AMMAN (JT) - Jordan and the United States have signed a contract for the construction of a modern central storage facility (CSF) for radioactive waste at the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission ((JAEC) in Amman.
JAEC Nuclear Fuel Cycle Commissioner Ned Xoubi and Daniel Rutherford, contract manager at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory signed the agreement in Washington, DC last week, according to a statement released by the Jordanian embassy in the US.
Under the contract agreement, the US Department of Energy will provide the JAEC with $370,000 for the construction of the advanced storage facility.
Expected to be completed later this year, the storage facility will host Jordan's radioactive waste and nuclear sources in a safe and secure environment for the next five decades.
All radioactive waste will be managed, stored and monitored in strict accordance with the best international standards and International Atomic and Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines, the statement said.
Commenting on the agreement, Jordan's Ambassador to the US HRH Prince Zeid Raad stressed that identifying, consolidating and securing radioactive sources in a "safe, secure environment is in the best interest of both Jordan and the United States".
"We look forward to further cooperation between our two countries to continue to bring more equipment, training and upgrades to the storage facility in Amman," he added.
The JAEC is the governmental body entrusted with the development and execution of the Kingdom's nuclear power programme, as well as the implementation of its nuclear strategy.
The national strategy aims to transform Jordan, which imports more than 95 per cent of its energy, into a net electricity exporter by developing a civilian nuclear power production capacity in accordance with IAEA safeguards and international standards.
© Jordan Times 2009
