The Ministry Of Industry Has Not Been Informed About 2 Indonesian Footwear Containers Refused To Enter The US For Exposure To Cs-137

The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) admits that it does not know the information regarding two containers of footwear products from Indonesia being refused entry to the United States (US) because they are suspected of being contaminated with Cesium-137 (Cs-137) radioactive.

This was conveyed by the Director General of Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics (ILMATE) of the Ministry of Industry, Setia Diarta, when met by VOI at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday, November 12.

"I don't know yet, really don't know," he said in response to VOI's question.

According to the man who was familiarly called Tata on Monday, November 10, 2025, he only conveyed the chronology of the exposure of a number of factories in the Cikande Industrial Estate, Serang Regency, Banten.

At that time, Tata was summoned by Commission VII of the DPR RI to convey the latest developments regarding the case of Cs-137 contamination in Banten.

"But yesterday I actually told the chronology, you know, this is not it. I don't know if someone returned it," he said.

Although as a member of the Cs-137 Task Force, Tata admitted that he had not received any information regarding the matter.

"But, right, I'm just a member of the field. I haven't updated yet," he concluded.

Previously, two containers of footwear products from Indonesia were refused entry to the US because they were suspected of being exposed to radionuclide Cs-137.

The findings were first identified by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Head of the Communication and Diplomacy Division of the Cs-137 Bara Task Force, Krishna Hasibuan, revealed that the two footwear containers had been returned to Indonesia.

Bara said the footwear product came from a company in the Cikande area, Serang, Banten, which is located about 5 kilometers from the source of Cs-137 contamination, which is a facility owned by PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT).

"There are two suspected containers of Cs-137 that have been returned to Indonesia. The footwear products come from a footwear industry company located also in Cikande, but outside the industrial area with a radius of 5 km from the source of the Cs-137 contamination," he said at a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs Office, Jakarta, Wednesday, November 12.

Dia menjelaskan, kontainer pertama telah tiba di Indonesia sekitar sebulan lalu, namun belum diproses oleh pihak produsen sehingga belum dilakukan pemeriksaan.

Sementara kontainer kedua tiba pada 29 Oktober 2025 dengan notifikasi adanya dugaan kontaminasi Cs-137.

Dikatakan Bara, hasil pemeriksaan dari kontainer kedua tidak ditemukan kontaminasi di permukaan, sehingga aman untuk disimpan di pelabuhan.

"Saat ini, sedang dilakukan uji pada produk alas kaki pada isinya kontainer tersebut produk footwear alas kaki yang dilakukan oleh BRIN (Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional)," terangnya.

He explained that the first container had arrived in Indonesia about a month ago, but had not been processed by the producers so that no inspection had been carried out.

While the second container arrived on October 29, 2025 with a notification of the alleged contamination of Cs-137.

Bara said, the results of the examination of the second container did not find any contamination on the surface, so it was safe to store at the port.

"Currently, a test of footwear products is being carried out on the container of footwear products made by BRIN (National Research and Innovation Agency)," he explained.