Investigation still warranted

Jordan Times Editorial

Despite the government's denial that the Israeli Dimona nuclear plant does not pose a threat to Jordan, the persistent warnings that the ageing Israeli nuclear facility could cause another Chernobyl-style catastrophe cannot be dismissed.

Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader issued the denial in the wake of claims made by Israeli nuclear scientist Mordechai Vanunu that Jordanians are already affected by nuclear radiation emanating from the 40-year-old facility. Jordanian scientists were quoted in a local Arabic daily, concurring with Vanunu's allegations.

Dean of the Science Department at Yarmouk University Sami Mahmoud and UN environment expert Sufian Tel charged in Monday's Al Arab Al Yawm that radiation contamination is indicated in Jordan. The paper quoted Tel as saying that the authorities are not forthcoming enough on the dangers posed by the Dimona plant.

Vanunu is not the only scientist who was affiliated to the Dimona reactor to warn of a radioactive disaster. In February 2000, Professor Uzi Even, a former Dimona official, said the plant was old and dangerous and should be closed. He said that he had been calling for the reactor to be closed for years, but nothing was ever done.

Evident in all this is one basic fact: The Dimona facility is indeed ageing, and one does not have to be a genius to comprehend the dangers that ageing nuclear facilities can pose to their immediate environment. Certainly its proximity to Jordan is worrisome.

However, the claim made by Samir Kayed, member of the Nuclear Energy Commission of Jordan, that cancer rates in Jordan are lower than those in Israel (among Israeli Jews) is supported by a study published by the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, titled "A comparison of population-based cancer incidence rates in Israel and Jordan." The cancer incidences were studied between 1996-1997 (Israel) and 1996-1998 (other populations).

Still, the establishment of a committee for the purpose of investigating charges that the Dimona nuclear plant has caused radiation-related illnesses and disease in Jordan is warranted.

This article was published in the Tuesday, July 27, 2004 edition of the Jordan Times. It is used here with permission.