JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia has detected radioactive contamination at a sprawling industrial zone near the capital Jakarta, found to have high levels of Caesium-137 (Cs-137), a manmade radionuclide.
Here are some facts about what we know so far:
– In August, two sites were found to be contaminated with high levels of Cs-137. Indonesia’s environment minister now says the contamination was found in about 10 locations at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate, host to various industries.
– Cs-137 is used in medical devices and gauges, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say. It is also one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing. Indonesia has no nuclear reactors or weapons.
– The radiation reading in some locations in the Indonesian industrial estate is 1,000 microSievert (or one milliSiervert) per hour, the environment minister said.
– Sieverts, the units in which radiation is measured, quantify the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissues. People are exposed to natural radiation of 2 milliSievert to 3 milliSiervert per year.
– Exposure to 100 mSv a year is a level at which any increase in cancer risk is clearly evident. A cumulative 1,000 milliSiervert (1 Sievert) would probably cause a fatal cancer many years later in five of every 100 persons exposed to it.
– At least nine people have been treated for exposure to the contamination at the Indonesian industrial estate. It is unclear how long they were exposed and how much they absorbed while working or living in the vicinity of the highest levels.
– Authorities believe the source of the contamination is a metal factory on the estate.
– The estate was first investigated for contamination after a batch of shrimp exported from Indonesia to the United States was found by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August to be contaminated with Cs-137. The shrimp was processed in the industrial estate.
– The FDA said the shrimp did not enter U.S. commerce. The level of Cs-137 detected in the shipment was about 68 Bq/kg, which is below the FDA’s derived intervention level for Cs-137.
– The FDA said the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers, but issued an advisory against eating or selling shrimp imported by the company. It said avoiding products with such levels reduces exposure to low-level radiation that could have health impacts with continued exposure.
– The Indonesian industrial estate is still operating, but is being closely monitored by authorities, who are taking decontamination steps.
– In a similar incident five years ago, the Indonesian nuclear agency detected Cs-137 contamination in January 2020, near a residential area in Serpong in the city of South Tangerang.
(Reporting by Indonesia bureau; Editing by Martin Petty and Clarence Fernandez)
