharmacy;

MPHY 606: X-RAYS AND DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY (3 Credits)

Charged Particles and X-Rays: The interaction of charged particles, in particular electrons, with
matter; Production of characteristic X-rays and bremsstrahlung; X-Rays and Diagnosis; A
59
description and explanation of commonly used X-Ray equipment; X-ray equipment physical
performance and practical application.; Physicist‘s role in diagnostic x-ray imaging, particularly
the contribution to quality assurance of x-ray equipment and radiation protection;
Mammography: Physics and QA; Introduction to mammography as a dedicated X-ray imaging
modality and its use in a population-screening programme; Practical Aspects of Ct Scanning;
The CT image (how it is created and presented); CT scanner design (first, second, third and
fourth generation and spiral scanners) detectors used in CT Scanning; CT imaging performance
parameters (noise, resolution, slice thickness and how they are measured), and artifacts in CT;
Demonstration of clinical CT system in support of taught sessions.

MPHY 607: RADIOBIOLOGY AND RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Radiobiology: Effects of radiation on biological systems are developed into effects (stochastic
and deterministic) on man and reasons for the quantification of risks; Cell, Radiation damage and
repair; Survival curves and models; Effects of radiation on cells, molecules, tissues, organs;
Sources of ionizing radiation (natural and man-made) and their contribution to absorbed dose to
the population; Dosimetry related to Radiation Protection; Concepts, quantities and practical
methods of measuring radiation dose are considered including methods for evaluating dose from
radioisotopes taken into the body; Consideration of a selection of legal, administrative and
practical radiation protection issues; Radiation Protection; The consideration of ‗real life‘
situations, which involve radiological protection in R&D, Medicine and Industry; The impact of
these situations on workers, the public and environment.

MPHY 608: NUCLEAR MEDICINE (3 Credits)

Nuclear medicine: Types of radionuclides used in medicine and methods of production;

Preparation of labeled materials and radiopharmaceuticals; ‗In vivo‘ and sample measurement
techniques; Principles of tracer kinetics; Radionuclide imaging, design and QA of cameras and
other imaging systems; Gamma-ray emission tomography and positron tomography; Dynamic
studies; Whole body counting; Saturation analysis; Clinical applications of radionuclide
techniques, tumor localization, organ function, absorption studies, metabolic investigation;
Comparison of radionuclide and other tests; Radiation protection and isotope dosimetry;
Radiopharmacy. Radionuclides-review of decay modes and production methods; Preparation of
radiopharmaceuticals- Pharmacopoeial requirements; Overview of radiopharmaceuticals-labeling
methodologies; Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals-selection of radionuclide, localization
mechanisms, clinical applications, protein and peptide based radiopharmaceuticals; Therapeutic
radiopharmaceuticals-selection of radionuclide, relevance of dosimetry studied, clinical
applications In vitro studies.
60
MPHY 609: ELECTRONICS, INSTRUMENTATION SIGNAL ANALYSIS, IMAGING
AND DISPLAY (3 Credits)

Electronics Instrumentation: A basic theoretical and experimental course on aspects of device

and system electronics; Safety Aspects of Medical Physics; Medical physicists work in a multi-
disciplinary environment and need to be aware of the various risks to which they and patients
may be exposed; Principles of safe working; Signal Analysis; Introductory course to medical
signal processing, which will be relevant to X-ray CT, MRI and ultrasound; Imaging and
Display; Medical imaging processes: image acquisition, image display and image perception;
Different types of medical imaging are compared in a way that allows both differing and
complimentary characteristics to be compared in relation to the state of formal imaging theory;
Overview of the relative contribution of different imaging modality, another and to specific
medical applications; Methods of image display and hard copy outputs, together with factors
affecting visual perception.

MPHY 611: DOSIMETRY FOR PHOTON AND ELECTRON BEAMS (3 Credits)

Photon interaction mechanisms: Attenuation of photons by matter; Absorption processes;

Scattering processes; Total atomic collision cross-section. Electron interaction mechanisms:
introduction; Electron-electron collision losses; Radiation losses; Total stopping power; Energy-
loss straggling; Elastic nuclear scattering; Application to an electron depth-dose curve; Photon
and electron; Interaction coefficients for dosimetry; Fundamental principles of dosimetry;
Introduction; Stochastic nature of energy deposition; Definition of Absorbed Dose; Particle
Fluence; Energy Fluence; Planner Fluence; Kerma; Relation between Fluence and Kerma;
Relation between Kerma and Absorbed Dose; Charged particle equilibrium; Transient charged
particle equilibrium; Cavity theory for ―large‖ detector; Relation between Fluence and Dose for
electrons; Delta-ray equilibrium; Bragg-gray cavity theory; Spencer-Attix modification of
Bragg-Gray theory; General cavity theory; The Fano theorem; Dosimetry standards and their
dissemination; Introduction; Low and medium energy x-radiation; Free-air chamber; Standards
for 80 KV to 300 KV X-radiation at SSDL; Higher energy x-ray and gamma ray beams; Cavity
chamber for measurements of high-energy X-ray beams; Absorbed dose and still higher X-ray
energies; Absorbed dose calorimeter for X-ray. Measurements at Primary Standard \laboratory;
Working standards for Absorbed Dose calibrations; Conversion of Absorbed Dose from graphite
to water; Cavity ionization theory method; Dose ratio method; Comparison of the two methods;
X-ray calibration procedure at primary standard laboratory; Dissemination of X-ray standards;
Electron beam dosimetry; Existing procedure for electron dosimetry; New Absorbed Dose
calibration service for electron chambers. Overview of dose measurement methods: Introduction;
Calorimetry; Fricke (ferrous Sulphate) system; Thermoluminescence dosimetry; Semiconductor
diodes; Film as a dosimeter; Miscellaneous systems; Lionization chambers: General; Thimble
61
chambers; Measuring systems; Practical measurement corrections; Build-up caps; Choice of
dosimetry method; Dosimetry protocols based on air kerma calibration: Introduction;
Background; From AIR KERMA to the No. factor; The factors km and Katt; Bragg-Gray
relation; Stopping – power ratios; Perturbation factors: Correction for extended detector; Wall
correction factor: Putting the components together; Uncertainties; Dosimetry of electron beams:
Introduction; Depth Dose characteristics of electron beams; Energy specification of electron
beams; The mean energy at the surface; The most probable energy at the surface; The mean
energy at depth: Formalism of electron dosimetry protocols; Stopping power ratios; Perturbation
factors; Electron protocols; Low energy electrons/plane parallel chambers; Non-water phantoms;
Practical measurement correction factors

Protocol development; Uncertainties; Determination of dose from kilovoltage X-rays:

Definition, application, physics; Lonization chamber; Recommendaed procedures; Low-energy
X-rays; Backscatter factors; Medium – energy X-rays; Pertubbation factors: Correction to
standard ambient conditions: Determination of HVL
Depth – dose and Isodose distributions: Adoption of published data; Measurement of depth –
doses and isodoses; Calculation of depth – doses and isodoses
Calibration and QA of Brachytherapy sources: TLD dosimetry; Basic principles; Calibration
procedures; Accuracy and precision, Calibration; Practical considerations: Choice of TLD
material,
Read out; Linearity, Energy and Quality Dependence, Angular dependence, Fading, Background
signals, Annealing, Glow curves, Packaging and handling, Quality control, Automatic readers.
Practical considerations for in vivo dosimetry: Alternative dosimetry systems, Semiconductor
dosimetry: Theory of operation, Diode encapsulation, Temperature effects, Background signals,
Radiation damage; Energy dependence, Angular dependence, Calibration, Quality control.

MPHY 612: RADIOTHERAPY (3 Credits)

Teletherapy: Treatment planning in radiotherapy: Radiotherapy as treatment modality,

Considerations for therapy planning; Normal tissue tolerance, Tumor control. Treatment
techniques: Introduction, Single field, Opposed fields, Wedge pair and 3 fields, 3-dimensional
planning, The planning process, target localization; Patient position, Immobilisation devices,
Reference landmarks, Patient machine alignment, Direct making, Simulator, CT, limitations to
accuracy, Introduction; Implication for planned target size; Dose measurements, Dose
limitations. Simulation techniques and patient positioning: Patient positioning, Special systems,
Breast, Cast support system, Cast positions, Cast size, Initial localization, Simple fields,
Complicated treatments, Block preparation, Multiple field treatment, Contrast media,
Requirements for CT scans, Use of Ct treatment planning, CT numbers and windowing,
Inhomogeneity corrections based on CT, properties of CT image, Transfer of Ct and MRI
images, Coplanar treatment in an inclined plane, Use of CT in radiation therapy, Requirements
of CT for radiation planning, Impact of CT on radiotherapy planning, Value of CT scanting in

62
radiation planning; Effects of CT on outcome of radiotherapy treatment; MRI images for
treatment planning: benefits and problems, Introduction nuclear magnetism, Signal
measurement, Relaxation times, Pulse sequences, Signal localisation in imaging , Origin of T1
and T2 relaxation, Conventional pulse sequences, Fast (Gradient echo) sequences, hardware
employed in MRI, MR in radiotherapy. Photon dose calculations in planning: basic tools:
Definitions, Back Scatter Factor, Peak Scatter Factor; Tissue Air ratio, Tissue maximum Ratio,
Output Factor, Effects of accelerator geometry, Calculation of central Axis Depth doses,
Percentage Depth Dose method, TAR method, Effect of change of SSD, Blocked Beams,
Correction for inhomogeneity; Off Axis Calculations: Off axis factors, Position of beam edge,
Use of isodose chart, Correction for obliquity and inhomogeneity, Isodose shift method, TMR
method, Wedges, Calculations of lead blocks, Asymmetric collimators, Computer dose
calculation algorithms: photons, Computer dose calculation algorithm : electrons, Data
collection : theory and practice, Treatment plan accuracy, Commercial planning systems,
Stereotactic radiotherapy, Brachytherapy: Clinical considerations in Brachytherapy, Surface
moulds and interstitial therapy, Intracavitary techniques and dosimetry, After loading equipment
and techniques, Unsealed sources for radionuclide therapy, Megavoltage radiation sources,
Equipment and Quality Assurance, Generation and quality control of Kilovoltage X- rays,
Production of a clinically useful beam, Quality control of megavoltage photon equipment,
Quality control of dose, Quality control of the treatment planning process, Radiation Biology;
Radiobiology of tumors, Radiobiology of normal tissues, Biological models in treatment
planning, Radiotherapy in its radiobiological context

Imaging and verification: Megavoltage imaging, Image analysis techniques, Verification

system,

In vivo Dosimetry/ Monte Carlo Simulations, Clinical situations, Practical considerations for in
vivo measurements, Total body irradiation, Skin dose measurement, Eye doses, Field matching,
Dynamic therapy, Rectal dose measurements, Iridium implant dosimetry, Quality assurance by in
vivo measurements, Phantom measurements, Monte Carlo methods : what , why and how?

MPHY 614: APPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL COMPUTERS, LASERS, AND

ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION IN MEDICINE (2 Credits)

Computer Applications: Major concepts involved in computing in a medical environment

including signal digitization, digital sampling ,speed and bandwidth; An over view of networking
and communications, and examples of computers for a number of specific clinical applications.
Formal reconstruction theory. MTF and ROC Analysis; An introduction into the concepts of
modulation transfer function (MTF) and its application in assessing the performance of an
imaging system. The role of the observer in a generalized imaging system is considered and so is

63
the use of the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis for evaluating the observer‘s
performance. Brain function; Basic aspects of brain function; Physical techniques used as probes.

Lasers in Medicine: Physics and technology of laser systems; Laser systems, Laser safety,
Interaction of laser radiation with biological material , applications in medicine, Ultraviolet
radiation, An introduction to the use and measurement of ultraviolet radiation in hospitals, Brief
survey of other applications, environmental UV and hazards from UV exposure.

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 Credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security. Nuclear Liability and Coverage:
Nuclear liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for
other radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

64
MPHIL. NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

1. Candidates for the Master of Philosophy degree in Nuclear Science and Technology must
satisfy the general regulations of the University.
2. Applicants must hold a good undergraduate degree (at least a second class lower
division) in the natural sciences, engineering or relevant fields from a recognized and
approved University.
3. Candidates must register as full time students

COURSE CREDIT
One (1) course credit shall be defined as follows:
One hour lecture,
One hour tutorial,
One practical session (of two or three hours), or
Six hours of fieldwork
per week for a semester

OPTION 1: RADIATION PROTECTION AND HEALTH PHYSICS

YEAR ONE

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 651: Nuclear Physics 2

MPHY 653: Nuclear Chemistry 2
MPHY 655: Nuclear Techniques 2
MPHY 657: Practical Exercises I 3
NSAS 605: Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations 2
MPHY 659: Protection against Occupational Exposure 2
NSAS 603: Radiation Quantities and Measurement 3

NSAS 607: Principles of Radiation Protection, International

Framework and Nuclear safety 2
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
MPHY 652: Computational Methods in Physics 2
MPHY 654: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering 2
MPHY 656: Practical Exercises II 3
MPHY 658: Exposure of the Public in Normal, Chronic
and Emergency Situation 2
MPHY 662: Quality Assurance and Quality Control 2
MPHY 664: Radiation Protection and Health Physics 3
65
MPHY 610: Seminar I 3
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

ELECTIVES (Select 4 credits only)

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAS 604: Medical Exposures in Diagnostic Radiology

Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine 2
NSAS 616: Regulatory Framework for Control of
Radiation Sources 2
MPHY 666: Environmental Monitoring of Nuclear Facilities 2
MPHY 668: Radioactive Waste Management 2

YEAR TWO

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 600: Thesis 30

MPHY 620: Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 43

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 76

OPTION 2: NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES

YEAR 1

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 651: Nuclear Physics 2

MPHY 653: Nuclear Chemistry 2
MPHY 655: Nuclear Techniques 2
MPHY 657: Practical Exercises I 3
MPHY 663: Radiation Sources and Irradiation Facilities 2
MPHY 665: Radioisotope Applications 2
NSAS 603: Radiation Quantities and Measurement 3
NSAP 627: Introduction to Nuclear and Radiochemistry 3

