The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has indicated that it will send a team to Jordan to see if the Israeli nuclear plant at Dimona is
leaking radiation. A spokesman for the IAEA said "We have received a request from the Jordanian Government to assist them in monitoring the
radiological situation."
english.aljazeera.net
The UN nuclear watchdog has said it will send experts to Jordan to verify whether the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel is emitting high levels of
radiation,
"We have received a request from the Jordanian Government to assist them in monitoring the radiological situation," Mark Gwozdecky, spokesman for
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Saturday.
He added: "We agreed to send a fact-finding mission in the coming weeks to help them determine whether there is any radiological incident."
The request came from Jordan's parliamentary health and environment committee after former Israeli nuclear scientist Mordechai Vanunu warned that the
plant, built in the late 1950s with the help of France in the southern Negev desert, could become a "second Chernobyl".
Vanunu, a former technician, served an 18-year prison sentence in Israel for revealing secrets about the plant.
Chernobyl was a nuclear plant that exploded in the then Soviet republic of Ukraine in 1986, causing the world's worst civilian nuclear accident
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The Jordanian request came after former Israeli nuclear scientist Mordechai Vanunu referred to the reactor as "second Chernobyl". The reactor built
in the 1950's with the help of France is located in the Negev desert. Israel has never allowed an inspection of the reactor nor of its nuclear
program. The IAEA has cautioned that there is no proof as of yet that the reactor is leaking radiation at this time. A spokesman for the Jordanian
government has stated that the country is free of any contamination and that the radiation levels are normal. The country wants an independent survey
to eliminate any fears of contamination.
Related News Links:
www.iaea.or.at
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Israel distributes radiation pills to residents near Dimona Plant
[edit on 9-27-2004 by Zion Mainframe]