Plutonium shipment rebuked

Plutonium shipment rebuked

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI) demanded yesterday the government close Indonesian territorial waters to this month's shipment of plutonium from France to Japan.

WALHI said in a statement that the 14 tons of highly radioactive plutonium waste contained in 28 canisters will be carried to Japan by a British container.

Indonesia should close its territorial waters to the passage of the ships carrying plutonium because even a very small quantity of the substance will cause a catastrophe if an accident happens, WALHI said.

"They have assured us that the waste will be properly handled, but remember that accidents can cause disaster," a statement made available to The Jakarta Post read.

The route to be taken by the ship has been kept a secret but WALHI predicts that the narrow but busy Malacca Strait and the Lombok Strait are the probable seaways.

In 1992, a shipment of plutonium from France to Japan provoked international protests as many countries closed their territorial waters to the Akatsuki Maru which carried 1.7 tons of plutonium. (29)