U.S. to Construct Radioactive Waste Storage Facility for Jordan

The U.S. has signed an accord with Jordan to help the kingdom construct a modern facility to store radioactive waste for a nuclear plant the country is planning to build by 2015 and additional plants by 2030.

The Central Storage Facility (CSF), which is expected to be completed later this year, will be built at the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission in Amman. It will be 4,000 square feet and is planned to store Jordan’s radioactive waste from nuclear sources for the next 50 years. According to a statement from the Jordanian embassy in Washington D.C., “All radioactive waste will be managed, stored and monitored in strict accordance with the best international standards and the International Atomic and Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines.”

Under the accord between the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy will provide $370,000 for building and construction of the advanced storage facility.

The two countries had in 2007 signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear power. Jordan, a country that imports 95% of its electricity and has no significant oil deposits, hopes that nuclear power will provide 30% of its energy needs by 2030.

Jordan has so far signed similar cooperation agreements with France, Canada, China, the Republic of Korea, and, most recently, Russia. It is also expected to sign cooperation agreements with Romania and the UK in April.

Source: Jordan Embassy to the U.S., PNNL