JP/8/SCENE

RI institutions use nuclear power

DENPASAR: At least 2,000 government and private institutions here have been using nuclear power, and 10,000 pieces of equipment throughout the country generate radiation, according to Nuclear Power Supervisory Board (Bapeten) head M. Ridwan.

Hospitals are among the institutions that have consistently been using nuclear power, Ridwan said when socializing the use of nuclear power and its control in Denpasar, Bali on Thursday.

Ridwab added that hospitals that have x-ray equipment for diagnostic and therapeutic uses have been using nuclear power, radioactive substances, and radiation.

According to Ridwan, Bapeten helps the government by controlling the use of nuclear power in Indonesia in accordance with existing laws.

Bapeten also formulates national policies to monitor the use of nuclear power, and drafts national plans and programs in nuclear power control, he said. -- Antara

;ANTARA; ANPAa..r.. Scene-Hamzah-visit VP to visit Parepare port JP/8/SCENE

VP to visit Parepare Port

PAREPARE: Vice President Hamzah Haz is scheduled to visit on Saturday Parepare Port, the second busiest port in South Sulawesi behind the port in the provincial capital of Makassar.

The visit is meant to allow the Vice President to examine the possibility of expanding the port, which is equipped with a 230- meter berth, the head of the data and information section at state port management company PT Pelindo IV's Parepare office, Burhanuddin, said on Thursday.

The port is currently used to serve passenger liners operated by state-owned shipping company PT Pelni, and cargo vessels from both domestic and foreign shipping companies.

During the visit, Hamzah will be accompanied by four ministers and South Sulawesi Governor HZB Palaguna, Burhanuddin said.

Following the visit to the port, Hamzah will attend a gathering of supporters of his United Development Party (PPP) in Parepare. -- Antara

;JP;ANTARA; ANPAa..r.. Scene-fprest-fire

JP/8/SCENE Fire destroys plantations, forests

PEKANBARU, Riau: Fire has ravaged 11,569 hectares of plantations and commercial forests in Riau province over the past month, a local environment expert said in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Thursday.

"The damaged plantations and forests are in the districts of Siak, Rokan Hilir, Bengkalis, and Dumai," said Mangandar S.P. of the provincial office of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), as quoted by Antara.

As of early this month, at least 51 hot spots were still found in Bengkalis and the islands of Riau, he said, adding that the hot spots were detected in the plantation areas of PT Budidaksa Dwi Kesuma, PT Makmur Platindo Nusantara and PT Panuasurya Agrosejahtera, and in the forest concession areas of PT Arara Abadi and PT Rimba Rokan Lestari.

"All these companies are in Bengkalis," he said, noting that an investigation team would soon be sent to observe the affected areas.

Asked whether the protected forest of Bukit Batu had caught fire, he said that it was difficult to verify but one of the nearby plantations was reportedly ablaze.

A report from the Bengkalis-based environmental agency said that about 150 hectares of Bukit Batu forest had already been affected by fire. -- Antara