Antara 29 Mar 11;
Pontianak, W.Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Among the 10 ASEAN member countries, Indonesia is the most ready to build a nuclear power plant, a ministry official said.
"However, Indonesia still lags behind Malaysia which will start building a nuclear power plant by 2012," Sri Setiawati, a deputy to the research and technology minister said here Tuesday.
According to her, the preparedness is based on a review of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Indonesia has an adequate expertise, experts, materials and technology in the nuclear field, Sri Setiawati added.
"Not all countries have the things. For example Vietnam, they do not have experts in the nuclear field," Sri Setiawati noted.
Unfortunately, the Indonesian people tend to fear with nuclear technology. Currently, there are three nuclear reactors managed in Indonesia, namely in Yogyakarta, Bandung (West Java) and Serpong (Tangerang).
She asserted, in developed countries, the fear is the impetus to overcome the weaknesses to minimize the possibility of failure.
She pointed out, Japan, although there are earthquakes every day there has 50 more nuclear reactors.
"The events that occurred in Fukushima as the impact of the earthquake and tsunami were larger than predicted," Sri Setiawati said.
During an earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006, the nuclear reactors in the region were in safe condition, even though the buildings around it were destroyed.
Sri Setiawati said, it showed that the nuclear reactor had been made by considering the condition of natural disasters.
"If there is any failure or disruption, this will be used for an evaluation for the next technology. In essence, how we seek to conquer failures through technology development," Sri Setiawati said.(*)
Editor: Heru
Indonesian experts ready to operate nuclear power plants
Antara 29 Mar 11;
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) has confirmed that Indonesian personnel are ready to operate nuclear power plants as soon as those facilities are built in Indonesia.
"Let me emphasize here that Indonesian human resources will be ready by the time nuclear power plants are constructed in Indonesia," said Bapeten head As Natio Lasman to ANTARA News in an interview here on Tuesday.
Lasman added that the performance of Indonesian nuclear experts was already acknowledged by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There are now seven Indonesian experts working as supervisors in IAEA.
Those seven nuclear supervisors were on IAEA missions in various countries, including one in Tokyo, Japan, doing his job, Lasman said.
He admitted there is a fear for the presence of nuclear power plants among the Indonesian communities, something that has arisen from lack of the correct information about how nuclear power plants are operated.
Lasman explained that nuclear energy is an energy that can replace fossil energy which is widely in use today provided the utilization is in accordance with strict regulation and control. Whereas fossil energy is depleting fast in the recent years.
Lasman said the most important thing for Indonesia in its plan to build nuclear power plants are connected to the correct choice of the locations as well as the supporting infrastructures. The aspects that are needed to be calculated include among other earthquake- and tsunami free.
The plan of Indonesia to operate nuclear power plants is not new, he said, because Indonesia was one of the initiators of the establishment of the IAEA.(*)
Editor: Heru
