Dr. Chantara Thevy Ratnam
Dr. Chantara Thevy Ratnam, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert in Polymer Technology, is in Ghana on a fact-finding mission from May 16 to 20, 2022, to assess a project plan to manage plastic waste using nuclear technology.
The project, which is under the Technical Cooperation project of IAEA is dubbed: “NUTEC Plastics”, an initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation’s (MESTI) efforts, through the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) to tackle the menace of plastic waste in the country.
During her five-day visit, Dr. Ratnam will meet with government officials, the project team and tour selected laboratories at GAEC. This would be followed by a workshop with selected stakeholders in plastic production and waste management industry on reutilising and recycling polymeric waste through radiation modification for the production of industrial goods.
Dr. Harriet Danso-Abbeam, the project counterpart who is also a Senior Research Scientist at GAEC, explained that the IAEA expert would tour some existing plastic recycling plant facilities as part of her activities.
“Ghana is one of four African countries that have been chosen by the IAEA to implement this project. The three other countries are South Africa, Kenya, and Morocco,” she added.