66
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
MPHY 652: Computational Methods in Physics 2
MPHY 654: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering 2
MPHY 656: Practical Exercises II 3
MPHY 610: Seminar I 3
MPHY 672: Nuclear and Nuclear-related Analytical
Techniques 2
MPHY 664: Radiation Protection and Health Physics 2
MPHY 674: Radioisotope and Radio-Pharmaceutics 2
Production
SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

ELECTIVES (Select 4 credits only)

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 667: Iodine-131 Production 2

MPHY 669: Radionuclide Generators 2
MPHY 676: Preparation of Technetium Radiopharmaceutical Kits 2
MPHY 678: Radiographic Testing and Technology 2

YEAR TWO

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 600: Thesis 30

MPHY 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 43

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 76

OPTION 3: NUCLEAR ENGINEERING

YEAR ONE

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 651: Nuclear Physics 2

MPHY 653: Nuclear Chemistry 2
MPHY 655: Nuclear Techniques 2

67
MPHY 657: Practical Exercises I 3
NSAS 603: Radiation Quantities and Measurement 3
MPHY 671: Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Management 2
MPHY 673: Nuclear Reactors, Economic aspects of Nuclear
Power and Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities 3
MPHY 610: Seminar I 3

SNAS 602: Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

MPHY 652: Computational Methods in Physics 2
MPHY 654: Introduction to Nuclear Engineering 2
MPHY 656: Practical Exercises II 3
MPHY 682: Reactor Theory 2
MPHY 684: Instrumentation and Control of Nuclear Power Plant 2
MPHY 686: Risk Assessment and Reactor safety 2
MPHY 664: Radiation Protection and Health Physics 2
MPHY 688: Reactor Thermal Hydraulics 2
MPHY 692: Reactor Shielding Calculations 2
MPHY 694: Computer Codes in Reactor Analysis 2

ELECTIVES (Select 2 credits only)

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 675: Structural Mechanics 2

MPHY 677: Nuclear Materials and Safeguard 2
MPHY 696: Regulatory Aspects of Nuclear Facilities 2
MPHY 698: Reactor Kinetics 2

YEAR TWO

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

MPHY 600: Thesis (30 Credits)

MPHY 620: Seminar 2 (3 Credits)

Number of credits in year 1: 45

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS 78

68
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:

MPHY 651: NUCLEAR PHYSICS (2 Credits)

Radioactivity; Elements of nuclear structure; Alpha-,beta- and gamma emissions; Nuclear

reactions; Nuclear models; Cross sections and nuclear data processing; Nuclear fission; Nuclear
fusion.

MPHY 652: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN PHYSICS (2 Credits)

Numerical integration; Iterative methods; Monte Carlo method; Finite difference methods; Finite
element methods; Fourier- and Laplace transformations; Special and orthogonal functions;
Variation principal and optimization methods; Interpolation and approximation methods;
Numerical solution of linear- and non-linear systems; Eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

MPHY 653: NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY (2 Credits)

Radioactivity; Radionuclides in nature; Natural radioactivity and decay series; Anthropogenic

radioactivity; Chemistry of nuclear materials; Radiolysis; Radiochemical separation techniques;
Radioisotope production; Isotope identification; Activity concentration determination; Analytical
techniques: α-spectrometry, β-spectrometry, ‫ץ‬-spectrometry.

MPHY 654: INTRODUCTION TO NUCLEAR ENGINEERING (2 Credits)

Historical Review; Fundamentals in atomic and nuclear Physics; Neutron interaction with
matter; The nuclear chain reaction; The nuclear fuel cycle; Nuclear reactors; Radioisotopes
production and utilization.

MPHY 655: NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES (2 Credits)

Radiation sources and irradiation facilities; Radioisotope applications in industry, agriculture,

medicine, environment; Radioactive dating techniques; X-ray fluorescence; X-ray diffraction;
Neutron diffraction; Mossbauer spectroscopy; Neutron activation analysis; Other nuclear
experimental techniques.

MPHY 664: RADIATION PROTECTION AND HEALTH PHYSICS (2 Credits)

Introduction to atomic structure; Radioactivity; Radiation sources; Application of radionuclide –

medical, industrial, agriculture, research and training; Dosimetric quantities and units; Biological
effect of radiation; Scope of basic legal frame work of radiation protection; The role of
international organization in radiation protection; The regulatory system; Calculation of internal
and committed effective dose; Calculation of external dose; Protection against occupational

69
exposure; Safe transport of radioactive materials; Waste management; General principles and
types of accidents; Emergency preparedness. Design feature (considering also scattering effects);
ventilation system; shielding calculation; safety interlocks, remote handling equipment; fume
hoods; hot cells; glove boxes; changing room; physical barriers; storage facilities; liquid effluent
pipeline and decay control; fixed radiation monitors; warning signs; quality assurance;
commissioning survey and regulatory review Shielding calculations for an X ray facility
Shielding calculations for an cobalt therapy room Shielding calculations for an accelerator room.
Elements for risk analysis; Overview on the different codes of risk analysis; Risk analysis for
radiotherapy facility; Risk analysis for radioactive waste management; Facility; Risk analysis for
small research reactor.

MPHY 658: EXPOSURE OF PUBLIC IN NORMAL, CHRONIC ANDEMERGENCY

SITUATIONS: (2 Credits)

Natural sources of exposure (review); Safe transport of radioactive material; Safety of

radioactive waste management Environmental monitoring; Consumer products; Chronic
exposure situations: Nuclear and radiological accidents; Basic concepts or emergency response
Emergency response; Basic concepts for emergency preparedness for a nuclear accident for
Radiological emergency; Developing a national capability for response to a nuclear accident or
Radiological emergency; Medical management of radiation injuries Communication;
International co-operation

MPHY 659: PROTECTION AGAINST OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE: (2 Credits)

Radiation protection programme; Technical aspects of radiation protection against sealed and
unsealed sources; General principles; Safety and security of sources; Features of facility design;
Shielding calculations or an X ray facility; Personal protection; Individual and workplace
monitoring; Health surveillance; Training Protection against occupational exposure in industrial
radiography; Protection against occupational exposure in industrial irradiators and accelerators;
Protection against Occupational Exposure in the Use of Nuclear Gauges; Protection against
occupational exposure in the use of tracers; Protection against occupational exposure in well
logging devices; Protection against occupational exposure in radioisotope production plants;
Protection against occupational exposure in diagnostic radiology; Protection against occupational
exposure in nuclear medicine ; Protection against occupational exposure in radiotherapy;
Protection against occupational exposure in nuclear installations

MPHY 662: QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL (2 Credits)

Quality assurance; Calibration of sources and equipment; Records. Quality assurance: quality
management system; organization and implementation of quality assurance programmes in
radiation protection and health physics ; quality criteria in imaging and therapeutic procedures ;
70
national and international inter-comparison to enhance and maintain quality ; quality control
procedures for calibration of radiation sources and equipment used in radiation protection and
health physics ; system of recording keeping and retention.

MPHY 666: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES (2

Credits)

Monitoring at source: external radiation and liquid and gaseous effluents, verification of
compliance with discharge limits; Environmental monitoring: atmosphere, water bodies,
foodstuffs, other environmental indicators; Verification of compliance with derived ;
environmental reference levels, survey techniques Application to different sources: nuclear
power plants, waste facilities, including repositories, mining and milling, tailings, contaminated
land .

MPHY 668: RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT: (2 Credits)

Sources of radioactive waste; waste types, classification and characterization; Principles of

radioactive waste; Waste minimization; Pre-disposal waste management: collection, segregation,
treatment, conditioning, secure storage; Management of waste from decommissioning; Solid
waste disposal; Environmental dose assessment; Environmental Monitoring

MPHY 663: RADIATION SOURCES AND IRRADIATION FACILITIES: (2 Credits)

Identifying a radioactive source, Device or transport package with authorized use, Uses of
Radioactive sealed sources and devices, Examples of radioactive devices, Examples of
Radioactive Sources, Examples of Radioactive Transport Packages, Action to be taken if an
uncontrolled sealed source, device or transport packages is found.

MPHY 676: PREPARATION OF TECHNETIUM RADIO-PHARMACEUTICAL KITS:

(2 Credits)

Basic concepts; Chemistry of technetium; Technetium cold kits components; Preparation of

technetium radiopharmaceuticals; Technetium complexes in nuclear medicine ; Quality control
of technetium radio pharmaceutics Safety aspects

MPHY 665: RADIOISOTOPE APPLICATIONS: (2 Credits)

Methodology of the use of radioisotopes; Applications of radioisotopes in agriculture;

Applications of radioisotopes in industry; Applications of radioisotopes in medicine;
Applications of radioisotopes in environment; Non destructive control ; Dating methods based on
the radioactivity; Forensic methods; Radiotracers Applications

71
MPHY 678: RADIOGRAPHIC TESTING AND TECHNOLOGY: (2 Credits)

Introduction to radiographic testing; Description of radiographic installations and equipments;

Welding techniques; Metal Materials; Classification of flaws; Codes and standards; Safety
aspects

MPHY 672: NUCLEAR AND NUCLEAR-RELATED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES (2

Credits)

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS); X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF); Neutron Activation

Analysis (NAA); Particles Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE); Mössbauer spectrometry; Beta
counting systems; Alpha spectrometry; Gamma spectrometry.

MPHY 674: RADIOISOTOPE AND RADIO-PHARMACEUTICS PRODUCTION: (2

Credits)

General aspects; Radioisotopes produced by reactors Radioisotopes produced by neutron

generators Radioisotopes produced by accelerators Radioisotopes produced from fission
products Quality control of radioisotopes; Isotope generators; Preparation of labeled molecules.

MPHY 667: IODINE-131 PRODUCTION (2 Credits)

Production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications; Purification and constraints
of manufacturing a radiopharmaceutical product; Quality control and quality assurance of
Iodine-131; Liberation and authentication of the product AQ Decontamination of installations
and transport containers; Management of radioactive waste ; Conceptions of Hot cells and
ventilation systems; Maintenance of installations; Safety, environment and pertinent issues in an
urgency situation (inhalation, ingestion). Purification and constraints of manufacturing a
radiopharmaceutical product; Quality control and quality assurance of Iodine-131; Management
of radioactive waste

MPHY 669: RADIONUCLIDE GENERATORS: (2 Credits)

Theory of a generator system; Radionuclide separation techniques; Mo-99/Tc-99m system; Sn-

113/In-113m system; Rb-81/Kr—81m system; Hg-19 m/Au-19 m system; Quality control of
radionuclide generator systems and Safety aspects.

MPHY 682: REACTOR THEORY (2 Credits)

Review of Nuclear Physics; Interaction of Neutrons with matter; Nuclear Fission; Nuclear
Chain-Reacting systems; Diffusion of Neutrons; Neutron Moderation without Absorption;
Neutron Moderation with Absorption and Fission; Low Energy Neutrons; Fermi Theory of the
72
Bare Thermal Reactor; Multi region Reactors, The Group Diffusion Method ; Multi region
Reactors, The Multi group Diffusion Transport Theory ; The Diffusion Approximation
Revisited; Perturbation Theory; Nuclear Reactor Kinetics; Heterogeneous Reactors; Changes in
Reactivity

MPHY 684: INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT (2

Credits)

Basic instrumentation: temperature, pressure, neutron flux, vibration; basics of control:

Classification of I&C systems: defence in depth, independence, single failure criterion,
reliability, testability, specific design criteria or computer based systems, qualification and
validation, IAEA safety guides; contemporary methods of data evaluation: data bases, testing and
reliability estimation based on data bases, stochastical methods; examples of nuclear
instrumentation from nuclear power plants; Laboratory sessions – Demonstrations; estimation of
time response of a thermocouple; estimation of the velocity of the coolant in situ loose parts
monitoring

MPHY 673: NUCLEAR REACTORS ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF NUCLEAR POWER

AND DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES (2 Credits)

Historical background on the development of nuclear energy‘; Fundamental characteristics of

nuclear reactor system; Gas type reactors : Magnox, AGR, RBMK; Light Water Reactors : PWR,
VVER, BWR; Heavy Water Reactors : Candu, SGHWR, EL4; Fast breeder type reactors; High
temperature reactors; Experimental type reactors; New projects : EPR, ABWR, SBWR, AP600;
Other projects : ADS, Molten salt, GEN IV. Reviews of Engineering Economics, Implications of
Utility Deregulation and Electricity Market Competition, Plant Size and inflation, Production
cost, Nuclear O&M cost, Refueling outage or overhaul planned maintenance, Fuel cost, Annual
capital investment, Return on investment, Return on equity. Key issues specific to
decommissioning, Selection of a decommissioning option, Funding facilitating
decommissioning, Planning, safety assessment for decommissioning, Conduct of
decommissioning and completion of decommissioning.

MPHY 686: RISK ASSESSMENT AND RECTOR SAFETY (2 Credits)

Safety criteria, Safety analysis, Reliability analysis, Probabilistic methods, Data collection,
Engineering Safeguards, Fault Tree analysis, Logic symbols, Mathematical analysis. Nuclear and
radiation principles; Design principles and safety related systems deterministic safety analysis;
Transients and accidents; Analyses of consequences; Atmospheric dispersion; Beyond design
bases accidents; Probabilistic safety assessment; Reactor sitting; Reactor licensing and regulation

73
MPHY 675: STRUCTURAL MECHANICS (2 Credits)

Brief references to relevant applied mechanics issues or the pressure components analysis:
Stress/strain states in plates and shells; Von Mises and Tresca criteria; Stresses beyond the yield
limit; Fatigue and fracture mechanics analysis approaches; The Finite Element Method
approach; NPP components structural materials characteristics and their control; Earthquakes
and Seismic effects on NPP structures: Reference earthquakes definition criteria; 3.2 Dynamic
analysis of structures; Response and design spectra; Impact load on containment structures;
Design of nuclear pressure components: ASME code NPP components design criteria; Main
internal and external loads to be considered; General design, construction, testing
problems/procedures and possible technical solutions for: Pressure vessel, Internals, Primary
loop piping, Containment vessels, etc.

