Nuclear has many benefits that can be used for human welfare, such as for health, agriculture, food, industry and research. However, in addition to these great benefits, nuclear also creates a risk of dangerous radiation hazards, because it needs very strict supervision.

In order to provide enlightenment the public regarding nuclear, its benefits and dangers and the role of BAPETEN in supervising nuclear energy utilization in Indonesia, on Saturday 6 August 2022, BAPETEN held a dissemination about supervising nuclear energy utilization in Magelang, Central Java. In this event, BAPETEN collaborated with members of Commission VII DPR RI Abdul Kadir Karding.

Present at this dissemination, a team from Bapeten led by the Coordinator of Public Communication Abdul Qohhar, members of Magelang Regional Legislative Councils Syukur Al Hadi, and 100 participants consisting of religious scholars, youth organizations, Fatayat NU, and Family Welfare Movement (PKK) members.

In his speech, Syukur said that dissemination is a higher level than just socialization, because if the activity is dissemination then there must be a clear stance regarding the material being socialized.

"Therefore, on this occasion, we need clear information about nuclear, so that the stance we are taking for the people of Magelang, where the majority are farmers, and laborers, can be more concrete and the benefits of this nuclear can be felt directly by the people of Magelang," he said

"Nevertheless, we still appreciate the implementation of this activity, there must be great benefits for all of us. At least this activity will be able to revive the local economy which was previously very quiet, due to Covid-19," he continued.

The Coordinator of the Public Communications Function Group, Abdul Qohhar, gave a presentation to the participants about Supervision of the Nuclear Energy Utilization in Indonesia. Qohhar described the utilization of nuclear technology in various fields, including health, agriculture, research and industry. For the health sector, the most common and widely known is X-ray, then nuclear is also used for cancer treatment.

Nuclear technology is used in industry, among others, to measure the density of tobacco in cigarettes. "Smokers need to know that the cigarettes use nuclear technology," explained Qohhar.

Then it is also used to measure the thickness of the paper, so that each HVS paper can be the same thickness, also using nuclear technology. Nuclear technology is also used for food preservation.

"An example is rendang, usually rendang only lasts 3 or 4 days, preservation with nuclear technology can preserve it for up to 1 year without spoiling and is still suitable for consumption, and I am the person who has tasted the rendang, thank God nothing happened to me after eating the rendang,” he said.

In agriculture, nuclear technology is used for plant breeding and creating superior seeds. Currently, there are about 20 types of superior rice seeds using nuclear technology, the result is that these rice plants become pest resistant, then the physical plants are higher than rice plants in general. And our country already has 3 research nuclear reactors located in Bandung, Yogyakarta and Serpong.

"From my explanation earlier, it is clear that nuclear technology has many benefits, but despite the great benefits, nuclear also has a great potential danger. To reduce the risks, there must be an institution that oversees that nuclear is only used for peaceful purposes. Therefore, the state is present through BAPETEN to ensure this " he explained.

In addition to providing information on how nuclear is used and supervised, BAPETEN’s presence in Magelang is also to request public assistance to jointly supervise the nuclear energy utilization, because there is only one BAPETEN in Jakarta, while the objects of supervision for BAPETEN covering all of Indonesia.

Meanwhile, it was the turn of Member of Commission VII DPR RI, Abdul Kadir Karding, to deliver his remarks. "I am grateful to be present with BAPETEN in this dissemination. BAPETEN is one of the DPR RI Commission VII partners in government, that's why I'm here," he said

Abdul Kadir tells about his past. "I used to be anti-nuclear, I was the most demonstrator against the construction of nuclear power plants. But as time goes by, I learned more about nuclear, it turns out that nuclear has many benefits. And now I fully support the nuclear power utilization in Indonesia, including if a nuclear power plant is built in our country," he explained

Nuclear as a renewable energy, is currently an alternative solution amid the high costs of other energies such as coal and oil. Every year the state subsidizes about 240 trillion due to the use of oil and coal. "That's why we no longer need to be afraid of nuclear. Now in big countries, nuclear has become the main energy in their nation, because nuclear is safe and cheap," he said.

Karding said that BAPETEN is here to explain to us how to use nuclear energy safely and securely. "So far, we are not too concerned about the nuclear power utilization, we are present in this socialization to better understand what nuclear is " he added.

Abdul Kadir thanked Bapeten for organizing socialization in Magelang. "This kind of socialization is very good and we are grateful to Bapeten, please pray so that Bapeten can get even better and nuclear can be a friend of the people," Karding hoped to end his remarks. (BHKK/Bams/Da/RA)