INSC Exploratory Mission to Jordan - Expert 2 June 2008 - SUBJ

An initiative to extend cooperation under INSC beyond TACIS countries was started by the EC in 2007. To identify the needs of countries which expressed an interest in cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, a Task Force was formed comprising experts from EU nuclear regulatory authorities.

The Cooperation with new countries starts with an introductory seminar of high level EU delegation and continues with an exploratory mission of the Task Force during which the situation in the beneficiary country is analysed and needs are identified.

In general, a Country Status Report (CSR) had to be prepared according to a defined format. For Jordan the CSR was prepared for the first time. It was prepared on the basis of the first exploratory mission conducted from June 4 to June 5, 2008 with the participation of representatives of EC and of Nuclear Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) of Czech Republic and Italy as the two main experts.

This summary provides a general explanation of the results of the mission applicable to senior expert 1 and senior expert 2 (contract number 159163).

The purpose of the exploratory mission for the two experts was in particular:

• To familiarize themselves with the status of regulation of nuclear and radiation safety in the country and evaluate the future needs for assistance and technical support.
• To elaborate in cooperation with the beneficiary a proposal for technical assistance in the form of a preliminary Action Fiche (AF), which is a technical description and justification of a proposed project for the purpose of its endorsement for inclusion in an INSC annual programme.

The work to be performed consisted of:

• Preparation of the mission in close collaboration with the EC Project Manager.
• Performance of the mission following instructions of the EC Project Manager.
• Reporting (Mission Report plus draft Action Fiche) to the EC Project Manager on the achievements of the mission.

The expert's knowledge of nuclear regulatory authority problems around the world was of crucial importance for the success of the mission.

Duties of the Exploratory Mission of the Task Force were:

• To conduct a “Desktop” Review of the national situations concerning the Regulatory aspects,
• To contact the selected NRA if such organization exists or the organization currently in charge of regulatory matters and collect information on their national objectives and needs,
• To prepare and propose concrete actions in the form of projects for the creation or reinforcement of the selected RAs.

The mission was arranged by the EC DG AIDCO in cooperation with the EC delegation to Jordan and the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC) which has the responsibility as Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) in Jordan.

It was conducted in Jordan from June 4 to 5, 2008 with the aim of identifying the present status of nuclear and radiation safety in the country and needs for assistance and support from EU. In particular:

The status of nuclear and radiation safety in the country was reviewed and discussed with the Regulatory Authority of Jordan (Jordan Radiation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission - JNRC established by law 43/2007);

The needs for assistance and technical support were discussed and an Action Fiche in the frame of INSC action program 2008 was prepared.

At the time of the mission the situation in Jordan was as follows:

The Jordanian government was considering to use nuclear power in the country to produce electrical energy and desalinated water. A substantial demand for electricity is expected and, according to the Jordanian authorities, the water situation in Jordan is in permanent deficit with demand exceeding resources by more than 30%.

One of the pre conditions for the above program is to develop the necessary infrastructure starting from the legislative framework and the enhancement of capability of the JNRC in order to assure adequate control, from the point of view of the nuclear and radiation safety of related activities.

The mission of the JNRC, according to the constituting law, is:
a) To regulate and control the use of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation.
b) To protect the environment, human health and property from the hazards of contamination and exposure to ionizing radiation in accordance with the provision of the law.
c) To ensure the fulfilment of requirements of public safety, radiation protection, and nuclear safety and security.

The duties and responsibilities of JNRC are regulating, monitoring and controlling the applications of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation; ensuring the availability of proper conditions of nuclear safety and security of the nuclear materials, as well as the protection of the environment and of the human health from radiation hazard.

To this end, a package of national regulations and code of practices are to be drafted to support, integrate and facilitate the implementation of the Law in line with the relevant International Standards.

The present activities are limited to authorization of use of radiation sources, mainly for medical, industrial and research applications, and to collaboration with custom authorities in controlling the transit of radiation sources through the Jordanian borders.

The Action Fiche for Project JO3.01/08 prepared during the mission meeting was titled “Provision of assistance related to the first cooperation steps for developing and strengthening the capabilities of the Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC)”.

The proposed value of the project was € 1,0 million and the planned duration 24 months, covering assistance in the field of legislation, regulations, JNRC organization and planning, international project management, regulatory capability, training of staff and in creating ionizing radiation source inventory.