MPHY 688: REACTOR THERMAL HYDRAULICS (2 Credits)

Reactor heat generation; Transport equations (single-phase & two-phase low); Thermal analysis
of fuel elements; (Single-phase fluid mechanics and heat transfer)—usually already known;
Two-phase flow dynamics; Single heated channel; steady state analysis; Single heated channel;
transient analysis; Flow loops; Utilisation of established codes.

MPHY 692: REACTOR SHIELDING CALCULATIONS ( 2 Credits)

Interaction of radiations with matter; Transport of radiations; Monte Carlo methods for particles
transport Source-shielding system; Direct solutions in shielding calculations; Simplified
solutions in shielding calculations Kernel technique application for dose calculations

MPHY 671: NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT (2 Credits)

Overview of the fuel cycle; Mining and milling of Uranium; Purification and conversion to UF6
; Uranium enrichment; Fuel fabrication; Proprieties of irradiated fuel; Irradiated fuel transport
and storage; Nuclear fuel reprocessing; Disposal of nuclear waste; Emerging fuel technologies
Origin and classification of radioactive wastes; Low activity wastes management; Liquid
effluents treatment; Concentrates treatment; Solid wastes treatment; Immobilization of wastes;
Tritium waste management; Transport of radioactive materials; Permanent disposal;
Management of radioactive waste from small users of radioisotopes; Management of low and
intermediate level waste (LILW); Management of alpha emitter wastes: Management of waste
from spent fuel; High level waste (HLW)

MPHY 694: COMPUTER CODES IN REACTOR ANALYSIS (2 Credits)

Solution of the diffusion equation by multi group methods; Solution of transport equation ;
Basics of computer programming and software Practical exercises on reactor core computer
codes; WIMS (cell calculations); CITATION (core diffusion calculations); Practical exercises on
74
reactor shielding computer codes; ANISN (1-D SN transport calculations); MCNP (Monte Carlo
calculations); DOT (2 dimensions SN transport calculations)

MPHY 677: NUCLEAR MATERIALS AND SEFEGUARD (2 Credits)

Materials behavior in the environment of the nuclear reactor core; Fuel materials; Moderator
materials; Structural materials; Fuel elements; Pressure vessel; Shielding; Structural analysis of
material fuel, fuel element and cladding; Structural analysis of cooling systems; Structural
analysis of reactor pressure vessel ; Containment structural analysis; Nuclear plant seismic
response analysis; Experimental methods. Safeguards legislation: international treaties and
agreements, national legislation; Short introduction of nuclear fuel cycle; Development of
safeguards approaches; Basic safeguards principles; Verification techniques: seals, monitoring,
non-destructive and destructive techniques, other verification regimes; Present proliferation
cases: Iran, Iraq, North- Korea.

MPHY 696: REGULATORY ASPECTS OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES (2 Credits)

Role and Responsibility of the Regulatory Body, Organisation of the Regulatory Body,
Regulations and Guides, Licensing Process, Requirements on the Applicant/Licensee, Review
and Assessment during the Licensing, Licensing Decisions, Regulatory Inspection, Enforcement.

MPHY 698: REACTOR KINETICS (2 Credits)

Transport equation with delayed neutrons; Point reactor kinetic equations; Reactor response to
changes in reactivity; Temperature reactivity coefficients and their feedback effects; Reactor
transfer function, derivation and use of transfer functions; Non linear problems in reactor
dynamics; Elements of space–time reactor kinetics, xenon and power feedback transients;
Numerical methods or solving reactor kinetics equations

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 Credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support. International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security.Nuclear Liability and Coverage: Nuclear
liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other
radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation
damage.Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
75
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

SNAS 604 : QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN TESTING LABORATORIES (2 Credit)

Introduction to quality management systems: quality management concepts and culture;
Overview of ISO 9000 series and ISO 17025; Understanding ISO 17025 Requirements;
management and technical requirements; Internal Quality Audits/Gap Analysis; Method
Selection and Validation; Uncertainty Budget Estimation; Measurement and Traceability;
Quality System Documentation; Internal and External Quality Control: intercomparison and
proficiency tests; Statistical Applications and Control Charts; Handling Laboratory Test
Samples; Introduction to Laboratory Accreditation: Accreditation versus Quality System
Registration. Records and Reports;

76
DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
PROGRAMME

1. M.Phil Nuclear Engineering

Option 1. Reactor Physics

Option 2. Reactor Engineering

2. M.Phil Computational Nuclear Sciences and Engineering

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

i. The minimum qualification is a good honours degree (at least Second Class
Honours Division) in any of the following fields: Physics, Mathematics,
Computer Science or
Chemical/Nuclear/Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics/Materials/Civil
Engineering.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study
as above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience
will be considered.

OPTION 1: REACTOR PHYSICS

YEAR 1

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 601: Basic Reactor Physics 3

NENG 603: Types of Reactors 2
NENG 605: Nuclear Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow 3
NENG 607: Health Physics and Radiation Protection 3
NENG 609: Radiation Detection 2
NENG 611: Computational Methods in Engineering 2
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2

SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NENG 602: Reactor Statics 3
NENG 604: Reactor Dynamics 3
NENG 606: Nucleonics 3
NENG 608: Fuel Management 3
NENG 610: Seminar 1 3
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INTER-SEMESTER PRACTICALS ON RADIATION AND HEALTH PHYSICS
MEASUREMENTS.
NENG 624: Experiments on radiation measurement: 2
i. Gamma-Ray spectroscopy using NaI(TI).
ii. Study of hydrogenous materials for neutron
shielding.
NENG 626: Experiments on Activation Analysis: 2
i. Measurement of average neutron flux using
HPGe detector.
ii. Determination of manganese in steel using NAA

YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 620: Seminar 2 3

NENG 600: Thesis 30

Number of credits in year 1: (including practicals) 38

Number of credits in year 2: (including practicals) 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS: (including practicals) 71

OPTION 2: REACTOR ENGINEERING

YEAR 1
CORE COURSES
COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 601: Basic Reactor Physics 3

NENG 603: Types of Reactors 2
NENG 605: Nuclear Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow 3
NENG 607: Health Physics and Radiation Protection 3
NENG 609: Radiation Detection 2
NENG 611: Computational Methods in Engineering 2
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2
NENG 610: Seminar 1 3

SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2

NENG 628: Two-Phase Flows and Heat Transfer in Nuclear Systems 3
NENG 612: Radiation Shielding 3
NENG 614: Reactor Materials and Radiation Damage 3
NENG 616: Analysis of Cycles of Nuclear Power Plants 3

78
INTER-SEMESTER PRACTICALS ON REACTOREXPERIMENTS AND COMPUTER
EXERCISES

NENG 618: Reactor experiments.

2
i. Control Rod Calibration
ii. Measurement of neutron temperatures in
the inner and outer irradiation sites

NENG 622: Computer exercises

2
i. Computer exercises for calculation of
reactor parameters
ii. Computer simulation of reactivity transients

YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 620: Seminar 2 3

NENG 600: Thesis 30

Number of credits in year 1: (including practicals) 38

Number of credits in year 2: (including practicals) 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS: (including practicals) 71

Students are expected to undertake research projects and prepare

A thesis in any of the following fields:

1. Neutron and Reactor Physics

2. Nuclear Fuel Management
3. Control and Instrumentation
4. Core Thermal-hydraulics
5. Radiation Shielding
6. Two-phase Flows and Head Transfer
7. Reactor Materials and radiation damage

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

79
NENG 601 Basic Reactor Physics 3 credits

Fundamentals of nuclear energy, Uses and classification of reactors, Reactor components and
Moderators, Cross-section for nuclear reactions, Neutron interactions, Neutron transmission in a
slab, Nuclear cross-sections, Corrected absorption cross-sections, Neutron activation,
Determination of neutron fluxes using foil irradiation, Neutron moderation (Thermalization of
neutrons), Centre of mass and Laboratory systems, Scatter in centre of mass systems,
Macroscopic slowing down process, comparison of moderating characteristics of materials,
Steady state reactor core, Four factor formula, Fast neutron scatter and slow down, Calculation
of resonance escape probability, Diffusion of neutrons, Calculation of neutron leakage, Neutron
balance equations, Boundary conditions in diffusion theory, Flux distribution (in rectangular
slab, spherical reactor core and cylindrical reactor core), Transient reactor behaviour and control,
Reactor safety, Reactor kinetics and control, multigroup theory.

NENG 603: TYPES OF REACTORS (2 Credits)

INTRODUCTION: Terminologies used in Nuclear Engineering, Components of the core of a

reactor, Reactor Classification, Uses of reactors.SPECIFIC REACTORS: Water Water Energy
Reactor (WWER), Main system components of the WWER, Schematic of the Primary circuit of
the WWER, Coolant circulation in the primary and Secondary circuits of the plant, Design and
composition of the reactor's core, Fuel Design, Core configuration and Fuel Assembly configuration,
WWER control and protection system. Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), Evolution of the BWR,
Generic features of the BWR, Core and fuel assembly setup of the BWR, BWR coolant circulation
and steam generation scheme, BWR control mechanism, BWR- 1300 major characteristics.

Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), Prominent characteristics of PWR, PWR coolant flow cycle,
PWR control systems and Protection System, Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCs). • Heavy
Water Reactor, Candu Reactor Assembly and functional requirements, The calanria and fuel channel
assembly, Main features of the fuel bundle, Reactivity control devices. Fast Breeder Reactors,
General Overview of Fast Breeder Reactors, The Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR),
Components of the LMFBR, LMFBR configuration, Gas-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCBFR).
Main components and configuration of GCBFR. Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR),
General Overview of the MNSR, MNSR Fuel design, Advantages and Disadvantages of MNSR,
Mechanical and thermal properties of the fuel, Corrosion, Reflectors, Corrosion of Beryllium, MNSR
water chemistry, MNSR pool water. Safe Low-Power Kritical Experiment (SLOWPOKE), Basic
design, Current Application, Difference between MNSR and SLOWPOKE, SLOWPOKE fuel
design.

80
NENG 605: NUCLEAR HEAT TRANSFER AND FLUID FLOW (3 Credits)

Fuel rod thermal design; Choice of Coolants, Cladding and Fuel; Thermal Analysis of a Plate
type of fuel element; Heat transfer in cylindrical fuel element; Convective heat transfer; Boiling
heat transfer; Pool boiling; Flow boiling; Film boiling; Heat transfer correlations for flow
boiling; Reactor thermal hydraulic analysis; Temperature distribution along a fuel rod in a
coolant channel, Pressure drop evaluation.

NENG 609: RADIATION DETECTION (2 Credits)

METHODS OF RADIATION DETECTION: Energy fluence; W-value. IONIZATION

DETECTOR: Basic element of ionization chamber; Ionization Pulse. TYPES OF IONIZATION
CHAMBER: Active Detectors; Passive Detectors. GAS-FILLED DETECTORPROPORTIONAL
COUNTER: Types of Proportional Counters; Gas Flow Proportional; Sealed Proportional; Air
Proportional; Pulse size; Avalanche . GM-COUNTER: Counting circuit; Quenching process;
Resolving Time. SCINTILLATORS: Properties; Organic and Inorganic. RADIATION MEASURING
DEVICES: Semiconductor Detectors; Lithium Drifted detectors; Surface Barrier Detectors.
DOSIMETRY: Dosimeters; Electronic Dosimeters. NEUTRON DETECTION: Fast Neutrons
FISSION CHAMBER

NENG 611: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN NUCLEAR ENGINEERING

(3 Credits)

Numerical Analysis (Iterative methods for solving non-linear equations, linear difference equations
and polynomial equations, differentiation and integration formulae), Interpolation methods,
Numerical Solution of differential equations, Numerical Analysis of linear systems, Matrix
representation, Eigenvalue and Eigenvector problems, Specialized Partial Differential Equations and
Solutions by Finite difference methods, Errors associated with scientific computing, Programming
skills, Algorithms & Software applications (FORTRAN 99, C++, MATLAB

NENG 602: REACTOR STATICS ( 3 Credits)

Introduction to Reactor Statics; Neutron Cross-section; Reactor Rates; Differentiation Cross-section;

Transport Equation; Integral Forms of the Transport Equation; Eigen values and Criticality;
Multigroup Nuclear Data Libraries; Treatment of Energy, Angle and Space; Integral Transport
Theory; Collision Probabilities; PL Approximation and Diffusion Theory; Discrete SN Method;
Multigroup Iteration Methods; Group Constants in the Resonance Region; Critically Spectrum;
Burnup; Nodal Equations for 3D Calculation.

