The ongoing strife at South African Nuclear Energy (NECSA) continues this week with the resignation of chairperson Rob Adam.
A July 9 article in the Business Report cited a NECSA spokesperson as saying Adam did not have enough time to devote to the position because he also serves as managing director of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. Adam has been chairperson of NECSA for fewer than six months.
Adam was appointed to the position after Jeff Radebe, South Africa's former minister of energy, suspended Dr. Kelvin Kemm, the former chairperson, and the entire board in January -- citing acts of defiance, ineptitude, and a failure to address serious setbacks with the production of medical radioisotopes, the report noted.
NECSA's entire board also was blamed for the yearlong delay in resuming isotope production at the Safari-1 nuclear research reactor in Pelindaba, which is operated by NECSA subsidiary NTP Radioisotopes. The facility is one of the few worldwide suppliers of molybdenum-99, the precursor to technetium-99m. The South African reactor finally received government approval in November 2018 to restart manufacturing after safety issues had forced it to shut down 12 months earlier.
