Higher Education Minister: Supervision on Nuclear Usage is a Must

Jakarta, InfoPublik – Indonesia Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education Mohammad Nasir said to maintain the safety and security of nuclear energy usage, supervision must be conducted.

"Supervision is important not only in the installed equipment but also in imported equipment used for crime and terrorism," He said at the Conference on Regulatory Information (Korinwas) 2016 in Jakarta, Thursday (12/5).

Korinwas is an annual event which has been held by Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) since 2015. It became a medium of communication among agencies concerned with or related to nuclear safety and security.

This year’s conference theme is about the role of national nuclear security system against the threat of crime and terrorism involving radioactive substances and nuclear materials.

According to Mr. Nasir, government must increase cooperation between countries regarding nuclear security in the borders. There is already a shared commitment among countries about the radioactive and nuclear materials supervision, but improvements are still needed. Those countries have understood the importance of the radioactive and nuclear materials supervision.

He also reminded that collaboration between supervisors and users of radioactive substances and nuclear is very important. "We also ask hospitals that use radioactive material equipment but has no permit to voluntarily report to Bapeten," he said.

Meanwhile, Bapeten Head Jazi Eko Istiyanto said that the safety and security of nuclear energy usage is one government’s effort to prevent the radioactive substances and nuclear misuse.

"We will continue our efforts to prevent misuse of radioactive materials or nuclear by increasing supervision," he said. (Translator: Rina Alexandra)