81
NENG 604: REACTOR DYNAMICS (3 Credits)

Basic Equations; Time-Dependent Transport and Diffusion Equations; Multigroup Time-Dependent

Diffusion Equations; Classification of Reactor Transients; Transients and Accident Classification;
Prompt Neutron Lifetime and Generation Time; Effective Delayed Neutron Fraction; Solutions of
Neutron Kinetic Equations; Analytical Methods; Numerical Methods; Linear Reactor Process
Dynamics with Feedback; Neutronics Transfer Function; Void Effects; Reactor Thermal Transients;
Reactor Plant Dynamics; Reactor Control Elements; Reactor Stability; Stability Evaluation; Reactor
Transfer Equation; Stability Criteria; Fluctuations and Rector Noise; Probability Equations;
Feynman-alpha Technique; Rossi-alpha Technique; Experimental Applications

NENG 606: NUCLEONICS (3 Credits)

Power Supplies: High voltage-supplies, Switch mode power supplier; Analog Circuits; Digital
Circuits, Scalars; Rate meters, Multi-Channel Analyzers, PC-based MCA; Interfacing nuclear
experiments to PC

Radiation Detects; Ionization chamber; GM counters; Scintillation Counters

NENG 607: HEALTH PHYSICS AND RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Health Physics Activities, effects of different types of radiation, External and Internal Radiation
Sources, Radiation Quantities, Units and Measurements. Biological effects of Radiation;
Radiation Safety Guides; Organizations that set Standards, Philosophy of Radiation Protection.
Health Physics Instrumentation: Radiation detectors, Dose measuring Instruments, Neutron
Measurements, Calibration, Counting Statistics. External and Internal Radiation Protection
Computation of exposure and dose, Optimization. Criticality: Criticality Hazard, Nuclear
Fission, Fission Products, Criticality; multiplication factor, the four-factor formula; Nuclear
Reactor: reactivity, inventory, control. Radiation Shielding principles, Radiation Attenuation
Calculations

NENG 608: FUEL MANAGEMENT (3 Credits)

Review of Reactor Parameters: Nuclear Power Plant Systems and Components; Nuclear Fuel Cycle;
Fuel Loading Requirements; Reactivity Control Management; Fuel Depletion Analysis; In-Core Fuel
Management; Fuel Loading Variables and Constraints; Selection of Fuel Reload Fraction; Fuel and
Control Arrangement Strategies; Reactor Cycle Stretchout

82
NENG 628: TWO-PHASE FLOWS AND HEAT TRANSFER IN NUCLEAR REACTOR (3
Credits)

Basic Equations Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer: Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer; Bubble and
Slug Flows; Annular Two-Phase Flow; Heat Transfer in High Quality Two-Phase Flows; Burnout
and Critical Two-Phase Flows; Oscillatory Two-Phase Flows; Steady-State Sub-channel Analysis;
Measuring Techniques in Two-Phase Flows; Emergency Core Cooling: Blowdown; Refilling

NENG 612: RADIATION SHIELDING ( 3 Credits)

Radiation Shielding Principles; Calculation of detector response or fluence rate at the detector
position, Radiation attenuation calculation; Good geometry and bad geometry considerations,
Point Kernel Techniques; Experimental Point Kernel; Build-up factors: Expressions for build-up
factor calculation: Linear, Berger, Taylor and polynomial expressions; Calculation of fluence
rate at detector point from line source, planar source, and volume source. Shielding calculations
with consideration of build-up, and self attenuation. Shielding of X-ray, teletherapy,
brachytherapy and accelerator facilities and nuclear reactors. Reactor Shielding calculations
using computer codes; Transport Equation and its Solution Method: Discrete or SN Method;
Input Data Description or 1-D Transport Code; Description of the code structure; Reactor Shield
Analysis

NENG 614: REACTOR MATERIALS AND RADIATION DAMAGE (3 Credits)

Amorphous Materials: Temperature and Mobility Effects; Increase in Transition Temperature for
BCC Metals; Stainless Steel in Fast Reactors; Comparison Between Thermal and Fast Neutron
Damage; Nuclear Fuels and Fuel Densification; Dispersion-Type Alloys; Calculation of Atom
Displacements in Materials.

NENG 616: ANALYSIS OF CYCLES OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS (3 Credits)

Power Plant Performance Parameters: Steam Plant; Closed-Circuit Gas-Turbine Plant; Internal-
Combination Power Plant; Gas-Turbine Plant; Steam-Turbine Plant; Nuclear Power Plant Analysis:
Simple Dual-Pressure Cycle: Calculation of HP and LP steam flows and cycle efficiency; Efficiency
of the corresponding ideal dual-pressure cycle; Effects of circular power on the plant efficiency;
Pressured Water Reactors; Boiling Water Reactors; Dual-Cycle BWR; Advanced Gas-cooled reactor
(AGR) plant; High-temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) plant

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communication 2

credits

Research Policy & Research Framework (Research project formulation & management, Logical
framework matrix, Gnatt chart); Research Methods (Literature review, Theoretical/ Computational
analysis, Experiments/Methods & Materials, Equipment calibration, Sampling & Sample
83
preparation, Research survey methods, Laboratory control, Data acquisition and presentation (raw
data, tables & graphs), Graphing by Excel, Matlab; Text art); Data Analysis (Accurate & precise
results, Errors in experimentation, Statistics & Probability (Variance & standard deviation,
correlation); Technical Report Writing: (Contents, Executive summary/ abstract, Introduction, body
(subject matter), Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References, Acknowledgement, Appendix);
Technical Tools: MS equation editor, Graphics and Scanned images); Presentation of Scientific
Research Reports (Power point presentation, Poster section, Conference papers, Technical reports,
Refereed journal Papers); Research Proposals (Defining research problems, Identifying
stakeholders/users, Research design, Survey metho-ds, Implementation strategies, Dissemination
plans, Concept notes, Funding Agency‘s Guide-lines); Format of Research Proposal (Title page:
title, investigators, budget, official endorse-ent, abstract, literature review, research problem,
objectives, methods: field work, experim-ents, demonstration, models, expected results, timetable &
work plan, complimentary activiti-es, mission of organization & research capacity, budget details,
references, undertaking, other requirements (to be attached)); Reporting & Communicating Scientific
Research Results (Dissemination of findings: Non-technical reports for Public, Group briefings for
the specia-lists, Scholarly papers); Case studies of research proposals

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear
law.Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of
regulatory functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and
regulations; inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies
and external support.International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General
requirements for power reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization;
Conditions for a license; Research and test rectors.Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal
means of ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security.Nuclear Liability and Coverage: Nuclear
liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other
radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation
damage.Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

84
MPHIL COMPUTATIONAL NUCLEAR SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
(In collaboration with Advanced Information Technology Institute (AITI)& Ghana India
Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (KACE)

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree (at least second
class lower division) in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science or Engineering
from any recognized or approved University.
ii. In the case of a candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of
study but is otherwise adjudged suitable, other equivalent qualifications with appropriate
experience will be considered

YEAR 1

CORE COURSES

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAP 613 Research Methods and Scientific Communications 2

NENG 651 Mathematical Modeling and Simulations in Nuclear Sciences 3
NENG 653 Computational Mathematics 2
NENG 655 Computational Fluid Dynamics 2
NENG 657 Practicals (Scientific Computing Skills) 3
NENG 659 Nuclear Sciences and Applications 2
NENG 611 Computational Methods in Engineering 2

NENG 652 Monte Carlo Simulations and Applications 3

NENG 654 Computational Methods in Power Systems (Analysis & Controls) 2
NENG 656 Computational Optimization (Optimization Methods 2
for System and Control)
NENG 658 Practicals (Programming Skills) 2

SNAS 602 Nuclear law and Legislation 2

NENG 610 Seminar 1 (Programming Techniques for Artificial Intelligence 3
Computer Graphics Simulation and Visualization)

ELECTIVE COURSES (Select 5 credits only for the year)

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 661 Parallel Computing, Numerical Algorithms and Programming 3

NENG 663 Heuristic Problem Solving 3
NENG 664 Computational Nuclear Physics 2
NENG 666 Computational Hydrology 2

85
YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NENG 600 Thesis 30

NENG 620 Seminar 2 3

Number of credits in year 1: 35

Number of credits in year 2: 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDITS: 68

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NENG 611: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING (2 credits)

Specialized Partial Differential Equations methods, Solutions by Finite elements methods, Finite
difference methods, Boundary Elements methods, etc., Matrix eigenvalue problem, Pseudo-
spectral method, Stochastic methods (MCM), Modular dynamics, Computational magneto-
hydrodynamics, Parallel computing, Algorithms & Software FORTRAN 99, C++, MATLAB
algorithms and software for Vehicle crash simulation, Petroleum reservoir modeling,
Biomechanics, Optimize known scenarios (Technical & manufacturing processes)

NENG 651: MATHEMATICAL MODELING AND SIMULATIONS IN NUCLEAR

SCIENCES (3 credits)

Science of problem solving, Computational environments, Software and Systems Infrastruc-

ture/Mathematical and Algorithmic infrastructure for building computational environments, High
performance computing, Classifying mathematical models (Linear vrs Non-linear, Deterministic
vrs Probabilistic (Stochastic), Static vrs Dynamic, Lumped parameters vrs Distributed
parameters), Building blocks, Complexity, Model evaluation, Structure of models, Modeling
Languages (UML for software systems, Role Activity Diagram and IDEF for processes, VRML
for 3-D Graphs, MA/Casper), Types of computer simulations in science
(stochastic/deterministic, steady state/dynamic, continuous/discrete local/distributed), Medical
simulations, Processes Simulation, Simulation and Games Theories

NENG 652: MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS AND APPLICATIONS (3 credits)

Application areas, (large number of coupled degrees of freedom, phenomena with significant
uncertainty, multidimensional integrals), Monte Carlo methods (e.g. Kinetic direct simulations,

86
Self-organized criticality, Stochastic optimization), Integration methods (e.g. Direct sampling
methods, Random walk, and Markov chains, Gibbs sampling), Optimization methods (Evolution
strategy, Genetic algorithms, Parallel tempering, Simulated annealing, Stochastic tunneling),
Inverse Problems, Random Numbers generation, Software.
(Projects: Nuclear and Particle Physics Codes, Modeling light transport in multi-layered tissues
(MCML), Simulated annealing for protein structure prediction, Transport of current carriers in
semiconductor devices, Contamination behavior in environment, Statistical Phys-ics (molecular
modeling, simulations of atomic clusters, computer algorithms, movement of impurity atoms in
plasmas), Modeling tissue morphogenesis, Foam and cellular structures.)

NENG 653: COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS (2 credits)

Numerical Analysis (Iterative methods for solving non linear equations, linear difference
equations and solution of polynomial equations, differentiation and integration formulas),
Numerical Solution of differential equations, Round off errors, Numerical Analysis of linear
systems, Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors of matrices, Error analysis, Numerical Methods for
solving engineering problems, Programming skills, Errors associated with scientific computing,
Algorithms & Software applications to Predict future or unobserved situations (e.g. weather, sub-
atomic behavior, and Reconstruction of known events (Earthquakes, other natural disasters).

NENG 654: COMPUTATIONAL METHODS IN POWER SYSTEMS (ANALYSIS AND

CONTROLS) (2 credits)

Nuclear reactor designs, Operational analysis, Performance and Controls; Computation Pre-
processing: Defining geometry/physical bounds, Discrete cells/mesh (uniform, non-uniform),
physical modeling, e.g. equations of motion, enthalpy and constants, Boundary conditions and
properties; Discretization: Stability of discretization, Discontinuous solutions, and calculation of
shocks by Finite volume method, finite element method or finite difference method; Simulations:
Solving equations iteratively, steady state or transient; Algorithms and Programmes; Post-
processing: Analysis and visualization of results and solutions, Application of special codes and
routines for reactor analysis and controls.

NENG 655: COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (2 credits)

Navier-Stokes equations, Continuous fluid in a discretized fashion, Solving fluid problems by
Lagrangian method, Spectra method (spherical harmonics and Chebyshev polynomial) Lattice
Boltzmann method, Discretization methods ( finite volume, finite element, finite difference),
Turbulence methods (Direct numerical simulations, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes, Large
eddy simulations, Detached eddy simulation, Vortex method), Solution algori-thms (stationary

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iterative method-Gauss Seidel or successive over-relaxation, Krylor sub-space method, multigrid
algorithms), Software packages.

NENG 656: COMPUTATIONAL OPTIMIZATION (OPTIMIZATION METHODS

FOR SYSTEMS AND CONTROL) (2
credits)

Methods for obtaining extremum of a non-dynamic or dynamic system and use in control design,
Necessary and sufficient condition for local extrema in programming problems and calculus of
variations, Control problems, Maximum principles and applications, Discrete control
problems,Linear programming, Optimization of linear objective functions subject to linear
constraints, Development of theory and algorithm strategies for solving linear programming
problems.

NENG 657: PRACTICALS I (SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING SKILLS) (3 credits)

Computing Skills, Software routines for numerical problems, FORTRAN, C++, MATLAB,
Mathematica, Fundamental of programming

NENG 610: SEMINAR 1 (PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES FOR ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE COMPUTER GRAPHIC SIMULATION AND
VISUALIZATION) (3 credits)

Lisp, Control and Data Structures, Hyper-order functions, Continuations and Co-routines, Flow
of control in deductive information retrieval and production systems, Implementation of
justifications and logic-based truth maintenance systems, Prolog and Advanced data structures,
Control strategies for problem solving, Design of expert system shell, Object oriented
programming in Lisp.Representation of scalar, vector and tensor fields, Data sampling and Re-
sampling, Reconstruction using multivariate finite elements (surfaces, volumes, and surfaces on
surfaces), Techniques for visually simulating multi-dimensional systems that evolve over time,
Approximations when modeling time-varying system by a set of mathematical equations,
Abstract mapping between simulation variables and visual parameters, Implementing computer
graphic simulations of time-varying systems.

NENG 661: PARALLEL COMPUTING, NUMERICAL ALGORITHMS AND

PROGRAMMING (3 credits)
Parallel computing and performance evaluation, Parallel libraries and Problem solving envi-
ronments, Models of parallel computing and run-time support system, Numerical algorithm
design and implementation on parallel computing platforms, Arithmetic complexity and man-
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agement of hierarchical memory structures, Round off characteristics, Sequential schemes and
performance evaluation and enhancement, Methods and techniques for programming parallel
computers, Parallel architectures of shared-memory and distributed-memory multi processor
systems, Directive-based (Open MP), Message passing (MPI) and thread-based (POSIX threads)
methods, Methodologies for analyzing and improving the performance of parallel programs.

NENG 658: PRACTICALS II (PROGRAMMING SKILLS) (2 credits)

Simulations for debugging and automatic error detection, Developing algorithms and progra-ms
for numerical computation, Solutions of PDEs, Finite elements methods

NENG 664: COMPUTATIONAL NUCLEAR PHYSICS (2 credits)

Computer modeling and simulation of physical and natural systems, Solution of nuclear
problems involving Heat/Thermal conduction/convection/radiation, Newton‘s law of cooling,
Fourier‘s law of conduction, Fick‘s first and second laws of diffusion, Gas exchange, Osmosis;
Theory and Simulations of Statistical Thermodynamics; Structural modeling and simulation
methods (Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo and Boltzmann sampling methods; Applications
to analysis of air pollutant dispersion using atmospheric dispersion models, Flight simulation to
train pilots, Weather forecasting, Numerical modeling of underground water.

