Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arqab said on June 22nd that his country’s intention to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is a strategic choice, noting that the implications of this option on the environment and human health are carefully studied.
During the session of the National Assembly (First Chamber of Parliament), he said that Algeria is seeking to exploit nuclear energy, which is clean energy, in peaceful fields such as the production of electricity, health, treatment, agriculture and water resources, stressing that the draft law on nuclear energy was prepared with the participation of a large number of ministries, including the Ministries of Health and the Environment.
“We were keen during the preparation of the draft law not to overlook any particular aspect of the issues of the sovereign state or the protection of the environment and human,” he added. And he pointed out that: “the nuclear plants in operating today globally are small plants, with less than 1,000 MW and equipped with all the necessary means to protect the environment”.
Regards to the nuclear research centers in Baderia, Algeria, the capital and Perrin in the state of Djelfa, which most concerned members of the Council expressed concern about concerned about the effects of radiation and waste on the population, Arqab confirmed that the two reactors were 100% habilitated, using partners from China and Argentina. “We now have two modern reactors ready for use and safe on the environment and the population,” he said.
On the process of disposal of waste and nuclear radiation, he stressed that the National Atomic Energy Commission (COMENA) is fully competent in this area. He also pointed out that IAEA reports are positive about Algeria’s ability to control this field.
