The Story Of The Discovery Of Radioactive Waste At The Batan Indah Housing

JAKARTA - The Indonesian discourse to adopt nuclear energy has surfaced. However, opponents have emerged. This condition is not because they do not believe in nuclear energy, but the people do not believe the government can provide a sense of security.

Take, for example, radioactive waste that is disposed of carelessly in Batan Indah Housing, South Tangerang, Banten. The incident caused a stir. The detected radioctive substance is Cesium 137 (Cs-137). A dangerous substance. A proof that Indonesia is not worthy of building PLTN.

Indonesia has been dependent on fossil fuels for a long time. This condition made the government of the era of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) have an idea. The owner of power had issued a discourse on the construction of a Nuclear Power Plant (PLTN) in Central Java in the 2007 era.

The presence of nuclear energy is considered an answer to Indonesia's need for clean and reliable energy. Indonesia will no longer depend on fossil energy. However, the discourse was rejected by various levels of society.

Those who refuse do not believe in nuclear energy bring benefits. However, those who refuse are not sure that the government can provide a sense of security. This condition makes every discourse on the utilization of nuclear energy get rejection everywhere.

This distrust will escalate in 2020. At that time, radiocative waste news that was thrown away carelessly at the Batan Indah Housing brought a stir. The incident began with the Nuclear Technology Supervisory Agency (Bapeten) which carried out routine testing of the function of radiocative monitoring tools.

The device brought in the car was called MONA. The car moved to the area around the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan) office in Pamulang and Serpong, South Tangerang, Banten on January 31, 2020.

As a result, the monitoring system data apparatus, MONA, deported radiation at the Batan Indah Housing. MONA indicators are on. A marker of radioactive substances. The radioactive substance is Cs-137.

A substance that in fact becomes an ingredient that can make atomic bombs. Usually it is used for mining needs to cement factories.

The car then turned around and entered the 25 hectare housing area. When the car passes through the gate, the signal is getting fuller. After traveling to Blok H, I, and J, Mona stopped at an empty land about 30 meters from the housing gate. Residents of ordinary housing use the land to raise chickens.

The Bapeten employees then got out of the car and combed the area. They also combed the badminton field next to the vacant land. Near a tree on the vacant land, they found a Cesium-137 hotspot. When the discovery was discovered, the radiation level reached 200 microsieverts per hour, "said Mustafa Silalahi and his friends in Tempo magazine entitled Radioactive Next to Badminton Field (2020).

News of the discovery of radioactive waste in the Batan Indah housing complex carried a furore everywhere. Cs-137 which was found in the form of crystalline powder scattered at five points, above and within the ground. The radioactive substance is predicted to only appear one year later.

Experts suspect that the radiocative substance comes from gauging or measuring devices containing Cs-137. Usually, the Cs-137 gubernatorial period of use will be handed over to Batan to be managed or destroyed.

As a result, suspicions against Batan who neglected destroyed the containing of Cs-137 surfaced. There are also those who think that the Cs-137 substance was stolen and used for personal gain. The government is like a beard fire.

They immediately formed a joint team from the National Police and Batan to investigate radioactive waste that was dumped carelessly in the residential complex field as well. The government promised to take firm action if there were complex residents who stored radioctive materials.

The government considers them criminals and will be dealt with firmly. Recently, the security forces arrested an employee of Batan who was suspected of deviating radioactive substances in March 2020. Instead of bringing praise, the public actually criticized the government's performance.

They consider the government to be ignorant of controlling radioactive substances. Even though the government immediately cleaned up the former radioactive substance Cs-127.

This incident is a bad precedent for the government and Batan who fail to maintain public safety from the dangers of radioactive waste. If this is behavior that deliberately throws away, it could be that the person who does not understand that Cs-137 is very dangerous, even being called a deadly substance.

"It would be terrible if the radioactive waste debris had been there for a long time. People may not only pass by but mothers and children are exposed directly without the slightest use of protection", said Greenpeace Indonesia Climate and Energy Campaigner, Hindun Mutarika, as quoted by pagereenpeace.org, February 17, 2020.