KLH Strictly Monitors 200 Kg Of Stolen Evidence Exposed To Cesium-137

SERANG - Deputy for Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment (KLH) Inspector General Rizal Irawan emphasized that strict supervision was carried out after all evidence of theft in the temporary storage warehouse of PT PMT had returned and was in complete condition.

A total of about 200 kilograms of material containing cesium-137 was previously stolen, now secured back in a temporary storage warehouse.

"The stolen items consist of various types with a total of about 200 kilograms. All of them have been returned to the PMT storage stock. Thank God, the goods have not had time to circulate outside the area," Rizal said as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, December 1.

He said the evidence was kept in a temporary warehouse until the central government set a permanent storage location that met nuclear safety standards.

The determination of this location involves the Nuclear Energy Supervisory Agency (Bapeten) and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) as the authorized institution in radio nuclide settings.

"Later on, there will be permanent storage. This is being discussed with Bapeten and BRIN," he explained.

According to him, permanent storage locations must meet strict criteria, ranging from seismic factors, flood vulnerabilities, to long-term radiation safety technical standards.

Currently, all decontaminated waste, both iron, screen, and contaminated soil are still being placed temporarily at PT PMT.

"Everything was there. So, all the contaminated materials, including those closest to them," he added.

Rizal added that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry continues to coordinate with Bareskrim investigators regarding the process of investigating environmental crimes and supervising storage locations.

"This location is indeed a location that is being investigated by Bareskrim, but we use it as a temporary storage area," he said.

He reiterated that all evidence was safe and the legal process against the perpetrators was running.

The KLH asked the public to wait for the results of the police investigation while ensuring that the new security system had been strictly implemented.

"Alhamdulillah, the process of handling the perpetrators is ongoing," said Rizal.

Previously, the Serang Resort Police (Polres), the Banten Police, arrested four people involved in a syndicate of iron waste theft contaminated with radioactive Cesium-137 from a company in the Cikande Modern Industrial Estate, Serang Regency, Banten.

Serang Police Chief AKBP Condro Sasongko said this case involved security officers with the initials SH, MZ, SM, and forklifRO operators.

"This case is not only related to theft, but also endangers the community because the goods taken are radioactively contaminated waste," he said.