The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) has been charged to sustain its awareness creation on negative impacts of unregulated mining and exploration operations in the State, so as to sensitize both the operators and the host communities on the imperative of deploying relevant safeguard measures during their engagements.
The Hon. Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, Chief Uno Etim Uno handed down the charge recently in the conference room of the Environment ministry, when a delegation from Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), Uyo Operational office visited him in courtesy.
To drive the awareness creation exercise by NNRA team and also intensify the process, Chief Uno, accompanied by directors in the ministry, agreed to incorporate members of NNRA in the Environmentalist team of the ministry during Inspection of mining and exploration sites, in order to afford them an opportunity to interface with both the operators and the host communities.
The Environment boss, Uno, described as unfortunate the fact that mining remains in the exclusive list while the state component has been neglected in PIA bill, and regretted that licenses for mining and exploration have often been issued by the Mining and Steel Development ministry to individuals without recourse to the state government that suffers the damages arising from the exploration and exploitation practices.
While calling on the members of Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) team to channel the concerns of the state to relevant authority at the federal level, Chief Uno gave consent to partnership quest made by the delegation, for purposes of ensuring that lives and property, health and environment are saved from harmful effects.
Earlier, the state operational head of NNRA, Mrs. Essien Ememobong, had sought collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, to regulate operations and ensure safety particularly in the mining sector of the state economy.
Mrs. Essien, leader of the NNRA team who delineated the functions of the regulatory agency to include registering, licensing, inspecting, regulating as well as enforcement of nuclear safety, hinted that the NNRA has the mandate to ensure that Nigeria meets national and international safeguards in its mining and exploration engagements.
The NNRA operational head, Mrs. Essien, suggested that the Environment ministry should synergize with the NNRA for purpose of creating a database to capture all the sensitive areas that would guide both the ministry and the agency in the discharge of their common mandate.
Mrs. Essien, in her indepth and extensive presentation, created an awareness on the harmful effects of mining and exploration on lives and property, health and environment, and also demonstrated some technically interventionist measures of regulating the operations and ensuring safety.
The peak moment of the eventful visit was the presentation to the Environment boss, Chief Uno, publications on regulation of mining and exploration practices by the team lead, Mrs. Essien.