The Acting Director General of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), Professor Geoffrey Emi-Reynolds, has advised Ghanaians to return to the use of louvers as windows to avoid the effects of concentration of radiation.
Prof. Emi-Reynolds says the rise in the use of sliding windows as part of new building technology could contribute to the build-up of radioactive particles emitted from the use of gadgets such as microwaves, mobile phones and refrigerators at homes.
He expressed these observation on the sidelines of a media workshop on Wednesday, April 26.
The workshop was aimed at creating awareness on radiation, its uses and benefits as well as its harmful effects among the media.
Prof Emi-Reynolds lamented the recent phenomenon of many Ghanaian houses being completely sealed with little ventilation.
He says though air-conditioners are meant for the tropical region, especially for buildings with sliding windows, radiations emitted from various gadgets at homes do get concentrated as a result of the enclosed buildings.
He challenged Ghanaians to allow the free flow of air by going for louvers as windows.
The Director of the Radiological Applications Department of the Authority, Abdel Razak Awudu, took participants of the workshop through radiation and its effects.
He mentioned shielding, reduction in time and increase in distance as three major ways of reducing the harmful effects of radiation. For instance, he recommended the use of ear pieces of mobile phones as the best in cases where users will have a long phone talk.
Legal officer Ebenezer Appiah Opare took participants through some of the nuclear regulations under the Nuclear Regulatory Act, Act 895.
He mentioned safety, security and safeguards as the effective ways of implementing the regulations.
By Emmanuel Kwame Amoh|3news.com|Ghana