"We have clarified that uranium will not cause lung cancer among the people in this region," Batan Chief Prof Dr Djarot Sulistio Wisnubroto said here on Friday.
The life expectancy rate of the local people is 69 years, which is equal to the national rate, he noted.
"This means uranium found in the earths crust in Mamuju district will not cause any negative effect, including lung cancer, if it is managed properly. Therefore, we should like to clarify the statement issued by the Nuclear Energy Control Board (Bapeten) that conducted a research in West Sulawesi," he remarked.
He asked the people in the region not to worry about the impact of uranium on West Sulawesi because its radiation would not cause any danger if managed properly.
Earlier, chief of Bapetens industrial assessment and research section Dr Eng Yus Rusdian Akhmad had said uranium radiation may affect human health if it was not prevented.
Exposure to uranium radiation can be prevented by building wooden houses with good ventilation, he said.
According to him, natural radiation dose rates at several places in Mamuju district are above the global average of 0.08 Sv/hour.
"Bapeten itself will continue to develop its study concerning natural radiation in Mamuju with regard to norm and tenorm," he pointed out.
(Reported by M Faisal Hanapi/Uu.INE/KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
