Jakarta – The government, through relevant ministries and agencies, has responded swiftly to reports of suspected radioactive exposure that occurred some time ago. Emergency measures were immediately implemented to ensure public safety and prevent potential wider impacts.
Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas) said that the investigation by the Cs-137 (Cesium-137) Hazard Vulnerability Handling Task Force (Satgas) confirmed that the radioactive material contamination that occurred in August 2025 only occurred in the Cikande Modern Industrial Area.
Exposure to radioactive Cs-137 was discovered after the discovery of frozen shrimp products from Indonesia containing radioactive material by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Customs at several ports, and the shrimp had even reached large retail stores such as Walmart.
The Special Staff of the Minister of Trade for International Trade Agreements, Bara Krishna Hasibuan, also said that not only shrimp but also exported cloves also contain radioactive Cs-137.
“That’s right, (exports) aren’t just to the United States, they’re also to Europe, but we’re still investigating. Yesterday, the only report was from America,” said Bara.
Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulhas also said that the Cs-137 Task Force had taken swift steps in decontaminating the radioactive substance. The Task Force had taken steps to neutralize (decontaminate) radioactive substances from the stainless steel smelting plant, especially PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT) and several waste points that had Cs-137 contamination.
“The Task Force investigation confirmed that the Cs-137 contamination occurred only in Cikande, so only at one location. Therefore, we are today declaring Cikande a special incident,” said Zulhas.
Previously, the Ministry of Environment (KLH) discovered a source of Cs-137 radiation suspected to be from PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT). Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq stated that the contaminated metal material at PMT likely came from abroad, as Indonesia does not have a nuclear reactor.
Zulhas also said that there is a possibility that the exposure to Cesium-137 contained in shrimp exported to America came from containers that came from the Philippines and docked at Tanjung Priok port, the containers likely contained iron scrap containing Cesium-137, and were reused to transport shrimp cargo, thus releasing radioactive content, this is also being coordinated with Indonesian customs.*