NENG 659: .NUCLEAR SCIENCES AND APPLICATIONS (2 credits)

Rutherford nuclear atom, Properties of nucleus, Radioactivity (Decay chains, types of decay, half
lives), Nuclear reactions, Compound nucleus, Cross sections, Models of alpha decay and beta
decay, Artificial radioactivity, Neutron reactions, Health Physics and Radiation protection,
Principles of neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Gamma ray
spectrometry, Radioactive dating, Radiation detectors (gas, semiconductor, scintillation counters,
Cherokov), Statistics of counting, Radionuclide imaging

NENG 666: COMPUTATIONAL HYDROLOGY (2 credits)

Molecular structure (Ab initio methods, Density functional methods, Semi-empirical and
empirical methods, Molecular mechanics), Molecular wave functions, Computational chemical
methods, Chemical dynamics, Software packages, Monte Carlo molecular modeling

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NENG 663: HEURISTIC PROBLEM SOLVING (3 credits)

Design and development of heuristic problem-solving systems, Data representations, Heuristics

and strategies applicable to wide class of problems, Game playing, Theorem Providing, Patten
Recognition, Semantic information, Processing, Cognitive Psychology, Design synthesis,
Robotics and Integrated artificial intelligence systems

SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)

Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support.International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors. Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security.Nuclear Liability and Coverage: Nuclear
liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other
radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

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DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY

M.Phil Radiation Protection

MSc (Master of Science) Radiation Protection
and the Safety of Radiation Sources
RADIATION PROTECTION

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

i. The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree ( at least a
second class lower division) in any of the following fields: Physics, Chemistry,
Biology and Engineering from any approved University.
ii. A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study
as above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience
will be considered.

YEAR 1

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAS 601: Review of Fundamentals of Radiation Physics 3

NSAS 603: Radiation Quantities and Measurements 2
NSAS 605: Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiations 2
NSAS 607: Principles of Radiation Protection,
International Framework and Nuclear Safety 2
NSAS 609: External and Internal Exposure and dose
Assessment 3
NSAS 611: Sources and Protection Against Non-Ionizing
Radiation. 2
NSAS 619: Intervention for the Protection of the Public
in Situations of Chronic and Acute Emergency
Exposure 2
NSAS 617: Demonstrations (During Inter-semester break) 3
NSAS 602: Occupational Radiation Protection 3
NSAS 604: Medical Exposure in Diagnostic Radiology
Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine 3
NSAS 606: Exposure of the Public due to Practices and
Environmental Protection 3
NSAS 608: Practical Exercises 3
NSAS 614: Technical Visits and Case Studies 3
NSAS 616: Regulatory Framework For control of Radiation
Sources 2
NSAP 613: Research Methods and Scientific Communication 2

NSAS 610: Seminar 1 3

SNAS 602 Nuclear Law and Legislation 2
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SNAS 604 Quality Management in Testing Laboratories 2
YEAR 2

COURSE CODE COURSE TITLE CREDITS

NSAS 620: Seminar 2 3

NSAS 600: Thesis 30

Number of credits in year 1: 42

Number of credits in year 2 33

TOTAL COURSE CREDIT 75

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NSAS 601: REVIEW OF FUNDAMENTALS OF RADIATION (3 Credits)

Introduction: Overview of the training course: aim, learning objectives, content and
scheduleIntroduction to radiation protection and the safety of radiation sources. Basic nuclear
physics. Introduction to atomic structure: Neutrons, protons and electrons; periodic table; atomic
mass, isotopes of element; excitation, ionization; binding energy; accelerated particles;
characteristic X rays, bremsstrahlung; auger electrons, internal conversion; energies.
Radioactivity; Nuclear stability; unstable nuclei; radionuclides; modes of disintegration alpha,
beta, gamma; types of spectra; positron; electron capture; table of radionuclides; activity; law of
radioactive decay; half-life; decay constant; mean life; activity, units; decay chains and
equilibrium. Nuclear reactionsTypes of reactions; induced radioactivity; fission and fusion
(energy considerations); cross section; energetics of reactions.Basic mathematics:
Differentiation/integration; decay equations (exponential functions); first orderordinary linear
differential equations with a constant; Statistics; Accuracy; precision; reliability; student T test;
Chi square; probability theory; random variables; distributions: different types (log- normal,
binomial, Poisson, Gaussian); scatter diagram; mean, mode, median; standard deviation; standard
error; confidence levels; regression; correlation; practical application to counting; curve fitting
by least square methods. Charged particle radiation: Heavy particles (alpha, proton nuclei)
Energy transfer mechanisms, ionization, scattering nuclear interaction; range–energy
relationship; Bragg curve; stopping power; shielding; Beta particles; Mechanisms of energy
transfer; relationships; bremsstrahlung; Cerenkov radiation; shielding. Uncharged radiation: X
and gamma rays; Photoelectric effect; Compton scattering; pair production; secondary photon
production; linear mass attenuation coefficient; exponential attenuation; effect of Z on absorbing
medium; buildup correction; shielding. Neutrons; Interaction; scattering; absorption; energy
categories; neutron activation; radioactive capture (n, p), (n, γ); moderation; shielding; Induced
radioactivity: by charged and uncharged particles. Natural radiation: Terrestrial radionuclides:
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Uranium (235U and 238U), 232Th, 40K; important radionuclides in 238U and 232Th decay chains (Ra,
Rn emanation, etc.); NORM; Cosmic radiation: types of cosmic radiation; variation with latitude
and altitude. Human made radioactive sources: Radioactive sources: beta, alpha, gamma and X
ray sources; isotopic neutron sources; sealed sources; unsealed sources and isotope generators;
source enclosures; fallout; general safety of radiation sources; production of radioisotopes;
Nuclear reactors: review of fission and fusion reactions; moderation of neutrons; neutrons,
multiplication factor, criticality; basic elements of a nuclear reactor; types of reactors; research
reactors; nuclear fuel cycle installations; Consumer products

NSAS 603: RADIATION QUANTITIES AND MEASUREMENTS (2 Credits)

Radiometric quantities and interaction coefficients: Radiation field; fluence (rate); energy
fluence (rate); cross section; mass attenuation coefficient; mass stopping power. Dosimetric
quantities: Exposure (rate); kerma (rate); energy imparted; absorbed dose (rate); linear energy
transfer (LET), lineal energy; organ dose. Radiation protection quantities: Equivalent dose (rate);
radiation weighting factor (wR); Effective dose, tissue weighting factor (wT); operational
quantities: ambient dose equivalent; directional dose equivalent; personal dose equivalent;
intake; committed dose. Dosimetric calculations: Relationship between fluence, kerma and
absorbed dose; air kerma rate constant; calculation of kerma and absorbed dose; Bragg-Gray
cavity principle; measurement of absorbed dose with ionization in gas filled cavity; electronic
equilibrium; composition of homogeneous cavity; large cavity; small cavity; recombination
effects; correction factors for determination of absorbed dose to water in photon and electron
beams; Point sources, plane sources, and volume sources; absorption and scattering in air and in
the body; attenuation of primary radiation and buildup of secondary radiation; concepts of
extended and aligned fields; influence of geometry; Calculation of dose from neutron sources;
Microdosimetry; tissue equivalent detectorsDetectors: Gas filled detectors; Ionization chambers
with current measurements; condenser chambers; pressure ionization chamber; extrapolation
chambers; proportional chambers; GM tubesScintillation detectors :Solid and liquid scintillators;
quenching; Semiconductor detectors; Photographic emulsions; Thermo luminescent detectors;
Nuclear track detectors; Neutron detectorsDetectors using (n, γ) or (n,p) reactions or activation
or others; Imaging detectors; Other detectors: electrets; self-powered detectors; thermally
stimulated exoelectron emission (TSEE); radiophoto luminescent detectors (RPLD);
Measurement techniques: Efficiency (geometric and intrinsic), background, geometry, statistics;
pulse counting scalers and rate meters; discriminators; resolution; pulse height analysis -
coincidence and anticoincidence; pulse shape analysis; computer analysis of spectra

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NSAS 605: BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION (2 Credits)

Basic radiation chemistry: Breakage of chemical bonds by excitation ionization; biologically

important elements; direct and indirect effects of radiation: generation of free radicals,
interaction with DNA; interaction with proteins and lipids. Effects of radiation on cells:
Chromosomes; DNA; point mutations, chromosome breaks, mitosis; mitotic dysfunction, cell
death; consequences of cell death; consequences of cell damage, DNA repair; cell sensitivity;
radiosensitizers and protectors; chromosome aberrations as biological indicator of dose. Effects
of whole body irradiation: General dose-response curve; threshold; severity; acute radiation
syndrome; haematopoietic system; gastrointestinal tract; central nervous system. Effects of
partial body irradiation: Skin (erythema, ulceration, effect of radiation type and radiation
quality); thyroid, lung, eye lens; gonads; threshold doses; effect of fractionation and dose rate;
case histories (accidental exposures)Stochastic effects: Cancer induction and development;
sources of data: atomic bomb survivors, dial painters, medical exposures, miners, animal data;
Dose-response relationship; absolute and relative risk models; dose and dose rate effectiveness
factors; ICRP risk factors, fatal and non-fatal cancers.Stochastic hereditary effects; Elementary
genetics; natural mutations; production of gametes and damage to chromosomes (examples);
gene mutations; sources of data: man and animals; concept of doubling dose; UNSCEAR and
ICRP approach; ICRP risk assumptions: subsequent generations and severity. Radiation effects:
Sensitivity at different stages of development; brain development and retardation; induction of
leukemia and cancers. Epidemiological studies: Statistical requirements, current types of studies;
association and confounding factors, power and precision; prospects and pitfalls. Radiation
detriment: Need for an aggregated measure of harm; tissue weighting factor wT , effective dose;
dose limits, concept of collective dose; approach adopted by ICRP; comparison of risks from
different activities

NSAS 607: PRINCIPLES OF RADIATION PROTECTION, THE INTERNATIONAL

FRAMEWORK AND NUCLEAR SAFETY

(2 Credits)

Conceptual framework: The ICRP Basic Framework (types of exposure, control of radiation
sources); brief review of quantities, including collective dose; The System of Radiological
Protection in proposed and continuing practices; Justification of a practice; optimization of
protection with examples; individual dose limits; Potential exposures; dose and risk
constraintsSystem of protection for intervention. Assessment of the effectiveness of the system
of protection.International organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
Statutory functions; establishment and implementation of safety standards, legally binding
instruments: ConventionsInternational Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP);

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International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU); United Nations
Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR); International Labor
Organization (ILO); World Health Organization (WHO); Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO); OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA); Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO); Safety culture of staff at all levels; Priority to safety : policies,
procedures; responsibilities; the lines of authority for making decisions; organizational
arrangements; communication lines; Safety culture indicatorsExamples of safety culture

NSAS 609: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RADIATION EXPOSURE AND DOSE

ASSESSMENT (3 Credits)

Dosimetric quantities (review):The radiation weighting factor wr in terms of unrestricted linear

energy transfer in water; equivalent dose; tissue weighting factor wT; effective dose; personal
dose equivalent Hp (0.07) and Hp(10); the ambient dose equivalent H*(d) and the directional
dose equivalent (H‘(d)).; The monitoring programmes for individual dose assessment; Design of
monitoring programmes; Personal dosimetry; Assessments of effective dose in various external
exposure conditions: practical approximations; Integrating personal dosimeters (TLD, film,
condenser chambers, etc.) calibrated for personal dose equivalent; use of electronic personal
dosimeters; performance requirements for personal dosimeters; Whole body, extremities and
skin dosimetry; Routine, special, accidental exposure assessment; Analysis of uncertainties:
Type A) inhomogeneity of detector sensitivity readings due to limited sensitivity and
background, variability of detector readings at zero dose; Type B) energy dependence,
directional dependence, non-linearity of the response, fading due to temperature and humidity,
effects due to exposure to light, or to other types of ionizing radiation, mechanical shock,
calibration errors, variation in local natural backgroundMonitoring programme for the work
place: Routine, task related and special monitoring; fixed and portable monitors; monitoring for
work planning purposes; monitoring to detect changes in the working environment; monitoring
systems for radiation fields, for surfaces, noble gases; use of ambient dose equivalent and
directional dose equivalent; dose rate meters for receptor free conditions calibrated for ambient
and directional quantities. Interpretation of measurements: Recording levels; evaluation of doses
to whole body, extremities and skin; calculation of the effective dose caused by external
exposure; routine, task related and special monitoring. Calibration: Primary and secondary
standards; sources used for calibration; calibration; Routine testing of equipment, performance
testing, type testing. Quality assurance: Quality assurance procedures. Modes of intake:
Inhalation (particle sizes, AMAD, determination of size distribution of aerosols), ingestion and
absorption through skin or wounds; influence of specific activity and physicochemical state:
retention in tissues, complexation, polymerization, etc; Special case of tritiated water and vapor:
intake through skin of splashed water and of vapor and respiratory intake; Intakes of
radionuclides by workers; intakes of radionuclides by members of the public.Monitoring
programme: Monitoring programme for exposure due to the intake of radionuclidesMonitoring

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programme: need, design of a routine monitoring programme, methods of measurement,
frequency of monitoring, reference levels, special monitoring; Workplace monitoring: surface,
air; the concept of DAC; Direct methods for personal monitoring: principles; measurement
geometry: whole body, thyroid, lung; methods of detection; measurement procedures; Indirect
methods for personal monitoring: biological samples (urine, faeces, breath, blood, nose blows,
tissue sample); normalization of samples; physical samples (air samples, surface samples);
handling methods; methods of analysis (radiochemical separation, detection). Biokinetic models
used by ICRP: Quantitative aspects of intake; uptake into blood and transport to various organs;
deposition in organs; Modeling by compartment models; relationships between compartments as
one basis for specifying monitoring procedures; retention and elimination; exponential
compartments, biological half-life and effective half-life; Non-exponential retention; body model
ICRP (standard man); gut model; lung model; age dependent models; entry through wounds and
intact skin; Performance requirements for detection systems in internal dosimetry; Calculation of
committed effective doseCommitted effective dose; committed effective dose per unit of intake;
committed effective dose per unit intake in the standard adult and as a function of age;
consistency of the measurements with biokinetic models; dosimetric models of ICRP;
Calculation of the organ contribution to the effective dose; Primary and secondary limits; Special
case of radon and radon progeny; Software for internal dose calculation (characteristics and
availability).Calibration: Calibration of body counters; calibration of the biochemical techniques;
intercomparison of radiochemical assays; standards; routine testing of equipment. Quality
assurance:Quality assurance procedures

NSAS 611: SOURCES OF AND PROTECTION AGAINST NON- IONIZING

RADIATION (2 Credits)

Static and ELF Electric fields; Ultraviolet , Visible and Infrared radiation; Lasers, Visual
displays Units , Radiofrequency radiation; Mobile phones and base stations; Protection
principles; Dosimetry and instrumentation. Nuclear safety: Criticality safety. Research reactor
safety. Reactor accidents and lessons learned.

