IAEA to help build nuclear reactor here
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)