The Remaining 2 Factorys Are Not Safe, The Government Is Speeding Up Radiation Decontamination In Cikande

Head of the Diplomacy and Communication Division of the Radionuclide Radiation Handling Task Force Cs-137 Bara Krisna Hasibuan (center) (ANTARA/Devi Nindy)

TANGERANG - The government stated that as many as 20 out of a total of 22 factories that had been exposed to Cesium-137 (Cs-137) radioactive material in the Cikande Modern Industrial Estate, Serang Regency, Banten, have now been declared free of contamination.

Head of the Communication and Diplomacy Division of the Radionuclide Radiation Handling Task Force (Satgas) Cs-137, Bara Krisna Hasibuan, said the decontamination process was running optimally and the situation on the ground was under control.

"Of the 22 factories previously declared contaminated, 20 factories have been decontaminated and declared clear and clean," Bara said in Serang, Antara, Friday, October 17.

He emphasized that the entire recovery process was under the control of the Cesium-137 Handling Task Force. "This situation is under control, under control. The task force is fully and coordinated to ensure the safety and health of citizens," he said.

In addition to the factory, two of the 13 contaminated areas in the iron stalls and anchors have also been declared safe. The decontamination process is running fast. We are optimistic that the entire area will be clean and safe in the near future," he added.

Bara explained that the contamination-free area verification was carried out by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the Nuclear Energy Supervisory Agency (Bapeten) before the issuance of the official examination report (BAP).

"The laboratory examination was carried out by BRIN, then the results were submitted to Bapeten for the determination of clear and clean," he explained.

During today's field visit, the Task Force also released the Environmental Protection Supervision line (PPLH) at the PT Jongka Indonesia factory and a used iron stall in Sadang Village which had been declared radiation-free.

In addition to technical efforts, the government continues to educate workers and residents through counseling around industrial areas, official channels of the Ministry of Health, as well as the installation of information boards at strategic points.

"We want the public to get the right information, not from an unclear source," Bara said.

He emphasized that public safety remains a top priority. "We will not stop until the situation is completely back to normal. The safety and health of workers and residents is our priority," he said.

Meanwhile, investigations related to sources of contamination are still being carried out by the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police and the Directorate General of Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkum) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK).

"Investigations are still ongoing to trace how the contaminated metal screen can reach the PT PMT factory facility. The factory is closed and the owner has returned to his country," Bara said.

Deputy for Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Inspector General of Police Rizal Irawan, added that the government is taking two legal channels in this case, namely criminal and civil.

"The crime is handled by the Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police, while the civil route or environmental dispute is handled by the Deputy for Environmental Law Approach," said Rizal.

"So, there are two legal gates that we use, criminal and civil," he said.