JO3.01/08 Provision of assistance related to the first cooperation steps for developing and strengthening the capabilities of Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC)

The project JO3.01/08 is the first project in the area of nuclear safety and security under the INSC programme in Jordan. It is framed by the decision of Jordanian authorities to use nuclear power as one solution – amongst others – in order to satisfy the country’s growing needs for energy and water. The operation of a nuclear power plant (“NPP”) requires a sound infrastructure which is to be completely built ahead of the launching of a NPP programme. This is the main motivation for the project. The second intention line is the striving for improvement in radiation protection and nuclear security in two areas: establishing a complete inventory of radioactive sources and improving the quality in treatment.

The general purpose of the project was to develop and strengthen the managerial and technical capabilities of the Jordanian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (JNRC) and its Technical Support Organisation (TSO) in the following specific fields of assistance:
• Establishment / development of an Action Plan for cooperation in the field of capacity building for the enhancement of JNRC;
• Support in the establishment of independent Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) based on the existing infrastructure;
• Assistance to JNRC and its TSO in the field of regulatory framework;
• Identification of basic safety requirements / criteria for nuclear plants based on IAEA standards and European experience;
• Strengthening and enhancing professional knowledge of JNRC and its TSO;
• Strengthening and enhancing JNRC capability in nuclear safeguards;

The contract was signed on 18 March 2010 and the kick-off meeting was held in Amman two weeks later.
The project was structured in 6 technical tasks:
Task 1: Establishment/development of a Strategy Plan, an Action Plan and a Cooperation Plan in the field of capacity building for the enhancement of NRA including an overview of the present situation;
Task 2: Assistance in the field of regulatory framework (legislation, regulations);
Task 3: Support for the setup and survey of a complete inventory of ionising radiation sources including their safety and physical protection;
Task 4: Training and qualification of JNRC staff: participation in national, regional and international conferences/workshops related to nuclear safety and radioprotection;
Task 5: Radioprotection of public, patients and professionals - quality assurance on
implementation of measures including the registry of professional exposure;
Task 6: Identification of basic safety requirements/criteria for nuclear plants based on IAEA standards and European experience.

Results by task:

Task 1: The core of the task was the drafting of basic JNRC planning documents: Strategy and Action Plans and the Multiannual Cooperation Plan. These documents were discussed and completed during the drafting process whereby different views on their content and extension were harmonised. Rather precise definition of programming documents may help in smoothen the drafting process in other countries.
Three main planning documents of the Strategy Plan, Action Plan and Cooperation Plan were prepared in the framework of this task; i.e. all objectives were realized. On the one hand, it is the common understanding of both the EU team and the JNRC that these documents are not “set in stone”. They are to be updated probably in two years period to reflect the prevailing situation. On the other hand, a more frequent update may shake confidence of stakeholders in defined development.
Task 2: Jordanian legislation is new in that almost all of it was adopted during the two years of the project. Support in this area was divided between three organisations (EU team within this project, review team of IAEA and support of Worley-Parsons), and consequently very good coordination was required. In the framework of the Task 5 regulations were elaborated and commented on.
The draft regulations have been revised in detail by implementing the comments of the EU experts and the results of the discussions. Together with the overview of the entire legislation this constitutes the fulfilment of task objectives. It is considered important to make a complete revision of all regulations developed with the support of the different organisations in order to assure consistency in the definitions, references, and to have a complete overview of the entire regulatory framework (content, interfaces, etc). It also assures that all the important topics for nuclear safety and radiation protection have been covered, that the limits and requirements established are consistent, sustainable and in line with the international current practice and reflecting the specificities in Jordan. It is recommended to make this cross-check and review process before sending the regulations to translation and to the approval process through the legal channel.
Task 3: There are three main deliverables in this task: completion of radioactive sources (RS) inventory, technical specifications (TS) of software for the RS database and technical specifications of the equipment for RS characterizations.
At the beginning, the task suffered from lack of information. Over time it became clear that the JNRC has a rather viable inventorying system which can relatively easy be completed to satisfy the highest demands; therefore the TS concern the improvements only. The inventory of RS is complete and there is at the moment no need for additional equipment. In addition to that, three decrees in different stages of maturity were discussed during two regular meetings and a learning session just after the inception meeting.
The existing registry for radioactive sources is appropriate to meet current needs of JNRC, and there is no need for further actions. The national registry of authorisations and the register of movements should be merged. This set of database should be completed by registry of professional exposures as most professionals are already categorised personnel.
Task 4: Training needs of JNRC were unclear at the start, but the training plan was agreed to quite fast and three tailored trainings were accomplished in Amman and in the EU amounting to totally 20 training days with the participation of 16 trainees from the JNRC. The following topics were covered: NPP siting requirements and regulatory review; regulatory role, function, organisation and licensing process; regulatory review of NPP conceptual design, SAR and PSA; Quality Management System in regulatory activity. In addition, a one-week catalogue training was provided in Helsinki on the experience from the construction and regulatory oversight of NPP. The last training item, “Nuclear Manager Course” was cancelled and within the limited time an equivalent could not be found.
The training activities implemented in the framework of Task 4 have followed the indication and priority set out in the Training Plan developed and agreed to at the start of the task activities. Basic capacities have been developed in JNRC staff and the transfer of basic concepts and requirements has taken place with regard to:
• role, function, responsibility of the regulatory authority and main requirements of internal organisation and needed competences;
• licensing process, licensing steps and interface of JNRC with applicant/licensee;
• objectives and requirements of a quality management system to be applied in a nuclear regulatory authority for its licensing and regulatory activity;
• safety objectives, safety principles and requirements for the design of a NPP;
• objectives of a regulatory preliminary safety evaluation of a NPP “conceptual design”;
• requirements of site safety analysis and of structure and content of documentation to be submitted for regulatory evaluation and approval.
JNRC staff attending the training has shown high interest in and motivation for the training topics by interactions in a very constructive way.
Task 5: The task covered activities in two main areas: setting-up of a database of professional exposures and improvement of the quality of radiotherapy treatment in hospitals. Both areas were found quite well developed at the starting point. The team recommended to adjoin the database of exposures to existing database of RS which contains also licensed persons; TS of this adjoining were delivered. QA programme was started in hospitals by common consensus on start of auditing process. Two guidelines concerning event reporting and QA programme for hospitals were prepared and two regulations were discussed.
Radiation protection in radiotherapy in Jordan is on a rather good level. Three items were addressed:
• Registry of professional exposure, which is kept in a form which does not allow to manage and evaluate the occupational doses of radiation workers on a routine basis;
• QA in radiotherapy. A new step in increase is introduction of auditing which was discussed and a consensus on its stepwise introduction was reached;
• Radiation Incident Reporting.
Task 6: activities in six areas were planned under this task: The first two (overview of licensing process and safety requirements for a new NPP) were completed rather early under the pressure of very tight schedule of infrastructure building and NPP feasibility; the 3rd (safety assessment and licensing of subcritical assembly) was the topic of a specialised meeting in Amman. Both uranium mining and safety assessment of an NPP site were delayed several times and except a one-week workshop in Italy (on principles of NPP siting) the activities were postponed for a subsequent project due to delays in initiating activities. Consequently, freed sources were redirected to safety assessment and licensing of research reactor. Two regulations were discussed within the framework of this task.

It was concluded that the objectives of Task 6 have been reached well except that:
• Instead of siting of NPP, the siting of a research reactor was handled. Siting of NPP was handled in Task 4 in the form of training workshop.
• Uranium mining issues were not dealt with since JNRC did not receive any licensing related materials. Some training presentations were provided in Task 4.