NSAS 617: DEMONSTRATIONS (3 Credits)

NSAS 619: INTERVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC IN

SITUATIONS OF CHRONIC AND ACUTE EMERGENCY EXPOSURE (2
Credits)

Principles for intervention: Chronic exposure situations: types - radon, residual contamination,
etc.; remedial action plans; action levels; Nuclear and radiological accidents: nuclear reactor
accident; accident with radiation sources, accident outside the country with transboundary
effects; nuclear powered satellites and re-entry; history of past accidents; lessons learned.
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Emergency response Concepts and objectives of emergency response; principles of intervention,
including intervention levels; protective actions and operational intervention levels; emergency
response strategies; generic response organization. Emergency preparedness: Concepts and
objectives of emergency preparedness; emergency planning categories; planning areas and
zones; planning levels and responsibilities; planning elements for emergency preparedness;
integrated planning concepts; personal protective equipment and devices; training; exercises.
Implementation of emergency response plans: Step by step approach to developing and
implementing emergency response plans and procedures; identification and assignment of
critical tasks; concept of operations; national emergency response plan. Checklists of emergency
preparedness; considerations for radiological and nuclear accidents: infrastructure elements;
functional elements. Assessment of radiological emergency. Accident scenarios; generic
response organization in a radiological emergency; emergency management; response at the
scene: co-ordination of organizations involved; initial response; radiological response: source
recovery; decontamination; removal of radioactive wastes; dose assessment overview: external
and internal; lessons learned from Goiânia accident. Assessment of nuclear emergency: Events
leading to a release from the core; releases from the core and to the environment; exposure
pathways; protective actions; revision of operational intervention levels; lessons learned from
reactor accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl). Emergency monitoring overview. Objectives;
generic monitoring organization and strategy; small and large scale accidents; staff qualification;
instrumentation; basic survey method during an emergency; quality assurance. Field radiation
and contamination monitoring: Objectives; basic methods and techniques (plume survey; ground
deposition survey; environmental dosimetry; source monitoring; surface contamination survey;
aerial survey); field sampling: objectives; methods and techniques (sampling of air; soil; milk;
human food; pasture; sediment) measurement techniques; gamma spectrometry (laboratory and
in situ); gross alpha and beta measurements; radiochemical analysis. Radiation protection of
monitoring teams: Objectives; personal protection guides; personal monitoring; simple
decontamination techniques. Basic data evaluation: Methods; field monitoring data evaluation;
radionuclide concentration data evaluation; mapping; link to operational intervention levels.
Medical management: Responsibilities and management of medical intervention; the triage of
victims; diagnosis and treatment; training of those involved in medical management of the
victims (medical, paramedical staff); psychological effects. Communication: Communication
with the public and other parties, including regulatory authority in neighboring countries;
objectives of communication with the public; spokesperson; preparation of message;
communication methods and means; communication schedule; resources; training on
communications. International co-operation: Safety conventions and their implementation.
IAEA Emergency Response Network (ERNET).

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NSAS 602: OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Radiation protection programme: Prior radiological evaluation and safety assessment; scope and
structure of the radiation protection programme; responsibility and commitment of registrant,
licensees and employers; responsibility of workers and others at the workplace; radiation
protection organization; special administrative arrangements; infrastructure; role of the radiation
protection officer; role of the qualified expert; lines of communication (internal, between
employers, with regulatory authority); safety culture; quality assurance; emergency
preparedness. Technical aspects of radiation protection against sealed and unsealed sources:
General principles; Time, distance and shielding; minimum number of sources; protection
against contamination; house keeping; hierarchy in protective measures – infrastructure (design)
and procedures. Safety and security of sources: Physical protection of sources and waste; leak
testing, signs and tagging; conditioning; shielding; storage; decommissioning; emergency
procedures. Features of facility design: Design feature (considering also scattering effects);
ventilation system; shielding calculation; safety interlocks; remote handling equipment; fume
hoods; hot cells; glove boxes; changing room; physical barriers; storage facilities; liquid effluent
pipeline and decay control; fixed radiation monitors; warning signs; quality assurance;
commissioning survey and regulatory review. Personal protection: Protective clothing;
respiratory protection; contamination control; decontamination; Administrative and procedural
controls. Classification of areas: Controlled and supervised areas; Policies and procedures; Local
rules and supervision; justification of practices and interventions, compliance with dose limits;
record keeping and reporting. Optimization of radiation protection: Commitment to optimization;
the optimization process; investigation levels; dose constraints; use of decision aiding
techniques. Quality assurance: Routine assessment of management and technical performance;
audits and review; feedback for improvements. Training: Induction training for new comers;
specific safe working procedures; refresher training; communication skills. Monitoring: Purposes
of monitoring; Individual monitoring for external and internal exposure; Work place monitoring;
choice of instrumentation and methods; Interpretation of results; record keeping. Health
surveillance: Objectives; responsibilities; medical examination of workers; content of training for
the physicians; counseling; management of overexposed workers. Potential exposures: Safety
assessment of structures, systems, components and procedures related to protection and safety
including modifications of such items. Documentation of safety assessments: Accident
prevention, mitigation and management, design provision and quality assurance for control of
potential exposures; investigations of accidents, incidents and abnormal exposures and follow-up
with corrective action. Industrial radiography: Overview of industrial radiography; types of
exposure devices (gamma radiography sources and containers; X ray radiography equipment;
pipe crawler equipment; real time radiography); organizational responsibilities; specific
regulatory requirements; basic requirements for safety (design and use of shielded enclosures;
site radiography procedures; storage and transport of sources; safety associated with the
equipment maintenance); radiation protection programme: protection of workers; protection of
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the public; emergency preparedness and response; lessons learned from accidental exposure in
industrial radiography. Industrial irradiators and accelerators: Overview of industrial irradiators
and accelerators; organizational responsibilities; basic requirements for safety. specific
regulatory requirements; safety associated to the equipment;. maintenance; radiation protection
programme. protection of the workers; emergency preparedness and response; lessons learned
from accidental exposure in industrial irradiators and accelerators. Nucleonic gauges: Overview
of gauging devices; organizational responsibilities; basic requirements for safety; safety
associated to the equipment; radiation protection programme; protection of the workers. Well
logging: Overview of well logging devices; organizational responsibilities; basic requirements
for safety; radiation protection programme; protection of workers. Radioisotope production
plants: Overview of radioisotope production plants; organizational responsibilities; basic
requirements for safety. Safety associated to the plant; specific regulatory requirements; radiation
protection programme. Control of effluents; protection of workers. Nuclear installations: Types
of installations: nuclear fuel fabrication plant, nuclear reactor (including critical and sub-critical
assemblies, research reactor, NPP), spent fuel storage facility, enrichment plant, reprocessing
facility; basic requirements for safety; safety features and design principles (redundancy,
diversity, physical separation, multiple barrier concept); radiation protection programme;
protection of the workers. Mining and processing of raw materials: Basic requirements for
safety; ventilation; exclusion and exemption; radiation protection programme; protection of the
workers.
NSAS 604: MEDICAL EXPOSURE IN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY,
RADIOTHERAPY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE.
(2 Credits)

General principles: Diagnostic and treatment purposes; registration of professionals; licensees;

role of medical practitioner; role of qualified expert in medical physics. Training; Workers to be
trained; content of the training programmes; updating of programmes; refresher training.
Justification of medical exposures: Identification of alternative techniques; evaluation of the
detriment; criteria for the justification of exposure (difference between diagnostic and treatment
practices). Design considerations for equipment: Radiation safety; international requirements
(standards (IEC, ISO) for radiation generators and radioactive sources). Basic technical
characteristics; regular review and maintenance; factors affecting dose to the patient.
Determination of a dose to the patient: Specific correction factors for the determination of
absorbed dose in water for photon and electron beams; determination of the dose in nuclear
medicine, diagnostic radiology and radiotherapy: determination by assessment; determination by
measurement; comparison with reference levels Operational considerations:Optimization of dose
distribution in treatment (planning of physical treatment); minimizing exposures of patients
(difference between diagnostic and treatment practices); mobile equipment versus fixed
equipment; exposure of women in reproductive capacity; use of organ shielding. Guidance levels
for the patients: Guidance levels for the patient specified by professional bodies on the basis of
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relevant surveys (in diagnostic and radiotherapy); dose constraints (persons exposed for medical
research purposes) and comforters; ethical review committee for experiments; activity in patients
to be discharged from treatment in nuclear medicine. Comprehensive specific quality assurance
programmes: Pre-use testing; periodic control (physical and clinical parameters); periodic quality
audit and review. Calibration of sources and equipment: Traceability to secondary standard
dosimetry laboratory (SSDL); quantities used for calibration; criteria used for calibration of
different types of equipment (radiotherapy equipment, sealed and unsealed sources); standards.N
Records: Identification of the information to be recorded related to the type of medical exposure.
Accidental medical exposures: Identification and investigation of accidental medical exposures;
report to the regulatory authority; lessons learned and feedback into operation. Diagnostic
radiology: Overview of diagnostic radiology; classification of the equipment: general and
specialized radiology , basic requirements for safety; safety associated to the equipment (IEC
standards); shielding; radiation protection programme; protection of the workers. Radiotherapy:
Overview of radiotherapy. Radiation sources and equipment used in brachytherapy and
teletherapy, basic requirements for safety; safety requirements on radiation sources and
equipment (IEC and ISO) for radiotherapy; radiation protection programme, protection of the
workers. Nuclear medicine: Overview of nuclear medicine. Radionuclides used in nuclear
medicine; basic requirements for safety; safety in diagnostic applications (in vivo and in vitro);
safety in therapeutic applications; radiation protection programme; protection of the workers

NSAS 606: EXPOSURE OF THE PUBLIC DUE TO PRACTICES AND

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Natural sources of exposure (review). Terrestrial sources (potassium-40, uranium, thorium,

radon); exposure to cosmic and cosmogenic radiation; geographic variation. Responsibilities:
Responsibilities of licensees and registrants; regulatory authorities; regulations; inspection;
monitoring; reporting; adequate records; emergency planning; communication with the public;
physical protection and the safe use of sources; registry and periodic physical inventory of
sources; control and disposal of spent sources; control of visitors. Safe transport: Regulatory
terminology; basic safety concepts: materials and packages; activity limits and material
restrictions; package limits and typical contents; material requirements, package requirements
and design; material and package test procedures; controls and communications; labels, transport
index; fissile material; consignor‘s and carrier‘s responsibilities; emergency planning and
preparedness; national competent authorities; international model organizations and agreements;
international liability and insurance; information services provided by the IAEA; training.M
Radioactive waste management: Sources of radioactive waste, waste types, waste classification,
waste characterization; Principles of radioactive waste management, basic technical management
options: dilute and disperse, concentrate and contain, storage for decay and clearance from
control .Waste minimization: Pre-disposal waste management: collection, segregation, treatment,
conditioning, secure storage; Control of effluents: approach to regulatory control, establishing
authorized discharge levels; Management of disused sealed sources: technical options and safety
aspects. Management of waste from decommissioning; Solid waste disposal: disposal options for
different waste types, safety principles and technologies for assuring long term safety, safety
100
assessment methods; Management of waste from uranium and thorium; mining and milling.
Management of NORM waste; Cleanup of contaminated areas. Environmental Protection:
Environmental assessment: Environmental dispersion and transfer routes; (atmospheric,
terrestrial, aquatic), exposure pathways for humans, critical groups, assessment models,
individual and collective dose assessment, committed effective dose per unit intake as a function
of age. Environmental monitoring: Monitoring at source: external radiation and liquid; and
gaseous effluents, verification of compliance; with discharge limits; Environmental monitoring:
atmosphere, water; bodies, foodstuffs, other environmental indicators; verification of compliance
with derived environmental; reference levels, survey techniques; Application to different
sources: nuclear power plants; waste facilities, including repositories, mining and milling,
tailings, contaminated land. Consumer products: Definition; justification; optimization (including
type testing); responsibilities of manufacturer and supplier; prior authorization; guidance for
users; labeling.

NSAS 614: TECHNICAL VISITS AND CASE STUDIES (3 Credits)

VISITS
1. Calibration of different dosimeters.
2. Visit to industrial radiography facility.
3. Visit to an irradiator or accelerator for industrial or research use.
4. Visit to a department of nuclear medicine of a hospital.
5. Visit to a hospital: departments of radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine:
demonstration of procedures and specification of the information to be recorded.
6. Visit to a waste treatment facility and a waste management facility.

CASE STUDIES
1. Interpretation of epidemiological data.
2. Assessment of the risks associated with doses.
3. Description of the elements of the system of radiological protection and of safety culture
for any given practice.
4. Principles of protection and safety and national or international experience.
5. Simple evaluation of safety culture for a given organization.
6. Preparation of a conceptual regulatory framework for a country with a defined type and
number of radiation sources.
7. Study of the licensing process for an industrial or a medical practice.
8. Conduct of a safety review for a license application for an industrial radiography facility
or other type of practice.
9. Preparation of a press release by a regulatory authority on a topical issue.
10 Development of a routine monitoring programme (internal and external exposures).
11. Interpretation of measurements made with a personal dosimeter.
12. Calculation of internal doses using ICRP models for acute and chronic exposure.

