Implementation of the Integrated Planning Concept to Strengthen Indonesian Radiation Emergency Response Capabilities

Nuclear power has been included in Indonesian national plan as an alternative solution for electricity production. However, Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire with around 129 active volcanoes along its region. In addition, the Indonesian archipelago is formed by three major tectonic plates that continuously collide and move: the Eurasian Plate, the Pacific Plate, and the Indo-Oceanic-Australian Plate. Consequently, the entire Indonesian archipelago is relatively unstable due to high volcanic and seismic activities. In anticipation of the development of a nuclear power program and to ensure the safety of the current practices, the Indonesian government has the responsibility to provide an integrated conventional and nuclear/radiological emergency response plan. This plan is the basis to conduct response activities and the core of a national response framework.

In this research, the current capability of the Indonesian government to respond a nuclear/radiological emergency is investigated. The result shows that appropriate response agencies as well as the legal framework governing emergencies have been formed. However, neither a conventional nor a nuclear/radiological emergency response plan has been established. To improve the current emergency system, the IAEA?s graded approach methodology for an integrated emergency planning is partially implemented. This graded methodology allows for a thorough evaluation, and ultimately strengthening Indonesian national response capabilities, correcting the defects in the current system, and building an integrated emergency response plan.