Investigation Of Biang Kerok Kontaminasi Cs-137 Buntu, Task Force Reveals The Reason

The investigation into the Cesium-137 (Cs-137) radioactive contamination in the Cikande industrial area, Serang, Banten, is still deadlocked.

The reason is, the source of the Cs-137 contamination in the Cikande area comes from the metal screen used by PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT), but the factory has been closed for a long time.

The head of the Cs-137 Coal Handling Task Force (Satgas), Krishna Hasibuan, revealed that until now his party has not been able to trace the origin of the metal sheet used by PT Peter Metal Technology (PMT).

Bara said that based on the results of the Task Force's search, there were no import recommendations from the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) and the Import Approval (PI) of the Ministry of Trade for scrap metal on behalf of PMT.

"We also check in data from the Ministry of Industry that they have never issued Pertek, Technical Considerations. So, if there are heavy equipment before imports are carried out, before import approval is issued by the Ministry of Trade," Bara said at a press conference at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Jakarta, Wednesday, November 12.

"One of the main requirements is that they must obtain Technical Considerations from the Ministry of Industry as well as recommendations from the Ministry of Environment," he continued.

As a result, Bara continued, his party has not been able to trace the origin of the metal sheet which is referred to as a source of Cs-137 radioactive contamination in the Cikande industrial area.

Bara said that the investigation carried out by Bareskrim Polri also could not find the origin of the radiation.

Due to these obstacles, the Task Force has not been able to interview PMT management.

"We have not been able to interview the owner or management of PT Peter Metal. To really be able to carry out root analysis as a whole, we must be able to find out where to get the metal screen," he explained.

Bara said, there were two allegations of the origin of the metal screen used by PMT, namely from illegal and domestic imports. However, Bara admitted that he could not assume further.

"It is also possible that they buy from domestic sources or they may if they import illegally, but we don't know. We can't make assumptions because of course we are currently submitting it to Bareskrim who is conducting an investigation," he said.