101
13. Preparation of an organizational chart and highlights of a radiation protection programme
in a hospital (radiotherapy, diagnostic radiology or nuclear medicine) and in an industrial
facility (industrial radiography or irradiator).
14. Application of the ‗as low as reasonably achievable‘ (ALARA) principle for occupational
exposure.
15. Determination of individual dose due to air contamination.
16. Management of personal dose records, dose reduction measures, special monitoring,
follow-up measures.
17. Comparison of predicted doses to personnel on the basis of workplace monitoring with
the results of individual monitoring in mixed radiation fields.
18. Determination of doses to patients.
19. Optimization of doses to patients in diagnostic radiology.
20. Optimization of doses to patients in nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.
21. Analysis of accidents in medical exposure.
22. Procedures for transport of material: characterization of materials and selection of
optimum type of package.
23. Listing of the components of an environmental monitoring programme for a given
installation.
24. Interpretation of the results of an environmental monitoring programme.
25. Response to a hypothetical accident: loss of a gamma radiography source.
26. Response to a hypothetical accident: environmental release of a substantial amount of
radioactive material.
27. Estimation of the individual doses following an accidental overexposure.
28. Preparation of a syllabus and programme for a training course on radiation protection and
the safety for users.

NSAS 616: REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR CONTROL OF RADIATION

SOURCES (2 credits)
Legislative framework: Scope of basic legal framework. Statutory base. Enabling legislation.
The
regulatory authority: Mandate of regulatory authorities, Responsibilities, Organisation, adequate
resources; Training, qualification of staff; Advisory committees and consultants.

Regulatory system: The set of regulations (performance and prescriptive). Safety requirements
and safety guides System of notification, registration, licensing, and control of radiation sources
including criteria for waste storage and disposal, exemptions, clearance. Responsibilities of
licensees, registrants and employers. Relationship between regulator and regulated, feedback.
National inventory of radiation sources orphan sources, import export transport. Safetassessment,
compliance with the safety requirements, inspection, enforcement, training requirements.
Emergency preparedness, investigations of accidents and management of emergencies,
dissemination of information on protection and safety and communication with the public. Co-
operation between employers (sharing safety information, individual monitoring records..etc.).
Regulatory assessment: Methodology to assess the effectiveness: performance indicators,
performance criteria, Peer review>

102
SNAS 602: NUCLEAR LAW AND LEGISLATION (2 credits)
Elements of Nuclear Law: Nuclear and the Legislative Process, Concept, principles of nuclear
law; Legislative process for nuclear law; Security culture and safety culture in nuclear law.
Regulatory Body: Designating the regulatory body; Independence and separation of regulatory
functions; Regulations functions including establishing safety requirements and regulations;
inspection and assessment, enforcement and public information; Advisory bodies and external
support.International Legal Framework for nuclear Safety: General requirements for power
reactors, Role of the regulatory body; Role of the operating organization; Conditions for a
license; Research and test rectors.Transport of Radioactive Material: Legal means of
ensuring the safe transport of radioactive materials; Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel;
International Legal Framework for Nuclear Security.Nuclear Liability and Coverage: Nuclear
liability principles; Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other
radiation damage International nuclear liability conventions; Nuclear liability principles;
Liability for nuclear damage occurring during transport; Liability for other radiation damage.
Non-proliferation and Physical Protection: Safeguards; Export and Import Controls;
Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (CPPN); IAEA Project and supply
agreement; Key elements of physical protection legislation.

SNAS 604 QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN TESTING LABORATORIES (3 Credit)

Introduction to quality management systems: quality management concepts and culture;
Overview of ISO 9000 series and ISO 17025; Understanding ISO 17025 Requirements;
management and technical requirements; Internal Quality Audits/Gap Analysis; Method
Selection and Validation; Uncertainty Budget Estimation; Measurement and Traceability;
Quality System Documentation; Internal and External Quality Control: intercomparison and
proficiency tests; Statistical Applications and Control Charts; Handling Laboratory Test
Samples; Introduction to Laboratory Accreditation: Accreditation versus Quality System
Registration. Records and Reports;

103
POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE COURSE IN RADIATION PROTECTION AND
SAFETY OF RADIATION SOURCES

(IN COLLABORATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY)

BACK GROUND

Education and training in radiation protection is one of the mechanisms through which the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) promotes the applications of its safety standards in
its Member States. The Board of Governors of the IAEA and numerous General Conference
resolutions have emphasized the importance of Education and Training in radiation
protection.The IAEA has assisted many regions of the World to the establish regional approved
education and Training Centre to host Postgraduate Educational Course e in Radiation
Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources . These Centres include Greece for East Europe,
Argentina for Latin American Countries Syria for Arab Countries, Morrow for French Speaking
African Counties to mention a few.These courses are university based in collaboration with
Atomic Energy Institutions in the host Countries.,

THE MAIN AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME INCLUDE:

 Meeting the needs of professionals at graduate level, or the equivalent, for initial training
to acquire a sound basis in radiation protection and the safety of radiation sources
 Provision of the necessary basic tools for those who will become trainers in radiation
protection and in the safe use of radiation sources in their respective countries .
 Provision of both theoretical and practical training in the multidisciplinary scientific
and/or technical bases of international recommendations and standards on radiation
protection and their implementation.
In the light of the above approval is been sought for the School of Nuclear and Allied to make
all the necessary arrangements to host the IAEA Regional PGEC in 2009.

BENEFITS FROM THIS PROGRAMME

The envisaged benefits to be derived for hosting this Postgraduate programme include:
 International recognition for hosting a Regional Centre of Excellence for the education
and training of Radiation Protection professionals in English speaking Countries in
Africa
 Upgrading of infrastructure for education and training in Radiation Protection in Ghana
 Manpower development to meet the needs of Radiation Protection Professional in
Medical and Industrial applications of Radiation Sources and ionizing radiation in Ghana
 Revenue will be generated from the support to be received form IAEA through the
payment of (i) academic user fees (ii) tuition fees and (iii) bench fees
 Technical Assistance to be received to make the programme sustainable on annul basis.

104
The course is envisaged to run from July to December every year and will be organized by the
School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences and with support from the International Atomic Energy
Agency(IAEA).

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION

 The minimum qualification for this programme is a good first degree ( at least a second
class lower division) in any of the following fields: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and
Engineering from any approved University.

 A candidate who does not satisfy the requirement in an appropriate field of study as
above but is otherwise adjudged suitable by virtue of appropriate experience will be
considered.

COURSE CONTENT AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Course Code Title Learning Objective Credits

Review of Fundamentals To gain a basic knowledge of 3

of Radiation Physics nuclear physics and related matters.
NSAS 6 01

NSAS 603 Radiation Quantities and To understand dosimetric quantities 2

Measurements and their measurement units and to
perform related calculations

NSAS 605 Biological Effects of To become familiar with the 2

Ionizing Radiation mechanisms of different types of
biological effects following
exposure to ionizing radiation. To
be aware of the models used to
derive risk coefficients for
estimating the detriment

Principles Of Radiation To become acquainted with the role 2

Protection, The played by ICRP and other
NSAS 607 International Framework International organizations in
and Nuclear safety radiation protection.

105
 To become acquainted with the
elements of a regulatory
infrastructure for radiation
protection and the safe use of
radiation sources

External and Internal To be able to estimate the doses to 3

Exposures and dose individuals arising from both
NSAS 609 assessment external and internal exposure

Occupational Radiation To be able to use the occupational 3

Protection radiation protection concepts in
NSAS 602 developing a radiation protection
programme for any practice.

Medical Exposures in To be able to apply the radiation 3

Diagnostic Radiology, protection principles to medical
NSAS 604 Radiotherapy and exposure. To understand the
Nuclear Medicine concepts used to calculate the dose
to patient and to carry out quality
assurance procedures

Exposure of the Public To become aware of the various 3

Due to Practices and pathways by which the public might
NSAS 606 Environmental Protection be exposed to radiation as a result of
practices and methods for
determining doses.

Intervention for the To develop an awareness of the 3

protection of the public causes and consequences of
NSAS 619 in situations of Chronic situations of chronic exposure, and
and Emergency Exposure of radiological and nuclear accidents
and approaches to mitigate their
consequences

106
NSAS 626 Train the Trainers To be able to organize and 1
implement national training courses.
To develop didactic skills for
preparing for training events.

NSAS 630 Project Management To apply the knowledge and skills 3

acquired within the Msc .Course in
solving a specific radiation
protection problem and to present
the findings and conclusions.

NSAS 610 Seminar 3

NSAS 608 Practicals Exercises To develop the necessary analytical 3

skills and reinforce the theoretical
knowledge

NSAS 614 Technical Visits and On the Job Experience on the 3

Case Studies radiation protection programmes at
end-user facilities

SNAS 604 Quality Management in 2

Testing Laboratories

NSAS 630 Dissertation To prepare a dissertation on a 12

selected topic with assistance of
supervisory committee.

TOTAL 51

SNAS 604 Quality Management in Testing Laboratories 2

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

NSAS 601: REVIEW OF FUNDAMENTALS OF RADIATION PHYSICS (3 Credits)

Overview of basic physics and mathematics used in radiation protection: basic nuclear and
radiation physics ; radioactivity ; Nuclear reactions; basic mathematics ; Statistics ; interaction of
charged and uncharged radiation with matter ;

107
Sources of radiation : Natural radiation ; Human made radioactive sources and radiation
generators.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 601

No. Practical exercise Type

Presentation of different types of radiation sources and Demonstration

01- explanation of their application; natural and human made
1. radionuclide; consumer products; radon sources

01- Demonstration of radioactive decay: charts of nuclides, use of Demonstration

2. books and software for sources of nuclear data
01- Application of the radioactive decay equation; use of some Exercise
3. simple mathematical codes
01- Measurement of half-life Laboratory
4. exercise
01- Counting of statistics using a Geiger–Müller or similar counter Laboratory
5. and radioactive source and verifying the statistical distributions exercise
01- Bremsstrahlung radiation production and its attenuation Demonstration
6.

01- Ranges of alpha and beta particles Demonstration

7.

01- Moderation and absorption of neutrons Demonstration

8.

01- Measurement of half value thickness (HVT) with the different Laboratory
9. absorbent materials exercise

108
 No. Practical exercise Type
01- Demonstration of backscattering of beta radiation Demonstration
10.

01- Demonstration of absorption of beta radiation within sources of Demonstration

11. different thickness (‗self-absorption‘)

01- Determination of maximum energy levels of beta radiation by Laboratory

12. absorption exercise

NSAS 603: RADIATION QUANTITIES AND MEASUREMENTS (2 Credits)

Radiation Quantities and units :Radiometric quantities and interaction coefficients; Dosimetric
quantities; Radiation protection quantities; Dosimetric calculations and measurements :
dosimetric calculations. Principles of radiation detection and measurements : Gas filled
detectors; Ionization chambers with current measurements; condenser chambers; pressure
ionization chamber; extrapolation chambers; proportional chambers; GM tubes.; scintillation
detectors :Solid and liquid scintillators; quenching; Semiconductor detectors; Photographic
emulsions; Thermo luminescent detectors; Nuclear track detectors; Neutron detectors ; Detectors
using (n, γ) or (n,p) reactions or activation or others; Imaging detectors; Other detectors:
electrets; self-powered detectors; thermally stimulated exoelectron emission (TSEE); radiophoto
luminescent detectors (RPLD). Measurement techniques: Efficiency (geometric and intrinsic),
background, geometry, statistics; pulse counting scalers and rate meters; discriminators;
resolution; pulse height analysis - coincidence and anticoincidence; pulse shape analysis;
computer analysis of spectra

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 603

No. Practical exercise Type

109
No. Practical exercise Type

2-1. Demonstration of each type of portable monitor for alpha, beta, Demonstration
gamma and neutron radiations and explanation of the respective
applications; use and consultation of equipment manuals

2-2. Calculational exercises on quantities Exercises

2-3. Determination of characteristics of Geiger–Müller detectors: Laboratory

counting rate versus voltage curve; response to different radiation exercise
energies

2-4. Use of a low background Geiger–Müller system for measurement Laboratory

of low activity beta emitting sources exercise

2-5. Calibration of a gamma scintillation spectrometer in terms of Laboratory

energy and activity exercise

2-6. Analysis of a complex gamma spectrum using semiconductor Laboratory

detectors exercise

2-7. Calibration of an alpha spectrometry system in terms of energy Laboratory

and activity exercise

2-8 Calculationnal exercises on quantities in mixed radiation field Laboratory

exercise

2-9. Reading of photographic films for individual dosimetry that have Demonstration
been exposed to different types of radiation at different energies

2-10. Reading of thermoluminescent dosimeters Demonstration

2-11. Making measurements with track etching systems Demonstration

2-12. Making measurements of low activity of tritium and carbon-14 by Laboratory

liquid scintillation counting systems exercise

2-13. Neutron detection and spectrometry using BF3 detectors and Laboratory
polyethylene moderator spheres exercise

110
 No. Practical exercise Type

2-14. Identification of unknown radionuclides by Feather analysis Laboratory

method exercise

2-15. Preparation of standard uranium sources Laboratory

exercise

NSAS 605: BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION (2 Credits)

Effects of radiation at the molecular and the cellular level :Basic radiation chemistry;. Effects of
radiation on cells: Deterministic effects: Effects of whole body irradiation; Effects of partial
body irradiation: Stochastic somatic effects: Cancer induction and development; sources of data:
atomic bomb survivors, dial painters, medical exposures, miners, animal data; Dose-response
relationship; absolute and relative risk models; dose and dose rate effectiveness factors; ICRP
risk factors, fatal and non-fatal cancers. Stochastic hereditary effects: Elementary genetics;
natural mutations; production of gametes and damage to chromosomes (examples); gene
mutations; sources of data: man and animals; concept of doubling dose; UNSCEAR and ICRP
approach; ICRP risk assumptions: subsequent generations and severity. Effects on embryo and
foetus. Radiation effects: Sensitivity at different stages of development; brain development and
retardation; induction of leukemia and cancers. Epidemiological studies: Statistical requirements;
current types of studies; association and confounding factors, power and precision; prospects and
pitfalls. Radiation detriment: Need for an aggregated measure of harm; tissue weighting factor
wT , effective dose; dose limits, concept of collective dose; approach adopted by ICRP;
comparison of risks from different activities

