Alfitria Nefi P, Jakarta – The United States has returned two containers of shoe soles from Indonesia after detecting traces of the radioactive substance Cesium-137 (Cs-137), according to the Task Force for Handling the Hazard of Radioactive Radionuclide Cesium-137.
"We received further information that the shoe soles exported to the US were found to be contaminated with Cs-137," said Bara Krishna Hasibuan, Chairman of the Diplomacy and Communication Division of the Cesium-137 Task Force, in a written statement on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
Bara said the shoe soles were produced by a company based in Cikande, Serang, Banten, located about five kilometers outside the Cikande industrial estate.
The industrial area is home to PT Peter Metal Technology, a steel smelting firm identified as the source of the Cs-137 contamination found in the soles manufactured by PT Bahari Makmur Sejahtera (BMS).
According to Bara, the two containers arrived in Indonesia separately. The first shipment reached an Indonesian port around a month ago, though the task force has yet to confirm whether it contains traces of radioactive material. "It has not been processed by the manufacturer, so there has been no inspection," he said.
The second container arrived on October 29, 2025, accompanied by a report of Cs-137 contamination. The Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (Bapeten) inspected the shipment the following day, October 30.
"The inspection results showed no contamination on the surface of the container, meaning it is safe to be stored at the port," Bara said. The shoe soles inside will undergo laboratory testing by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry revealed that Dutch Customs had also reported radioactive Cs-137 contamination in a shipment of sneakers from Indonesia.
"The public has been focused on the shrimp issue, but even before that, we had already received this report," said Setia Diarta, Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment, and Electronics Industries at the Ministry of Industry, during a working meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday, November 10, 2025.
According to Setia, the Dutch findings were reported earlier this year, before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in August that Indonesian shrimp imports were contaminated with Cs-137.
Dutch Customs reported that several shoe boxes emitted radiation levels of up to 110 nanosieverts per hour. Further investigation revealed that one of the boxes, containing a pair of shoes made at a Banten factory, showed contamination levels of approximately 1.6 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg) of Cs-137.