Indonesia's Nuclear not Used for Weaponry: Batan Chef

Yogyakarta, Oct - Nuclear technology in Indonesia would not be used for making nuclear bombs,Head of National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan) Hudi Hastowo said here Saturday. Instead, the nuclear technology was fully used for peaceful purposes and people's welfare, he told newsmen after attending the opening of the nuclear zone at Yogyakarta's Smart Garden here. "The nuclear technology in Indonesia will not be used for weaponry but for peace and people's prosperity," Hudi Hastowo said. The purpose of nuclear technology in the country had been regulated in a law, which clearly stipulated that it would not be used for making weapons but improving the people's welfare, he said. The people had also benefited from the outcomes of Batan's research activities in various fields, he said, adding that his agency, for instance, had succeeded in producing 16 top rice varieties, buckwheat and soybeans as a result of the nuclear technology. In the animal husbandry, the nuclear technology that Batan had used had also been able to create food formula that could increase the weight of livestock and make the expiry of animal food longer, he said. The nuclear technology has also been used in health sector, such as for curing those with goiter living in the western slopes of Mount Merapi in Central Java. "The nuclear technology has even been used to detect ground water sources as it has ever been done in Klaten, Malang, Madura and Gunung Kidul areas under the 'Bribin' project," he said. Asked about a plan to build a nuclear power plant in the country, Hudi Hastowo said it was not yet followed up especially after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was affected by a deadly earthquake last March. "The plan is now delayed though the public responses to it have relatively been good enough," he said. Despite that, Batan would continue to prepare its human resources and improve the mastery of nuclear technology as regulated in Law Number 17 Year 2007 for the sake of long-term development plans.