JERASH - Nine radiation and environmental monitoring stations across the country will be up and running this year to detect radiation levels in the Kingdom's atmosphere, according to the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC).
"Construction on the new stations is now complete and they are currently operating. We will link the stations with the main operations room in Amman in the next month-and-a-half," Director of JNRC's Border Radiation Monitoring Department Samer Quraan said during a tour last week of the Qafqafa radiation and environmental monitoring station organised by the JNRC for radiation specialists from 11 Arab countries.
With the nine new stations, built at the cost of around JD100,000, the Kingdom will be home to 12 monitoring stations.
The nine facilities slated to open this year are located in Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash, Salt, Tafileh, Shobak, Karak (which will host two stations) and Maan, and are tasked with measuring radiation levels in the atmosphere, Quraan said.
The stations operate automatically around-the-clock and take an air sample every four hours, testing radiation levels through filters which absorb dust from the atmosphere.
He added that three central radiation and environmental monitoring stations have already been established in Qafqafa in Jerash Governorate to the north, Qadeseyeh near Tafileh in the south and Karameh in the eastern frontier of Rweished.
"These stations test the air for alpha, beta and gamma radiation and radioactive iodine. The data is sent to the main operations room at the JNRC every five minutes," Quraan noted.
After receiving the information, the data is then analysed by the commission and an alarm is issued if industrial or natural radiation levels exceed the allowed limits, the official said.
He noted that there have been no recorded radiation accidents in the country or the region since the Kingdom's first nuclear monitoring stations were established in 2004.
Several trucks, however, have been denied entry into the Kingdom at the borders for carrying radiation-polluted cargo, he said, providing no statistics.
Meanwhile, JNRC Director General Jamal Sharaf said the commission is currently drafting laws for regulating the use of radioactive and nuclear materials, noting that several regulations will be amended by the end of the year for implementing the country's nuclear programme.
Sharaf told reporters during last week's tour that the JNRC will sign an agreement with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority in September to test foods imported through the area's land crossings and sea port for radiation.
"The Ben Hayyan Laboratories currently test food for biological and chemical pollution, but not radioactivity. After signing the agreement, lab tests will measure the radiation levels of the imported food and that is when we can declare the food safe," Sharaf said.
As the Kingdom is on pace to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes within the next decade, the nuclear commission is intensifying its control and safety efforts at 12 border radiation monitoring stations and preparing proper infrastructure for the nuclear sector.
The JNRC is responsible for monitoring and supervising around 465 institutions in the Kingdom involved with radiation procedures, and around 2,200 individuals working in the medical, industrial and scientific sectors.
By Hana Namrouqa
© Jordan Times 2009
