Use of nuclear technology in saline water desalination is among the topics to be discussed at the International Symposium for Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology, which opens here Saturday. The three-day event at King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) is being held under the auspices of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nuclear desalination could be technically and economically feasible, said Dr. Mohammed Subian Al-Johani, head of the event's organizing committee and chairperson of KAAU's Nuclear Engineering department. “The ever-increasing international interest in nuclear desalination projects a high potential market for the introduction and commercial development of nuclear desalination,” he told Saudi Gazette. Nuclear energy for seawater desalination is used in Japan and Kazakhstan. Other countries drawn to the technology include South Korea, China, India, Morocco and Russia. “Nowadays, there is reasonable experience in the field of nuclear desalination,” Al-Johani said. Arid Saudi Arabia has approximately 25 percent of the desalination plants in the world. Some 250 ministers and experts from international organizations, GCC universities and local, regional, and international research institutions are attending the three-day symposium. Experts from the United States, Russia, China, Canada, France, Germany and Japan are participating. Some 50 studies and working papers will be taken up during the discussions on such issues as the GCC countries' need for nuclear technology, nuclear plant safety, skilled manpower development, regulations concerning use, transfer of technology, and also the debate over atomic reactors. The opening ceremony includes a reading of a speech by IAEA chief Mohamed El
