Indonesia rushes to clean up radioactive leak in industrial area

The Indonesian authorities have decontaminated an industrial area in Banten after caesi-um-137 (Cs-137) radioactive contamination was detected, while nine residents who tested positive for exposure have been treated.

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A special task force under the Coordinating Food Ministry has been removing radioactive scrap metal from 10 contaminated storage sites in Cikande Industrial Estate in Se-rang, Banten, transferring the material to an interim facility within the area.

The authorities believe contamination was primarily spread through airborne dust produced during the scrap metal melting process in a smelting plant near a factory of a large shrimp producer.

“We are conducting a comprehensive inspection that is still ongoing,” ministry special staffer Bara Khrisna Hasibuan told The Jakarta Post on Oct 3. “So far, material from. two sites has been removed, and its transfer from other locations before final disposal is still in the process.”

The decontamination is being carried out in coordination with the Environment Ministry, the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bape-ten), the National Research and Innovation Agency (Brin) and the National Police.

The investigation began in August after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected Cs-137 contamination in frozen shrimp imported from Indonesia, which drew international attention to the affected area.