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 605

No. Practical exercise Type

03I- Biological dosimetry Demonstration or

1. case study

03-2. Interpretation of epidemiological data Case study

111
No. Practical exercise Type

03-3. Assessment of the risks and detriment associated with doses Case study
03-4. Cell survival curves Laboratory
exercise

NSAS 607 : PRINCIPLES OF RADIATION PROTECTION THE INTERNATIONAL

FRAMEWORK AND NUCLEAR SAFETY (3 credits)
ICRP Conceptual framework : The ICRP Basic Framework (types of exposure, control of
radiation sources); Evolution of International Basic Safety Standards ; the contribution of
UNSCEAR scientific data ; The role of International organizations in Radiation Protection ;
Safety culture of staff at all levels; Legislative framework ; The Regulatory authority and its
activities ; Regulatory system : The set of regulations (performance or prescriptive); Safety
assessment and Regulatory assessment. Compliance with the safety requirements;
inspection; enforcement ; Training requirements. Dissemination of information on protection
and safety and communication with the public: Co-operation between employers (sharing
safety information, individual monitoring records, etc.) ; Regulatory Authority Information
System (RAIS) . Methodology to assess the effectiveness: performance indicators,
performance criteria.; Peer review.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 628

No. Practical exercise Type

04-1 Application of ALARA in Radiation Protection Exercises

04-2. Preparation of a conceptual regulatory framework for a country Case study

with a defined type and number of radiation sources

04-3. Use of computer aided materials for an information system for a Case study
regulatory authority (for example, the IAEA Regulatory Authority
Information System (RAIS))

112
 No. Practical exercise Type

04-4. Study of the licensing process for an industrial or a medical Case study
practice

04-5. Conduct of a safety review for a license application for an Case study
industrial radiography facility or other type of practice

04-6. Evaluation of an application for the use of radioactive sources in Case study
smoke detectors or other consumer product (the principle of
justification being taken into account)

04-7. Preparation of a press release by a regulatory authority on a topical Case study

issue

04-8 Checklist for an inspection exercise to an industrial irradiator Case study

facility

NSAS 609: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RADIATION EXPOSURES AND DOSE

ASSESSMENT (3 Credits)

Assessment of occupational exposure due to external sources :Dosimetric quantities (review); the
monitoring programmes for individual dose assessment; monitoring programme for the work
place; interpretation of measurements ; calibration and quality assurance.

Assessment of occupational exposure due to intakes of radionuclides : Modes of Intake ;

Monitoring programme: biokinetic models used by ICRP ; calculation of Committed effective
dose; Calibration and Quality assurance procedures

NSAS 602: OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Organization and management ;Radiation protection programme structure and content ; Methods
of production and safe use of radiation sources; Individual monitoring and workplace monitoring
: individual Monitoring for external and internal exposure ; workplace monitoring ;Health
surveillance : health surveillance of those occupationally exposed. ;Potential exposures;
Protection against occupational exposure in industrial radiography; Protection against
occupational exposure in Industrial irradiators and accelerators; Protection against occupational
exposure in the use Nuclear gauges; Protection against occupational exposure in Well logging ;
Protection against occupational exposure in Protection against occupational in radioisotopes
plants ; Protection against occupational exposure in Medical applications : Protection against

113
occupational exposure in Nuclear Installations ; Protection against occupational exposure in
mining and processing of raw materials;

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR MPHY 659

No. Practical exercise Type

6-1. Visit to industrial radiography facility Technical visit

6-2. Visit to an irradiator or accelerator for industrial or research use Technical visit

6-3. Visit to a department of nuclear medicine of a hospital Technical visit

6-4. Preparation of an organizational chart and highlights of a Case study

radiation protection programme in a hospital (radiotherapy,
diagnostic radiology or nuclear medicine) and in an industrial
facility (industrial radiography or irradiator)

6-5. Shielding calculations for an X ray facility Exercise

6-6. Application of the ‗as low as reasonably achievable‘ (ALARA) Case study
principle for occupational exposure

6-7. Leak testing of sealed sources Laboratory

exercise

6-8. Use of personal protective equipment in NPP environment Demonstration

6-9. Choice of a personal dosimeter and monitoring instruments Demonstration

6-10. Preparation of a laboratory to work temporarily with unsealed Simulation

sources

6-11 Monitoring a workplace for external radiation; selection of Simulation

instrumentation; interpretation of results

6-12. Monitoring a workplace for surface and air contamination; use of Simulation
gross alpha and beta measurements and gamma spectrometry, and
of air sampling techniques

114
 No. Practical exercise Type

6-13. Decontamination of surfaces Laboratory

exercise

6-14. Determination of individual dose due to air contamination Case study

6-15. Management of personal dose records, dose reduction measures, Case study
special monitoring, follow-up measures

6-16. Comparison of predicted doses to personnel on the basis of Case study

workplace monitoring with the results of individual monitoring in
mixed radiation fields

NSAS 604: MEDICAL EXPOSURE IN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY,

RADIOTHERAPY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE.
(3 Credits)

Scope and responsibilities :General principles ;. Training; Workers to be trained; content of the
training programmes; updating of programmes; refresher training: Justification of medical
exposures ; Identification of alternative techniques; evaluation of the detriment; criteria for the
justification of exposure (difference between diagnostic and treatment practices) ; Optimization
of protection for medical exposures: Design considerations for equipment ; Determination of a
dose to the patient ; Operational considerations ; Guidance levels for the patients:
Comprehensive specific quality assurance programmes: Calibration of sources and equipment ;
Records. Accidental exposures in Medical Applications: :Accidental medical exposures:
Identification and investigation of accidental medical exposures; report to the regulatory
authority; lessons learned and feedback into operation.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 604

No. Practical exercise Type

7-1. Determination of doses to patients Case study

7-2. Optimization of doses to patients in diagnostic radiology Case study

7-3. Optimization of doses to patients in nuclear medicine and Case study

radiotherapy

115
 No. Practical exercise Type

7-4. Measurement of the absorbed dose in the body for a Laboratory

unidirectional exposure to cobalt-60 using a phantom and exercises
Thermoluminescence dosimetry detectors

7-5. Visit to a hospital: departments of radiology, radiotherapy, Technical visit

nuclear medicine: demonstration of procedures and
specification of the information to be recorded

7-6. Analysis of accidents in medical exposure Case study

NSAS 606: EXPOSURE OF THE PUBLIC DUE TO PRACTICES AND

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (3 Credits)

Sources of exposure of the public :Natural sources of exposure (review): Responsibilities and
organization: Responsibilities of licensees and registrants; regulatory authorities; regulations;
inspection; monitoring; reporting; adequate records; emergency planning and control of the
members of the public. Safe transport of radioactive materials :Safe transport and regulatory
framework ;national competent authorities; international model organizations and agreements;
international liability and insurance; information services provided by the IAEA and training
requirements. Safety of Radioactive waste management: radioactive waste management ; ;
Management of disused sealed sources: technical options and safety aspects. Management of
waste from decommissioning; Management of waste from uranium and thorium; mining and
milling. Management of NORM waste; Cleanup of contaminated areas. Environmental dose
assessment : Environmental dispersion and transfer routes; (atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic),
exposure pathways for humans, critical groups, assessment models, individual and collective
dose assessment, committed effective dose per unit intake as a function of age. Source of
Environmental monitoring: Consumer products: Definition; justification; optimization (including
type testing); responsibilities of manufacturer and supplier; prior authorization; guidance for
users; labeling

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 606

No. Practical exercise Type

116
 No. Practical exercise Type

8 -1. Procedures for transport of material: characterization of materials Case study

and selection of optimum type of package

8 -2. Packaging of radioisotopes for transport Laboratory

exercise

8 -3. Preparation of shipping documents for transport by road and air Laboratory
exercise

8 -4. Collection and segregation of waste: monitoring, preliminary Laboratory

conditioning and labelling exercise

8 -5. Visit to a waste treatment facility and a waste management Technical visit
facility

8 -6. Listing of the components of an environmental monitoring Case study

programme for a given installation

8 -7. Preparation and measurements of environmental samples: air, Laboratory

soil, water and foodstuffs exercise

8 -8. Interpretation of the results of an environmental monitoring Case study

programme

NSAS 619: INTERVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC IN

SITUATIONS OF CHRONIC AND EMERGENCY EXPOSURE

(3Credits)

General Principles and types of events: Principles for intervention ; Chronic exposure and
emergency exposure: Basic concept of Emergency response: .Concepts and objectives of
emergency response; principles of intervention, including intervention levels; protective actions
and operational intervention levels; emergency response strategies; generic response
organization. Basic concepts for emergency preparedness fro nuclear or radiological emergency:
emergency preparedness; emergency planning categories; planning areas and zones; planning
levels and responsibilities; planning elements for emergency preparedness; integrated planning
concepts; personal protective equipment and devices; training; exercises. Developing a National
capability for response to a nuclear accident or radiological emergency : Implementation of
emergency response plans and procedures; national emergency plan and response procedures.
117
Overview of assessment and response in a radiological emergency : Assessment of radiological
emergency ; accident scenarios ;emergency management; response on the scene and coordination
of response activities; dose assessment overview: external and internal; lessons learned from
Goiânia accident. Overview of assessment and response in a nuclear emergency: Assessment of
nuclear emergency: Events leading to a release from the core; releases from the core and to the
environment; exposure pathways; protective actions; revision of operational intervention levels;
lessons learned from reactor accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl). Monitoring in a nuclear
accident or radiological emergency: Emergency monitoring overview; Field radiation and
contamination monitoring ; Radiation protection of monitoring teams ;. Basic data evaluation:
Methods. Medical Management of radiation injuries: Medical management: Responsibilities and
management of medical intervention; the triage of victims; diagnosis and treatment; training of
those involved in medical management of the victims (medical, paramedical staff); psychological
effects. Communication: Communication with the Public : Communication with the public and
other parties, including regulatory authority in neighboring countries; objectives of
communication with the public; spokesperson; preparation of message; communication methods
and means; communication schedule; resources; training on communications. International co-
operation: Safety conventions and their implementation. IAEA Emergency Response Network
(ERNET).

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 619

No. Practical exercise Type

9-1. Measurement of radon in dwellings and comparison with action Laboratory

level exercise

9-2. Response to a hypothetical accident: loss of a gamma radiography Case study

source
9-3. Response to a hypothetical accident: environmental release of a Case study
substantial amount of radioactive material
9-4. Estimation of the individual doses following an accidental Case study
overexposure
9-5. Search of unknown sources (field exercise) Simulation
9-6. Response to a hypothetical transport accident with radioactive Simulation
material
9-7. Communication with the public and with information media after a Simulation
hypothetical accident; press conference

118
NSAS 626 : TRAIN THE TRAINERS ( 1 Credit)

Training Needs : general consideration on persons to be trained and types of training

Being a lecturer :Building a structured learning session to meet objectives
Differences between learning objectives and course content; defining learning objectives
appropriate to participant background; building the learning scale step by step; choice of a
teaching method; optimization of learning time to meet objectives
How to teach involving the group: Create a positive climate; motivating participants;
enhance group discussions: do not speak and do yourself, encourage the participants discuss
and work out problems themselves; solving difficulties with participants; conception of
didactic material; adding value using visual aids; permanent assessment of the acquired
notions

Setting up training Course : Course design ; Course organization and Course evaluation.

PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR NSAS 626

No. Practical exercise Type

10-1. Preparation of a syllabus and programme for a training course on Case study
radiation protection and the safety for users

119
No. Practical exercise Type
Suggested topics for presentation and discussion by the
10-2. Presentations
participants:
and workshops
– Occupational radiation protection in a given application of
ionizing radiation
– Safety assessment for licensing purposes for a given
installation
– Preparation of an inspection in a given installation
– Medical application of sources of ionizing radiation and safety
related aspects
– Limitations and use of radiation protection instrumentation
– Natural radioactivity and radiation exposure of the public
– Conceptual planning to respond to a radiological emergency
at a given installation

NSAS 610: SEMINAR ( 3 Credits )

Procedure for implementing the project assignment :
 Selection and assignment of topics for the projects: During the preparation of the Course
Director should ensure that the topics of the projects are selected. The selection of the
topics should preferably include all the modules the syllabus. This should be
communicated to the participants in the first weeks of the course, allowing them some
degree of choice in choosing the preferred subject area.

 Identify project Supervisor: Each project should be assigned a project supervisor. The
role of the supervisor is to provide guidance, advise, supervise experimental/practical
work and finally evaluate the project work. One supervisor may guide more than one
participant.

 Dedicate projects hours in the Course schedule: The implementation of the project may
involve time for discussion with the supervisor, library work, experimental/practical
work, preparation of project report and final presentation. This should be considered in
the preparation of the schedule by the Course director.

 Development of project: the project should include the following steps. The Supervisor
and the Course Director should ensure that the participants have access to necessary
resources.

o Literature survey: to update on the recent developments and to establish the state
of the art.

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 o Experimental/practical work: the necessary resources should be made available.
In case of field work the department or the organization should be officially
informed in advance of the participants proposed field work.

o Modeling or calculation: The necessary tools such as computers or codes should

be made available.

 Project report (including findings): A report should be prepared, covering a minimum of

the following: a brief summary, state of the art, relevance/justification for the project,
material and methods, results, conclusions and recommendations, references.

 Oral Presentation: Depending upon the number of participants its duration should be in a
range of 10 to 20 minutes. The participants should be encouraged to use a large variety of
teaching tools during their presentation. This oral presentations could be combined with
the ―participants presentations‖ scheduled in part X (train the trainers).

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