IAEA to help build nuclear reactor here

JAKARTA (JP): Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hans Blix promised yesterday to help Indonesia develop its proposed nuclear power plant and gave assurances that nuclear power was, environmentally, the "cleanest" source of energy.

Blix told journalists after a meeting with President Soeharto here that the IAEA was involved in a number of cooperation programs with Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan).

"We have a number of technical cooperation programs. We will also be ready to assist in the field of nuclear power," he said.

Blix is on an official two-day visit to Indonesia during which he is scheduled to inspect the planned site of Indonesia's first nuclear plant at Mount Muria, Central Java, about 440 kilometers east of Jakarta.

The government intends to develop a 600 megawatt nuclear power plant at the foot of Mount Muria despite strong opposition from non-government organizations.

Opponents of the project claim that the construction of a nuclear power plant is a serious liability in a region prone to earthquakes and on an island inhabited by some 110 million people.

Blix argued that nuclear energy was the sole alternative to the other sources of power which are either non-renewable or have limited capabilities.

"I think that nuclear is environmentally the cleanest source you can have, but you have to be cautious," he said, stressing that "very good programs" must be set up.

Established in 1957, the IAEA was created under the aegis of the United Nations to help guide the development of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The Vienna-based agency is also entrusted with the task of ensuring that nuclear material intended for peaceful use is not converted for military purposes.

Batan chief Djalil Ahimsa, who accompanied Blix yesterday, said that seismic tests being conducted at Gunung Muria had been encouraging so far.

"Overall, we can say that the seismic conditions there are suitable for the location of a nuclear power plant," he said. According to Djalil the seismic tests should be fully completed by April or May of next year.

Djalil rejected suggestions that the project was being kept a secret because of public concern over the plan. He said that the process had been transparent and that information about the program had been made public.

"There is only a small group who thinks that that isn't enough. I personally don't understand what else is lacking," he remarked.

Blix said that people should be more supportive of the campaign for the use of nuclear energy as opposed to fossil-based fuels which, he said, were non-renewable and caused pollution problems.

"I think the green movement should be in favor of nuclear power because the real alternative is fossil fuel," he said.

According to Blix, every country has a sovereign right to develop a nuclear plant for peaceful use. Nevertheless, he also said there was a need for precautions.

Ahimsa said that concerns over a repetition of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster should not be overly accentuated since the reactors used there were of a different type than many used in the rest of the world.

The radioactive leak at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia in 1986 sent shock waves around the world and fueled poured fuel on the debate about the safety of nuclear technology.

"President Soeharto has, from the start, emphasized that we should look at the safest reactor available," Ahimsa said. (mds)