Accident measures needed for nuclear plant: Observer

JAKARTA (JP): It would be irresponsible for the government to build a nuclear power plant without having measures in place to cope with accidents, a renowned intellectual said yesterday.

Y.B. Mangunwijaya, a Catholic priest better known as Romo (Father) Mangun, said even Germany -- a country with very advanced nuclear technology -- had yet to formulate a solution on how to overcome a nuclear power plant catastrophe.

Romo Mangun said it was outdated to talk about only setting up a safe nuclear power plant.

He said the question of whether a nuclear power plant could be set up to operate safely was seen as the central issue more than four decades ago.

"The core issues today are what to do if a nuclear accident happens and what to do with the nuclear waste," Romo Mangun told The Jakarta Post.

"It would be very irresponsible of us to build a nuclear power plant without having measures in place should an accident happen," he said.

Romo Mangun said the construction of nuclear power plants had been banned by Germany's parliament.

"Owners of nuclear plants built before the ban are required to come up with suggestions on how to deal with a nuclear catastrophe, and how to treat their nuclear waste."

Developed countries could easily dump their nuclear waste in developing countries, but developing countries would not know where to dump their nuclear waste, he said.

Asked if local experts had prepared adequately for nuclear power technology, Romo Mangun said: "Even in an advanced country like Japan a nuclear power plant can leak."

He was referring to Japan's Monju reactor, which leaked up to three tons of sodium from its cooling system two years ago.

"Here in Indonesia, we should all be objective and introspective. It is very much easier to build a nuclear plant than to shut it down and treat its waste," he said.

Iwan Kurniawan, an expert in experimental nuclear technology, said yesterday that there was still no way to treat a leaking nuclear reactor.

He agreed with Romo Mangun that the absence of any ideas on how to shut down a leaking nuclear power plant should become the central issue.

Iwan said the minor leakage of the Monju reactor "could not be contained just like that". The Japanese authorities could do nothing about it apart from "just shut it down", he said.

The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in 1986, left the authorities helpless. They could do nothing but "seal the leaked reactor under skeletons of concrete".

Iwan agreed with Romo Mangun that it was irresponsible to have a nuclear power plant without first knowing how to cope with an accident.

"By buying all the nuclear technology from the supplying country, we will have everything coming to us in one package without having control over it," he said.

With the country lacking the required skills to operate the plant, the suppliers would simply provide training to operate the plant. However, the main operation of the plant would be in the hands of foreign experts. (aan)