Accident measures needed for nuclear plant: Observer
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Romo Mangun said it was outdated to talk about only setting up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)