Gembong Hanung, Cikande – More than a dozen households in a hamlet in Cikande district, Serang regency, Banten are anxious and confused following the discovery of radioactive materials in an industrial complex close to their home, as the incident seems elusive but has troubled their economy and may pose health risks.
Situated in the periphery of the Cikande Industrial Estate, Barengkok hamlet has been quieter than usual, with police tape put up in several locations barring people from entering the "red zone", or places with high Cesium-137 (Cs-137) radiation levels.
The brouhaha around the radioactive material first broke after the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found traces of Cs-137 in frozen shrimp exported by Indonesian company PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS), which is based in Cikande.
Since then, authorities determined that the man-made isotope had contaminated factories, empty land and settlement areas around the industrial estate, including Barengkok and neighboring Sadang hamlet. The government dispatched a task force of joint officials to decontaminate the area from the radioactive materials, while also relocating residents to a safer place.
One of these residents is Marwan, 55, who was relocated to nearby Bunian hamlet since last week with nearly 100 other residents of Barengkong and other hamlets, while the government task force removes the Cs-137 from their homes. Once the residents were moved, they received medical checkups.
The task force announced on Wednesday that the contamination came from the scrap metal melting process at a smelting plant owned by PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT), located within walking distance of the hamlets.
"We used to cover the ground to prevent it from getting muddy with 'rocky materials' from the factory," Marwan told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, referring to slag, a waste product from the steelmaking process.
"But we knew nothing about the radiation, until the government told us recently," he continued.
In a statement issued on Thursday, task force head Rasio Ridho Sani confirmed that contaminated slag was used by local residents to cover their land.
"To protect the public's health and safety, an intensive decontamination process outside the factories, especially in the red zone such as residential areas, stalls and empty land, is being carried out by the task force," Rasio said.
As of Thursday, the task force had disposed of more than 550 tonnes of contaminated materials from 22 irradiated factories, empty land and settlement areas, including Barengkok and Sadang.
Rasio added that 22 factories previously contaminated with Cs-137 are now free of the radioactive material. The task force is now focusing on cleaning up the remaining seven of 12 other contaminated sites in the red zones.
Missing home, losing jobs
Short-term exposure to Cs-137 can cause symptoms such as diarrhea and headaches, while prolonged exposure to high-intensity levels may increase the risk of cancer and internal organ damage.
But such dangers do not deter residents living near the red zones from passing by the suspected irradiated area without proper protective equipment. Some, like Marwan, are eager to return to their homes in Barengkok.
"I personally have yet to feel sick or any strange feelings. I only began to worry a little when the government told us about the radioactive hazard," Marwan said, admitting that he was more worried about his unattended livestock.
Such skepticism is deemed reasonable, since the danger of Cs-137 radiation is neither visible nor odorous, particularly at low levels of exposure, according to National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) radioactive waste researcher Djarot Sulistio Wisnubroto.
Further investigation by authorities found that exported shrimp packed in Cikande were contaminated with Cs-137 through airborne dust containing radioactive particles from PT PMT's plant, located less than 2 kilometers from BMS' factory.
But for Sari, a 40-year-old mother of two who had been working for BMS, the FDA warning has forced the firm to lay her and many other employees off indefinitely. She used to earn up to Rp 8 million (US$480) per month from cleaning shrimp products.
"Now I'm confused because I usually have a monthly income. Our life has been in uncertainty with me losing my job and now [I have to relocate]," Sari told the Post when interviewed on Wednesday in her temporary free housing provided by the government in Bunian.
The FDA has since imposed new import requirements for Indonesian shrimp and spices. Under the new rule, firms identified with radioactive contamination must provide third-party verification or certification by designated Indonesian authorities for each shipment before exporting their products.
Experts have blamed unchecked imports of scrap metal, which are processed as raw material in the steelmaking industry, and waste management in local industries as the possible cause of the contamination.
Office of the Coordinating Food Minister expert staffer Bara Khrisna Hasibuan, who is also the Cikande task force spokesperson, said the police were still investigating the source of the radioactive material. Investigators have not verified whether the scrap metal was imported or sourced locally.
But the Environment Ministry has stopped granting import recommendations since the incident, Bara added. "Without the recommendations," he said, "the Trade Ministry will not issue permits for scrap metal imports."