Batan boss replaced for unclear reasons

Batan boss replaced for unclear reasons

JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday installed Iyos S. Subki
as director general of the National Atomic Power Agency (Batan)
replacing long-serving Djali Ahimsa, Antara reported. The news
agency did not state the reasons for the change.

Iyos is an old hand in the agency, having led the team doing
the site and feasibility study of Indonesia's proposed first
nuclear power plant in the Muria Peninsula in Central Java.

Iyos said yesterday the necessary technical studies have been
completed and the agency is only waiting for the government's go-
ahead.

The study concludes that Muria is "ideal", he said.

"Technically, the nuclear power plant could start operation in
2004," he told reporters shortly after being installed by
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono.

The Batan studies looked into the commercial and environmental
aspects of the plant, he said, adding that the studies are
reliable.

The government is now studying other factors such as the
sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects, and mostly, the funding
aspect, he said.

Environmental activists, fearing a potential nuclear
holocaust, have deplored the government's nuclear designs.

Although the project is still in the early stages and
conducting feasibility studies, critics have said the decision to
go nuclear would be a fait accompli once the studies are
completed.

Before making a decision the government should put the plan to
public debate, they say.

The government has insisted that nuclear power is a last
option, but one that should be kept viable for Indonesia in view
of the rapidly increasing demands for energy and depleting
hydrocarbon resources.

The official position was echoed by Iyos who said that it is
no longer a question of "yes and no".

"Nuclear energy is an alternative. It is a blessing we have to
make use of," he said.

He said a nuclear power plant does not carry a greater risk of
accident compared with other power plants.

Statistics show there is a one-in-a-million chance of an
accident happening at a nuclear power plant, while the risk is
one-in-a-thousand for non-nuclear plants, he said.

But even if that one-in-a-million chance did occur, the
government has taken precautions to minimize the risk of
radiation, by building emergency systems within the plant and the
installation, he said.

The House of Representatives is currently debating a
government bill on the use of nuclear power in the country. Once
endorsed it would pave the way for the construction of the
country's first nuclear power plant.

The House held a marathon debate on the bill with State
Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie this month,
prompting criticisms from environmental groups that the House had
been compromised on the issue.

Iyos said the bill does not bear a direct relationship to the
study conducted by his agency. The bill looks at all the
activities related to the use of nuclear technology, he said.

He said that once the bill was endorsed, the task of managing
and supervising nuclear facilities, both currently in the hands
of Batan, would be separated.

"Really, the question now is how do we make use of nuclear
technology in a humane and just way," he said. (emb)