Dr. Bennetta Koomson, a fellow of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) as part of the fellowship activities, recently embarked on a reconnaissance visit to two major assay laboratories in Tarkwa, Western Region of Ghana from 10th to 12th October, 2024. The laboratories visited included Intertek Minerals, Ghana, and SGS Laboratory Services. This visit followed the first reconnaissance in May 2024 to ALS Laboratory Services at Brofoyedu in the Ashanti Region.
Dr. Koomson was accompanied by two of her Research Assistants (Funded by the fellowship on their Master’s program), Mr. Eliot Pappoe from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Ms. Lilian Gyedu from the Department of Materials Engineering.
The visit marked a significant progress in their ongoing research project tackling the removal of lead from lead-laden fire assay cupels and the development of new cupels from locally available waste materials.
Through this project, Dr. Koomson and her team aim to find sustainable solutions for managing hazardous fire assay waste and reduce their environmental footprints.
The team’s latest visit to Intertek and SGS Laboratory Services was to collect samples for their study and share ideas with industry professionals to strengthen the collaboration between academia and industry.
Upon their visit, Dr. Koomson and her team interacted with the management of Intertek and SGS to help further understand the nature of the existing waste disposal processes in their companies and identify potential improvement areas. The discussions also revealed the readiness of industry players to welcome people from academia to help them solve the challenges they face.
Dr. Koomson expresses her profound gratitude to the OWSD for funding this great initiative, which aligns with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 12, and 15: Good Health and Wellbeing, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Life on Land, respectively.
