JakartaPost-Dec 19, 2022
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has signed a regulation that details new safety and security requirements for businesses seeking to mine nuclear materials in the country. Government Regulation (PP) No. 52/2022, which came into effect on Dec. 12, requires businesses to complete a safety analysis before beginning to mine for nuclear materials. This includes a feasibility study, a design and construction plan for the mine, as well as emergency responses and countermeasures in case of a nuclear accident. In addition, businesses are required to manage their nuclear waste and conduct radiation exposure training programs. Mining firms are also required to avow, in a formal document, that they will not work in service of the development of nuclear arms. They must submit a business and development plan and regularly provide authorities with an updated inventory of nuclear materials mined and imports of any special equipment. Those that fail to comply with the safety and security procedures will face administrative sanctions, ranging from written reprimands and administrative fines to license revocations. The new regulation comes a month after Jokowi reworked the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency’s (Bapeten) non-tax revenue streams through the issuance of another government regulation. The new policy allows Bapeten to receive non-tax revenue in the form of administrative sanctions from businesses that fail to follow prevailing regulations. The new regulations may work in service of a government plan to build the country’s first nuclear power plant by 2040. The country currently has three nuclear reactors – the 2-MW Triga 2000 reactor in Bandung, West Java, the 30-MW GA Siwabessy reactor in Serpong, Banten, and the 100-kW Kartini reactor in Yogyakarta – all of which are for research purposes. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/12/19/new-mining-rules-lay-groundwork-for-atomic-aspirations.html
