Fidelis E. Satriastanti The Jakarta Globe 17 Mar 11;
If a nation as technologically advanced as Japan is struggling to contain a nuclear catastrophe, what chance does Indonesia — given its poor regulatory climate, low level of technology and weak response to any disaster — have of safely running a nuclear plant?
That was the question posed on Wednesday by experts, activists and politicians in response to officials’ claims a day earlier that it was safe to build a nuclear power plant here.
Sony Keraf, a former environment minister and member of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the unfolding nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan, was sufficient reason to end all talk of building a similar plant in Indonesia.
“This debate is over. I’m not talking about the scientific reasons but simply using common sense here,” he said.
“Developed countries like Germany and Russia, which are known for their high level of technology, have stated they will review their nuclear power plants, so why is the Indonesian government acting otherwise? It’s strange.”
Sony also cited Indonesia’s poor safety culture of lack of discipline compared to Japan, particularly in regard to natural disaster mitigation, as further arguments against building a nuclear plant here.
Alvin Lie, a senior politician from the ruling coalition’s National Mandate Party (PAN), echoed the sentiment. “Even Germany is rethinking its power plants,” he said, “so why are we so eager to develop one here?”
He added that if the government was really keen to push ahead with the plan, the officials backing it should be made to live near the reactors. “If not, we should build the nuclear plant near the State Palace or the House of Representatives,” Alvin said. “Would they go for that?”
The government has proposed two sites in Bangka-Belitung province to host nuclear power plants. It plans to build four reactors, each requiring an outlay of up to Rp 20 trillion ($2.3 billion), by 2025. The plants are expected to produce a combined 4,000 megawatts of electricity, or a quarter of Java’s power demand.
The government also claims the reactors will be of the fourth-generation type — a technology currently in the research phase and only expected to be commercially viable by 2030 at the earliest.
Iwan Kurniawan, a nuclear expert, said the government’s claim that it would build fourth-generation reactors made no sense.
“In addition, are there any safe sites in this country for a nuclear power plant?” he said. “[Bangka-Belitung] experiences frequent earthquakes of magnitude 4.9 and up, but the government claims it’s safe. But given the potential of damage from an earthquake, it’s still too risky.”
Technology aside, Iwan added, Indonesia is just not yet prepared to deal with a potential radiation leak.
Nur Hidayati, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia, questioned the government’s claims of compliance with regulations laid out by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“It has never been clear about the studies conducted by Batan for complying with the IAEA regulations,” she said, referring to the National Atomic Energy Agency.
Indonesia's Nuclear Plans Intact Amid Japan Crisis
Jakarta Globe 16 Mar 11;
Indonesia said on Wednesday that it will press on with plans to build a nuclear plant close to a fault line, despite the atomic emergency in earthquake and tsunami-ravaged Japan.
“If we pick to build it on Bangka Island, it will be based on several considerations which are in line with international safety criteria,” National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) chief Hudi Hastowo said.
Bangka lies east of Sumatra island, where a 9.1-magnitude undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami in 2004 killing 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
“The site has a relatively stable record of seismic and volcanic activity,” he said, adding that the agency will “certainly” adopt more sophisticated technology than Japan.
“It’s too premature to discuss how the Japan crisis will directly affect our project,” he said.
“But in 2022 when we build the plant, we’ll use a better technology system,” he added.
The disaster that has befallen Japan’s Fukushima plant has prompted some experts to cast a worried eye at nuclear plants in seismic zones.
Twenty percent of the 440 commercial reactors in operation around the globe are located in areas “of significant seismic activity,” according to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), an industry group.
Some of the 62 additional plants under construction are also in quake-prone zones, along with many of the nearly 500 units on order or proposed, especially in fast-developing countries, the group said.
Green groups including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth urged Southeast Asian leaders to stop plans to build nuclear plants to meet energy needs and direct the funds towards green technology.
“We call on the heads of state to immediately cancel their plans to develop their nuclear projects,” they said in an open letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Philippine President Benigno Aquino and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Agence France-Presse
