Greenpeace: No Safety Sureties For 'ring Of Fire'

Aug 24 2007 (TODAY)

Environmental group Greenpeace urged South-east Asian energy ministers
yesterday to scrap plans to harness civilian nuclear power for the region,
citing safety concerns and weapons proliferation risks.

"It is a dangerous and costly choice to secure energy in the region
because nuclear power plants pose risks in the long term," said Ms Nur
Hidayati, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace South-east Asia.

"Our region is very dynamic - geographically we are located around the
Pacific 'Ring of Fire' and we are also the meeting point of several major
tectonic plates," she went on. "You cannot guarantee the safety of the
nuclear power plant in this volatile region."

Greenpeace activists also said the region does not have the expertise and
the trained personnel to operate nuclear power plants, and warned of the
dangers that plutonium - a key ingredient for making a nuclear bomb -
could get into the wrong hands.

Greenpeace said Asean states also lacked experience in storing and
disposing of radioactive wastes. - Agencies