Indonesia has opened a criminal investigation into the suspected source of radioactive contamination that forced recalls of exports of shrimp and spices to the US and sneakers to the Netherlands, authorities said Wednesday.
Indonesian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the suspected source of radioactive contamination that led to the recall of shrimp and spices exported to the U.S., as well as sneakers shipped to the Netherlands, officials said Wednesday.
The probe focuses on a metal-processing facility at the Cikande Industrial Estate in Banten province on Java. Investigators believe the smelting company, PT Peter Metal Technology, is owned by Chinese interests.
Spokesperson for the task force leading the inquiry, Bara Hasibuan said “The police have opened a criminal investigation,”.
The presence of cesium-137 was first flagged earlier this year when Dutch authorities reported traces of radiation in Indonesian shipments. The report said that several boxes of sneakers were found to be contaminated.
In August, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert warning consumers not to eat certain frozen shrimp imported from PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, a company close to the industrial estate trading as BMS Foods, after cesium 137 was detected in shipping containers sent to U.S. ports.
Authorities say around 20 factories connected to the Cikande industrial estate were affected by the contamination, including shrimp-processing units and footwear manufacturers. Nine workers at the estate were found to have been exposed to cesium-137.
The employees were treated at a government hospital in Jakarta, and officials say all contaminated sites within the industrial area have since been decontaminated.
According to the FDA, repeated low-dose exposure to cesium-137 can heighten long-term health risks, but the levels detected in Indonesian exports did not pose any immediate danger.
Indonesia’s investigation has been hampered by the absence of PT Peter Metal Technology’s management. Executives of the company which recycles scrap metal into steel rods — have returned to China, Setia Diarta, director general of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics at the Ministry of Industry, told lawmakers earlier this month.
Indonesian authorities say they are preventing goods contaminated with cesium 137 from entering Indonesia.
Port authorities earlier this month stopped eight containers of zinc powder from Angola that were contaminated. The containers are being held pending completion of the administrative process for re-export.
With inputs from agencies
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